Squat Jump
Explosive leg power for jumping + sprinting
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 with the feet shoulder width, hands on the hips or behind the head. For the loaded version, rest a light bar across the upper back.
The rep
Sit into a squat to about half depth, then jump as high as you can, extending the hips, knees and ankles fully. Land softly through the forefoot to the heel with the knees bending over the toes, and sink straight into the next rep. Each jump is a maximal one; if the height starts to drop, reset between reps.
On the exercise card
- Jump tall
- Land soft + quiet
What goes wrong, and the fix
| What goes wrong | The fix |
|---|---|
| A loud, stiff landing | Land quietly with bent knees. If it is loud, the force is going into the joints. |
| Squatting too deep | Half depth is enough. Deeper is slower, and the jump gets lower. |
| The knees caving on landing | Push them out over the toes as you land. |
Make it easier, or harder
- Easier
- Smaller jumps, with a pause after each landing.
- Harder
- A light bar on the back, or a two-second pause at the bottom of each rep, which removes the bounce and leaves only starting strength.
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.
With no weights to lift, jumping is how the bodyweight program trains leg power, and this is the base version. It appears in both the lower-body and the athletic power sessions, kept to four or five reps so every one is a real effort.
| Program | Session | Sets × reps | Load |
|---|---|---|---|
| Bodyweight Athlete | Lower Strength + Power | 4 × 5 | BW |
| Bodyweight Athlete | Athletic Power + Core | 4 × 4 | BW / light bar |
What it trains, and who trains it
- Region
- Lower body
- Classified as
- Plyometric
- Prescribed in
- 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 |
|---|---|
| Countermovement Jump | The baseline jump — measure it, then chase it |
| Vertical Jump → Stick | Land and freeze: teaches the knee to absorb force instead of collapsing |
| Depth Drop → Stick | Step off a box and absorb — the purest landing-mechanics drill there is |
| Split Jump → Stick | Scissor the legs, land in a lunge and hold — decel in a running position |
| Broad Jump → Stick | Horizontal force then a dead stop — the hardest landing to control |
| Single-Leg Hop → Stick | One leg absorbs everything, exactly like it does in a game |
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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