Trap-Bar Deadlift Jump

The trap-bar deadlift jump is a loaded plyometric exercise. It trains your lower body to produce explosive force from a dead-stop position, building power in your glutes, quads, and hamstrings while also engaging your calves, back, and grip.

Stand inside the trap bar with your feet about hip-width apart and your toes pointing forward. Bend down and grab the handles with a neutral grip so your palms face each other. Keep your chest up, back flat, and hips low enough that your shoulders sit slightly above or in line with your hips. Let your arms hang straight down like ropes.

Brace hard, then stand up quickly by driving your feet through the floor. As the bar passes your knees, push your hips forward and extend fully at the top. Leave the ground by pointing your toes, then pull your feet back under you to land softly. Absorb the landing by bending your hips, knees, and ankles, and reset completely before the next rep.

Take a deep breath into your belly before you pull and hold that pressure until you land. Keep each rep crisp and stop well before fatigue sets in, because landing with weight raises impact forces. Make it easier by using a lighter load or keeping your feet on the ground and just driving up fast. Make it harder by adding a pause at the bottom or aiming for more height while keeping the landing controlled.

Fault: Pulling with bent arms and trying to muscle the bar up. Fix: Keep your arms relaxed and straight throughout the jump so the load stays connected to your hips and legs, not your elbows and biceps.

Fault: Cutting the jump short without reaching full extension at the top. Fix: Drive through your legs and squeeze your glutes at takeoff so your body forms a straight line before your feet leave the floor.

Fault: Landing stiff-legged or bouncing straight into the next rep. Fix: Land with soft knees and hips, absorb the impact, and come to a complete stop before you jump again.