By RealJock Staff

This exercise provided courtesy of Billy Polson, founder and co-owner of DIAKADI Body training gym, voted best personal training gym in San Francisco by CitySearch in 2006.

Benefits
For a leg exercise with explosive power, try the long jump. You push off and land in a squat, combining forceful power with strength.

Muscles Worked
Legs

Starting Position
Stand upright with feet shoulder-width apart. Sit back into a shallow squat position, pressing your hips behind you as you keep your back flat. Extend your arms forward (see Photo 1).

Exercise

1. From the starting position, bring your arms back behind you, and then strongly swing them forward as you explosively push off with both feet, jumping forward as far as you can (see Photos 2 to 5).
2. Land with your knees bent and sitting deep. As you land, be particularly careful not to fall backwards. After you land in the squat, push off immediately into your next long jump (see Photos 6 and 7).

About Billy Polson: Billy Polson is the founder and co-owner of DIAKADI Body training gym, which was voted the best personal training gym in San Francisco by CitySearch in 2006. A competitive swimmer and triathlete in his own right, Polson has over 15 years of experience working as a coach and trainer, and was recently named by Men's Journal Magazine (December 2005) as one of the Top 100 Trainers in America.