Legs / Beginner / Compound (multi-joint)

Scissors Jump

An explosive bodyweight exercise for the quads, with the glutes and hamstrings assisting.

At a glance

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

Assume a lunge stance position with one foot forward with the knee bent, and the rear knee nearly touching the ground.
Ensure that the front knee is over the midline of the foot. Extending through both legs, jump as high as possible, swinging your arms to gain lift.
As you jump as high as you can, switch the position of your legs, moving your front leg to the back and the rear leg to the front.
As you land, absorb the impact through the legs by adopting the lunge position, and repeat.

✗ Stiff, heavy landings.
Why it hurts: The impact goes into the knees, shins and Achilles tendons.
✓ Instead: Land quietly on the balls of the feet and let the knees bend.