Full body / Advanced / Compound (multi-joint)

Kneeling Jump Squat

A barbell explosive exercise for the glutes, with the calves, hamstrings and quads assisting.

At a glance

Primary

Glutes

Secondary

Calves, Hamstrings, Quads

Equipment

Barbell

Movement pattern

Squat, Jump / plyometric

Level

Advanced

Type

Full body, Compound (multi-joint), Explosive

Loads the knee. Use a load you can control and skip it if it causes pain.

How to do it

1. Begin kneeling on the floor with a barbell racked across the back of your shoulders, or you can use your body weight for this exercise. This can be done inside of a power rack to make unracking easier.
2. Sit back with your hips until your glutes touch your feet, keeping your head and chest up.
3. Explode up with your hips, generating enough power to land with your feet flat on the floor.
4. Continue with the squat by driving through your heels and extending the knees to come to a standing position.

Common mistakes

• ✗ Landing with straight legs or knees collapsing.

  Why it hurts: Hard or valgus landings load the knees and Achilles tendons.

  ✓ Instead: Land softly, knees over the toes, and sink into the next squat.

• ✗ Loading it heavily.

  Why it hurts: Heavy weight makes landings dangerous and slows the jump.

  ✓ Instead: Use bodyweight or a light load you can land quietly.

Open in the appGet started