Legs
Jump Squats
A bodyweight squat that finishes with a jump. It builds power in your legs and gets your heart rate up fast.
- Works
- Quads, glutes, calves, hamstrings, core
- Equipment
- No equipment
- Load
- Bodyweight
How to do it
- 1Stand with your feet about shoulder width apart, toes turned out slightly.
- 2Sit your hips back and down into a squat, swinging your arms back.
- 3Drive through your feet and jump straight up, swinging your arms up.
- 4Land softly on the balls of your feet, sink right back into the squat and go again.
Cues
- Land soft and quiet, like a cat.
- Knees track over your toes.
- Chest up the whole time.
Common mistakes
- Landing with straight legs. Bend your knees and hips as you land to soak it up, then flow into the next squat.
- Knees caving in. Push your knees out in line with your toes on the way down and when you land.
- Quarter squats. Sit down into a real squat before each jump, as low as you can control.
Easier
Tiff's version is a regular squat with no jump.
Harder
Pause for 2 seconds at the bottom before each jump, or jump as high as you can on every rep.
Try it: 3 rounds of 30 seconds on and 15 seconds off.
How many jump squats should I do?
In a workout, 3 rounds of 30 seconds on and 15 off is plenty. Quality beats quantity: stop the set when your landings get heavy or your knees start to cave in.
