HYROX Burpee Broad Jumps: Technique, Rules, and Pacing (Station 4)
HYROX Stations · Station 4 of 8
The burpee broad jumps are the great equaliser. This is the only station in HYROX where every division faces identical standards. No weights, no division advantage. Just 80 metres of you and the floor, at the halfway point of the race, when your legs already carry two sleds and four kilometres.
It is also the station that most predictably ruins a good race. It looks like something you can attack. You cannot. Athletes who go out hard here arrive at the rowing machine with nothing left, and the last four kilometres become a walk.
But do not chase maximum distance. Overjumping early drains the nervous system and your jump collapses by metre 50. Consistency beats ambition here.
The Station and Why It Equalises the Field
Station 4 is 80 m of continuous burpee broad jumps, completed after your fourth 1 km run. Each rep is a burpee with the chest to the floor, followed immediately by a two-footed forward jump. Where you land is where the next burpee begins. You keep going until you jump past the finish line.
Here is what makes it unusual. Every other station changes with your division. Sleds get heavier, wall balls get heavier, carries get heavier. The burpee broad jump does not. Women Open, Men Pro, everyone covers the same 80 m to the same standard. In a race shaped by division-specific weights, this is the one true test of the athlete alone.
Most athletes need 40 to 60 reps, depending entirely on how far each jump travels.
The Rules and How Athletes Get No-Repped
This station has more invalid reps than any other, because the standards are precise and fatigue makes people sloppy. Invalid movement may mean the rep is not recognised, and the penalty protocol escalates.
- First infringement: a formal warning.
- Second infringement: a 15-second penalty.
- Each further infringement: another 15-second penalty.
- Start behind the line. Your hands go down behind the white start line for the first rep.
- Chest to the floor. Your chest must clearly touch the ground at the bottom of every rep. Partial reps do not count.
- Hands within 30 cm. For each following burpee, place your hands no more than 30 cm forward of your toes, measured from the base of the palms where the hands meet the wrists. Once placed, they cannot move forward.
- Feet cannot pass the hands. When you stand up, your feet must not travel beyond where your hands were placed.
- Two feet, together. Both feet must take off together and land together. A maximum 5 cm difference is permitted between the front of one foot and the other during take-off and landing. More than that can be treated as an infringement.
- No steps between reps. You cannot take a small step forward after landing before the next burpee.
- Clear the finish line. If either foot lands on the line rather than beyond it, you owe another full rep.
- The resting partner walks behind the working partner, and must not obstruct other racers.
- On transition, the incoming partner places their hands where the working partner's feet landed, with toes and fingers in line. Failing to do this is treated as an infringement.
Technique: The Burpee, the Jump, the Transition
Three parts, and most athletes only think about one of them. The transition is where the time actually lives.
- Keep your hands narrow and within 30 cm of your toes. This shortens the distance your chest has to travel and keeps you legal.
- Drop under control rather than fighting the descent. Let gravity do the work.
- Push the floor away explosively from the bottom.
- Keep your elbows close to your sides. That shifts load onto the triceps, which fatigue more slowly than the chest.
- Come up enough to create a strong two-foot take-off, then load smoothly into your broad jump. Do not rush it if rushing causes staggered feet or an extra step.
- Swing your arms back as you load, then drive them forward and up as your legs extend. The arm swing is worth roughly 10 to 15 percent of your distance. Do not lose it when you are tired.
- Bring your legs forward actively in the air to gain extra ground.
- Land softly with bent knees, feet level within the 5 cm allowance.
- The single most important skill is how fast you move from landing into the next burpee.
- Land, load, hands down, chest down. No pause to admire the jump.
- A long pause between reps kills your rhythm and lets your heart rate climb without covering any distance.
The Step-Up Method, and When to Use It
You may step your feet back into the burpee and step them forward to stand, rather than jumping them. This is entirely legal, and many elite athletes use it deliberately to manage fatigue and keep their heart rate under control.
The trade-off is simple. Stepping is slightly slower per rep but much cheaper aerobically. Jumping is faster but spikes your heart rate, and at station 4 you still have four kilometres and four stations ahead. For most athletes, particularly first-timers, stepping up is the smarter choice for the whole 80 m. Test both in training and find out which leaves you able to run afterwards.
Pacing and Rhythm
The first 20 m feel manageable. Metres 50 to 80 do not. Going out too fast here is one of the two most common race-day errors, alongside attacking the sled push.
Set a sustainable rhythm from rep one and hold it. Burpee, jump, burpee, jump. Do not chase maximum distance on every rep, because a broad jump is as demanding on the nervous system as it is on the muscles, and that debt arrives suddenly. A consistent 1.5 to 2 m jump, repeated cleanly, beats two enormous leaps followed by a stall.
Break the 80 m into four blocks of 20 m in your head. If you need a pause, take it at a natural point after landing, not mid-rep. Some athletes find lying flat for a moment drops the heart rate faster than standing. Test that in training rather than discovering your preference on race day. Expect the station to take somewhere between four and ten minutes.
How to Train It, Anywhere
This is the one station that needs no equipment at all. No gym, no machine, no excuse. Any flat 20 m of ground in India will do.
- Distance repeats: 5 rounds of 20 m with 60 to 90 seconds rest. Hold your jump distance across every round.
- EMOM: every minute on the minute, 5 to 8 reps. Builds consistency and forces clean transitions.
- Fatigued practice: do them straight after a 1 km run or a hard set of lunges. This is the session that matters most.
- Distance pyramid: build towards 80 m unbroken, then work on speed once you can hold the standard.
- Standing broad jumps: singles from a standing start, to train the arm swing and hip drive without burpee fatigue.
- Tuck jumps and box jumps: explosive hip extension, transferring to jump distance under fatigue.
Add mobility work for hips, ankles, and the upper back. Tight hips and ankles quietly shorten every jump you make, which adds reps you did not need to do.
The Top Mistakes
Overjumping the first 20 m and paying for it over the last 30. Jumping too short and adding reps you did not need. Losing the arm swing once fatigue sets in. Letting the chest hover rather than touch, and collecting infringements. Landing with staggered feet beyond the 5 cm allowance, or creeping the hands forward past 30 cm. Pausing too long between reps, which raises the heart rate without covering ground. And training burpee broad jumps only when fresh, then meeting them at the halfway point of a race with two sleds already in your legs.
Frequently Asked Questions
How many burpee broad jumps are in a HYROX race?
The distance is 80 m, and the rep count depends on your jump length. Most athletes take 40 to 60 reps. A 2.0 m jump needs roughly 40 reps, while a 1.5 m jump needs roughly 53.
Do you need a push-up in the HYROX burpee broad jump?
HYROX uses a chest-to-floor standard rather than a strict push-up. Your chest must clearly touch the ground on every rep. This saves considerable upper-body energy over 80 m. Standards can change by season, so check the current rulebook before your race.
Can you step instead of jumping in the burpee broad jump?
Yes, for the burpee portion. You may step your feet back and step up to stand rather than jumping them. Many elite athletes use this to keep their heart rate down. The broad jump itself must always be a two-footed take-off and landing.
What gets you a no-rep on the burpee broad jump?
Not touching your chest to the floor, taking off or landing with more than a 5 cm difference between your feet, placing your hands more than 30 cm forward of your toes or walking them forward, letting your feet pass your hands when standing, taking a step between reps, or landing on the finish line rather than beyond it.
What is the penalty on the HYROX burpee broad jump?
A first infringement brings a formal warning. A second infringement brings a 15-second penalty. Each further infringement adds another 15-second penalty. Invalid movement may also mean the rep is not recognised.
How do partners transition on the burpee broad jumps in Doubles?
The incoming partner places their hands where the working partner's feet landed, with toes and fingers in line. The resting partner walks behind the working partner and must not obstruct other racers. Failing to transition correctly is treated as an infringement.
Is the burpee broad jump the same for all HYROX divisions?
Yes. It is the only station where every division faces identical standards. There is no weight difference between Women Open, Men Open, or either Pro division. Everyone covers 80 m.
How long does the burpee broad jump station take?
Roughly four to ten minutes, depending on your jump distance, your rhythm, and how much you rest. Consistent pacing beats a fast start every time.
How do I train burpee broad jumps without a gym?
You need nothing but flat ground. Do 20 m repeats with short rest, EMOM sets of 5 to 8 reps, and practise them straight after a 1 km run so you learn what they feel like fatigued. Add standing broad jumps and tuck jumps for power.
About the Coach
Niraj Kumar Borah
Founder and head coach of Fitness Bootcamp, a premium residential health transformation program based in Rishikesh. Since 2020 he has guided more than 4,600 guests through structured, fully supported transformations.
He is a HYROX Academy Level 1 certified coach, a Precision Nutrition and Bioforce Conditioning coach, and a VDOT certified running coach. He races HYROX himself. At HYROX Bengaluru 2026 he placed 25th in the 35 to 39 age group, finishing the Doubles in 1:24:59, so the coaching here comes from racing the stations, not just reading about them.
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Message the team on WhatsAppThis is general training guidance for healthy adults. If you have a health condition or an injury, speak with your doctor before starting a new training plan.
