Skater Jump
The lateral bound, also called the skater jump, is a single-leg jump sideways from one foot, landing and balancing on the other. It trains sideways power and single-leg landing control through the glutes, adductors and legs, and is used for change-of-direction and athletic conditioning work.
Also called: Skater Hop, Ice Skater, Skater Bound, Side-to-Side Bound · Equipment: bodyweight · Pattern: squat
Step by step
- Stand on your right leg with a slight bend at the hip and knee and your left foot just off the floor.
- Push your hips back to load the standing leg, keeping your knee in line with your toes.
- Drive hard off the right leg to jump sideways to the left, swinging your arms across in the direction of travel.
- Land on your left leg only, bending your hip and knee to absorb the landing. Let your right leg swing behind your landing leg.
- Hold the landing for a second with your knee over your toes and your hips level.
- Push off the left leg to jump back to the right, landing on your right leg. For continuous skater jumps, rebound into the next jump as soon as each landing is steady.
- Keep alternating until you complete the set number of jumps on each side.
- Land soft and stick it on one leg
- Knee over your toes on every landing
- Push the ground away sideways
- Swing your arms across your body
- Hips back as you land
- Stick first, then rebound
In VALDA, these cues are one tap away on the exercise while you train.
What it trains
| Muscle | Role | Evidence |
|---|---|---|
| Gluteus medius/minimus | Prime mover | C |
| Gluteus maximus | Prime mover | C |
| Adductors | Prime mover | C |
| Quadriceps: vastus lateralis | Secondary | C |
| Gastrocnemius | Secondary | D |
| Hamstrings | Secondary | D |
| Obliques (internal/external) | Stabiliser | D |
Evidence grades: A = strong research base · B = good · C = limited · D = coaching consensus.
What goes wrong, and the fix
Knee caving in on landing
Fix: Land with your knee over your toes and your hips pushed back.
Stiff-legged landing
Fix: Land on the ball of the foot and bend your hip and knee to absorb the jump.
Hopping up instead of across
Fix: Push the ground away sideways and aim for distance, not height.
Trunk leaning past the landing foot
Fix: Keep your chest over your landing knee and your hips level as you land.
Rushing the rebound
Fix: Hold each landing for a second, then add rebounds once landings stay steady.
What the research says
Power · first choiceSport performance · first choiceRehab & prehabGeneral fitnessEnduranceFat loss & conditioning
- Direction — A meta-analysis found horizontally directed plyometrics improved horizontal performance more than vertical plyometrics did. Sideways jumps were not studied, but coaches commonly apply the same direction-matching principle to them.
- Single-leg work — A meta-analysis found single-leg plyometric training improved single-leg jumping and change of direction more than two-leg training, while two-leg training favoured two-leg jumps.
- Dose — In a meta-analysis of plyometric programmes, those lasting over 10 weeks with more than 20 sessions had the best chance of larger jump gains, and adding external load gave no extra benefit.
- Sets and reps — A common approach is 3–5 sets of 4–8 jumps per side with full recovery between sets, starting with held landings before continuous rebounds. There is no research on lateral-bound set structures.
Swap it mid-workout
With VALDA Pro, FLEX offers alternatives like these when you swap an exercise mid-workout.
Log the skater jump in VALDA, with these cues one tap away while you train and your history for it in one place.
General information about exercise technique, not medical advice. If you have an injury or a health condition, your healthcare provider is the right person to ask.