# @samuelwatson__ on Instagram

- **Type:** Video
- **Original URL:** https://www.instagram.com/p/DYkTAxBO0iU
- **Gondola URL:** https://gondola.cc/posts/65651340-samuelwatson-instagram
- **Thumbnail:** https://img.gondola.cc/tr:w-,h-,fo-auto/postThumbnails/d65156aae9.jpg
- **Posted:** 2026-05-20T16:27:56.000+00:00
- **Account Owner:** Sam Watson (@samuelwatson__) — https://gondola.cc/samuelwatson__

## Caption

My top 3 lower body exercises for building explosive power:

1. Contrast Knee Jumps

Knee jumps produce some of the highest power outputs you can get from a non-Olympic-lift movement, with a fraction of the technical complexity. Exploding from a kneeling position onto your feet and up into a jump forces a fast, hard hip drive from a dead start — meaning maximum force in minimum time. Pairing the knee jumps with a follow-up max-effort vertical jump a few seconds later makes that second jump sharper and trains how fast you can produce force across the board. I prefer this to a back squat or standard vertical jump because the hip-forward starting position is closer to the angles I’m actually using on the wall.

2. Box Squats

Box squats let you load serious weight onto the bar in the exact range of motion used for explosive sports. Full-range squats matter too— especially for injury prevention and overall leg development— but for pure power, box squats are king. The pause on the box also kills any bounce, forcing pure pushing force from a dead stop. That’s exactly the demand of the first move off the start panel.

3. Weighted Deficit Reverse Lunges

This one is underrated and almost never shows up in other sports’ programs. For me, training in the specific directions of speed climbing matters — the sport involves toeing off and driving through extended hip and ankle positions at very fast speeds, and a deficit reverse lunge trains that end-range push while still letting you load real weight. For anyone trying to add to their vertical jump, the final calf drive at the top of extension is often the missing piece, and this is one of the cleanest ways to train it without putting a heavy bar on your spine. I linked my previous video for this one as well where I explain it more. 

I did simplify this, but if you want more info about power training where this fits as a speed climber in a training plan, comment “POWER” and I’ll send you it for free.

#explosivetraining #speedclimbing

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## Tags

explosivetraining, speedclimbing

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