Key numbers
50 to 75 milliseconds
Early rate of force development window
What Systematic recommends
Where to start
- Bare feet. A firm surface, such as a wood floor or thin carpet.
- Stand with your feet about hip-width apart. Stand tall. Briefly lock your knees, then soften them into an active position. Keep the knees soft and active throughout the movement. Place your hands on your hips and keep them there throughout the exercise.
- Rise onto the balls of your feet with your heels elevated. Hop in place with both feet leaving the ground at the same time. Land softly on the balls of both feet. Keep the hops quick and continuous. Keep your hands on your hips throughout the movement. Maintain the soft, active knee position throughout.
- Hop continuously for 10 seconds. Rest for 10 seconds. Repeat for 3 total rounds. Stop and reassess if you feel pain, discomfort, or instability, or if you are no longer able to land softly and maintain control of the hopping pattern.
These Pogo-Prep movements come from Systematic's Standing Broad Jump Development Pathway, a starting point for the capacity discussed; they are not a regimen tested by Maffiuletti and colleagues.
Condensed from the published Development Pathway (Standing Broad Jump: Elastic Pogo-Prep). This is a starting point, not a training program or medical advice.
The nervous system sets the pace
A review of the physiology by Maffiuletti and colleagues (2016) explains that rapid force development depends heavily on how quickly the nervous system can activate muscle.
In roughly the first 50 to 75 milliseconds, rate of force development is strongly influenced by rapid voluntary activation and by motor-unit discharge rate, the speed at which the nerve cells controlling a muscle fire.
How it relates to the Standing Broad Jump
Systematic cites this research as mechanistic background for the Standing Broad Jump. The jump measures neither rate of force development directly nor a laboratory power trace: it is a whole-movement field test, and quick force production is one of the things it reflects.
The evidence
Each cited source is labeled according to how it supports the particular claim on this page. Direct test evidence, underlying-capacity findings and population reference values are distinguished from Systematic-defined protocols and standards. Historical development notes are retained internally rather than presented as public evidence. A study of an underlying capacity is never presented as validation of the Systematic test itself.
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Underlying-capacity evidence
Maffiuletti et al. (2016). Rate of force development: physiological and methodological considerations. European Journal of Applied Physiology.
What it found. Rapid force development depends heavily on how quickly the nervous system can activate muscle, and in roughly the first 50 to 75 milliseconds it is strongly influenced by rapid voluntary activation and motor-unit discharge rate.
What it does not show. It is a physiology review, not a study of the Systematic Standing Broad Jump, and it does not show that muscle size is unimportant.
The Systematic Healthspan Assessment is a physical baseline. It is not a diagnosis, and it does not estimate a biological age, a disease risk or a lifespan.