The burpee broad jumps are the station Hyrox athletes love to hate. Eighty metres of drop-to-the-floor, jump-forward, repeat — and it lands in the back half of the race when your legs are already cooked from the sleds. There is no hiding on this one and no clever grip trick that makes a weight lighter. But “most hated” does not have to mean “most painful”. Get your burpee efficient, your jump measured and your rhythm locked in, and you will cross those 80 metres faster and with far less damage. Here is how to make it suck less.
Why it hurts so much
The burpee broad jump is the only station that combines a full-body strength movement with repeated explosive jumping over a long distance. Every rep asks you to get all the way down to the floor and all the way back up to a jump, so your heart rate spikes and stays there. It sits deep in the race order, usually after the sled pull, so you arrive with heavy legs and a lung-busting heart rate already. Understanding that is half the battle: the goal is not to be a hero, it is to keep moving at a pace you can actually repeat 40-plus times.
The efficient burpee: less is more
Most people waste enormous energy on the burpee itself. You do not need a tall, snappy stand-up or a big clap overhead — that is CrossFit, not Hyrox. Aim for the lowest-effort version that still meets the standard: chest and thighs to the floor, then back up to a two-foot jump forward.
Step your feet back and step them in rather than kicking out and jumping in if your legs are trashed — stepping saves a surprising amount of energy over 80 metres and barely costs you time. Keep your hips low and your movements compact, and stop your hands from wandering wide on the floor. The tighter and more repeatable your burpee, the less it costs each rep, and it is the cost per rep multiplied by 40-odd reps that decides your time.
The broad jump: distance versus recovery
Here is the trade-off nobody explains. A big broad jump covers more ground per rep, so you do fewer burpees overall — but each big jump is more explosive, spikes your heart rate harder and needs more recovery. A short jump is easier on the legs but means more total burpees. For most age-group athletes, a controlled, medium jump you can land softly and immediately absorb is the sweet spot.
Land with soft knees in an athletic quarter-squat so you flow straight into the next rep rather than crashing onto locked legs. Do not jump so far that you stumble or have to reset your feet — a wobble on landing costs more than the extra distance gains. Keep your arms swinging to help drive each jump; they are free power.
Rhythm and breathing
The athletes who make this station look easy have one thing in common: a metronome-steady rhythm. Down, jump, breathe, repeat — the same tempo every rep. Pick a breathing pattern and stick to it, for example a breath out on the way down and a breath in as you stand to jump. Chaotic, held breathing is what turns burpees into a panic.
Resist the urge to sprint the first 20 metres. The station feels manageable early because you are fresh, then the wall arrives. Set a tempo at the start that you honestly believe you can hold to the finish line, and let everyone who blasted off come back to you.
Pacing: steady beats stopping
The single biggest time-saver is simple: do not stop. Standing still with your hands on your knees feels like rest, but your heart rate barely drops and every restart is expensive. A slow, continuous shuffle of burpees almost always beats fast-then-frozen. If you must pause, make it a planned two- or three-breath reset at a set point — say every 20 metres — not a collapse whenever it gets hard.
Break the 80 metres into four chunks of 20 in your head and tick them off. Chunking a dreaded station into small targets keeps it from feeling endless and stops your pace from falling apart in the middle.
Small things that help
Flat, grippy shoes give you a stable base to jump from and land on, which matters when your coordination fades late in the race. Keep your hands just outside your knees on the floor so your push-up is strong and your feet have room to land. And accept that this station is uncomfortable for everyone — the person next to you hates it just as much. Staying calm and mechanical while others unravel is where you make up places.
Train it before race day
Practise burpee broad jumps at the end of a session when you are already fatigued, because that is how they will feel on race day. Rehearse your stepping burpee, your medium jump and your breathing until they are automatic, and do short blocks straight off a hard effort so your body learns to hold form under a screaming heart rate. Do the reps in training and the most hated station becomes just another 80 metres you know exactly how to survive.
