Lateral Bound
Change-of-direction power
How to do it well
The set-up and the rep in full, then the cues the app shows on the exercise card — the short version, for the moment you are standing in front of the bar.
Set-up
Stand on one leg with clear space to the side, the standing knee slightly bent and the hips back, like the start of a side-step.
The rep
Sink slightly into the standing hip, then push the ground away sideways and bound as far as you can, landing on the opposite foot. Land with the knee over the toes and the hips back, and stick it for a second: no extra hop, and no free foot touching down. Then bound back the other way.
On the exercise card
- Stick the landing
What goes wrong, and the fix
| What goes wrong | The fix |
|---|---|
| The landing knee collapsing inward | Land with the knee over the toes. If it caves, shorten the bound until it stops. |
| Touching down with the free foot | Stick it on one leg. A second foot on the floor means the bound was longer than you could control. |
| Bounding up instead of across | Push sideways along the floor. Height is wasted effort here. |
Make it easier, or harder
- Easier
- Shorter bounds with a pause on each side, or a sideways hop that lands on both feet.
- Harder
- Longer bounds, or continuous bounds where each landing rebounds straight into the next.
How Train Smart prescribes it
The sets and reps below are the authored starting point. The actual weight you see is calculated from your own last top set and the week you are in within your four-week block.
Changing direction is a sideways push off one leg, and this trains that push for distance. In soccer it is in the power block of the lower-body strength and plyometric session; in the bodyweight program it is part of the athletic power work, where it needs nothing but space.
| Program | Session | Sets × reps | Load |
|---|---|---|---|
| Soccer | Lower Strength + Plyo | 3 × 5/side | BW |
| Bodyweight Athlete | Athletic Power + Core | 3 × 4/side | BW |
What it trains, and who trains it
- Region
- Lower body
- Classified as
- Plyometric
- Prescribed in
- soccer · bodyweight training
If you cannot do this one
Rack taken, kit missing, or it does not suit you. These are the swaps the app offers, matched by movement pattern and body region — each with the reason it is a fair substitute.
| Alternative | Why it works as a swap |
|---|---|
| Box Jump | Vertical power, soft landing |
| Broad Jump | Horizontal explosive power — sprint acceleration carryover |
| Standing Vertical Jump | Pure vertical power test — basketball, volleyball, AFL |
| Approach Vertical Jump | 3-step approach into jump — volleyball, basketball rebound |
| Seated Box Jump | Concentric-only — pure starting strength for sprinters |
| Pogo Hops | Stiff, reactive ankle power |
This exercise, in a program that knows why it is there
Train Smart puts this movement in the right session, at the right point in your block, at a weight calculated for you — and swaps it automatically if you do not have the kit.
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