Depth Jump

The depth jump is an advanced plyometric developed by Soviet sport scientist Yuri Verkhoshansky in the 1960s as a tool for training reactive strength: the ability to rapidly switch from an eccentric (landing) to concentric (jumping) contraction. The movement is simple in description: step off a box of 18-30 inches, land on both feet, and immediately spring back up into a maximal vertical jump. The ground-contact time between landing and takeoff is the key variable. A contact time under 0.25 seconds trains the stretch-shortening cycle; longer contact times turn the exercise into a regular jump, which trains concentric power but not reactivity.

Depth jumps are a specialized tool with narrow applications. They train the ability to produce force very quickly after absorbing a load, a quality that matters for sprinters, jumpers, and throwers. For strength athletes, depth jumps can contribute to heavy-squat starting strength and to the drive off the bottom of a deadlift, but the transfer is debated and the exercise carries real injury risk. Tendons and connective tissue have to be conditioned to absorb the high eccentric loading. Most coaches recommend a foundation of 3-6 months of jump squats, box jumps, and broad jumps before introducing depth jumps, and even then only as a limited dose.

Programming depth jumps is low volume. Most protocols prescribe 3-5 sets of 3-5 reps with 90-180 seconds of rest between sets. The rest is long to preserve power output, and the total reps per session rarely exceeds 20. Box height should start conservative (16-18 inches for intermediate strength athletes) and progress slowly only if the ground-contact time stays short. A high box with a long ground contact is a worse exercise than a low box with a snappy rebound. The jump after landing should be maximal. Cues like "land and explode up" or "imagine the ground is hot" help lifters train the intended quality.

In LiftProof, depth jumps are tracked as an accessory exercise with box height and perceived ground contact time as load variables. Depth jumps are not appropriate for every lifter. Athletes with knee, Achilles, or patellar tendon issues, or lifters carrying significant bodyweight (250+ lbs), should stick with standard box jumps. When programmed correctly for the right athlete, depth jumps produce measurable gains in rate of force development that show up in starting strength on heavy lifts within 4-6 weeks.

• Step off the box — do not jump off, the drop height must match the box height
• Land on both feet, knees slightly bent, weight on the midfoot
• Ground contact should feel snappy — rebound as quickly as possible
• Jump up as high as you can after the landing — maximal effort every rep
• Land the final jump softly — do not land stiff on the final rep

• Using a box that is too tall — ground contact becomes long and the reactivity is lost
• Treating it as a box jump in reverse — the rebound matters, not the landing
• Jumping off the box instead of stepping — changes the eccentric load unpredictably
• Running high volume (10+ reps per set) — depth jumps are a CNS tool, not a conditioning drill
• Including depth jumps with no foundation in basic plyometrics — tendon injury risk is real

• box jump→
• broad jump→
• squat→
• power clean→