Plyometric Exercise of the Week #2: Depth Jump Viking Throw for “All-In-One Power”

Welcome back for the next installment in the “plyometric of the week” series. This time around, we’re going to chat about one of my favorite “All-In-One” movements that is great for transfer in a variety of athletic movements. That plyometric is the “Viking Depth Jump”.

To perform the Viking Depth Jump, you’ll stand on a box between 12 and 30 inches in height, and hold a medicine ball weighing between 4 and 12 pounds (2 to 5kg). Drop off the box, and immediately upon landing, take the ball down low between your knees and reverse the movement as powerfully as you can, throwing the ball up in a powerful triple extension.

I call this movement an “All-In-One” because it accomplishes many things, including:

Creating an extreme overload of the “hip hinge” movement that is so important for almost any athletic activity
Teaching force absorption and release in a different scheme than the depth jump
Teaches an athlete to jump powerfully in a loaded position, such as with a basketball in the hands
Teaches power in a similar manner to the Olympic lifts, but in a more speed and triple extension oriented manner
Teaches powerful triple extension in a more specific manner than the Olympic lifts, because weight can be more properly transmitted through the balls of the feet, rather than the rearfoot, which is common in the middle stages of the Olympic pulls.

Let’s cover each of these points, and how this exercise is so effective.

The “Viking Depth Jump” is the most intense way available to train the hip hinge movement. Kettlebell swings are a great way to train the hinge in volume, as well as its eccentric component, but they can’t deliver the reversal power, and transmission through the balls of the feet that this exercise can. Athletes who have difficulty utilizing their posterior chain in jumping patterns will find this exercise helpful in context of their ability to perform it.
Traditional depth jumping is awesome, but there can and should be variations to the manner in which it is performed. Loading the body in the exact same way over time leads to stagnation, so this type of movement is a gold mine for providing some well-needed variability in this intense athletic family of movement.
For basketball players who struggle “jumping with the ball” compared to with it out of their hands, this exercise is a great overloading movement to improve specific power. It can also improve general power and stability in the second phase of a two-leg takeoff without a ball in the hands.
The Olympic lifts have been hailed as one of the best ways to “build triple extension” for athletes. I beg to differ. I think they are good, but beyond the novice/intermediate level of jumping and sprinting, those patterns are much more forefoot driven in the early stages of power generation, not just at the end like the patterning of the Olympic lifts. The Depth Jump Viking Throw runs triple extension power through the balls of the feet from the moment the feet contact the ground in the drop, and thus are much better in transfer to most athletic movements. It is a favorite practice of mine to superset Olympic lifts I do with this type of movement (if I have space and equipment) as this wires the CNS in a better direction.

If you enjoy this series, and want to see how to put these exercises together in context of a complete program, check out our books and training groups, particularly “Vertical Ignition” and “Legendary Athleticism”. Be a part of the revolutionary training systems that are getting dozens of athletes to lifetime bests in speed, jumping and explosive power!

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