Jump Squats
Explosive squat with a vertical jump — speed-strength and lower-body power.
Execution
- Lower into a regular squat.
- Drive up explosively from the bottom, arms swinging dynamically.
- Land soft on the mid-foot, knees absorbing — straight into the next squat.
- Control over speed — if form breaks, rest or drop to regular squats.
Tips
- Don't start from a tall stance — the pre-stretch at the bottom of the squat is what creates jump height.
- Hard landings are tough on joints; a mat or cushioned shoes help.
From strength to speed-strength
The jump squat isn't a harder squat, it's a different quality altogether: instead of moving a load slowly, it's about the speed of force production. That's exactly the capacity that fades first with age — faster than raw maximal strength — and it's what decides whether you catch yourself when you stumble.
Execution
From a half to three-quarter depth squat, jump up explosively. The arms assist the drive. What matters most is the landing: soft, rolling through the balls of the feet, knees absorbing and tracking outward. The landing is the part where injuries happen, not the take-off.
A brief reset between reps is fine. Clean with a pause beats fast and shaky.
Common mistakes
- Hard landing with straight legs. The most dangerous mistake — impact forces go straight into the knee.
- Knees caving inward on landing. An immediate stop signal for the set.
- Too many reps. Speed-strength is trained fresh, not fatigued.
Programming and prerequisite
Only once the regular squat is solid with a good range of motion. Then four to six sets of just 3 to 6 reps with full rest — ideally early in the session, not at the end.