Jump Squats: Make Your Squats Harder by Adding a Jump

If you’ve done any reading on this site, then you know that the squat is pretty much our favorite exercise. But what about jump squats?

Why do we like the squat so much? Well it hits all the most common trouble areas women deal with:

• Thighs
• Hips
• Butt
• Quads

Not to mention, squats force you to squeeze your core and keep your back straight. This results in tighter abs and a stronger upper back, which can keep you safe from injury and improve posture.

So whether it’s leg day or not, you should be doing squats like a mad woman! And by graduating to jump squats, you can really add explosion to the movement.

 

The Normal Squat

It’s a pretty easy exercise really. You stand with feet shoulder width apart. You place your arms out in front of you and start bending your knees as if you are going to sit down in a chair. Pushing your butt back, you go down until your hamstrings are parallel with the ground.

You can go deeper if you wish, but know that you risk your knees aching if you do so. Also, make sure you keep your back completely straight and that your knees stay behind your toes. Form is paramount.

 

Variations

Of course, when it comes to any exercise, variety is the spice of life. Okay, it’s a tired cliche, but it’s true. You need to vary your squats and do things like jump squats because:

• your muscles get used to the same movements, so they will get less from them
• repeating the same movement too much can lead to injury
• doing the same thing over and over is boring!

With that in mind, there’s a simple measure you can take to mix up your squats and get extra work: jump!

 

Jump Squats

It’s a small, simple change that can increase your results. Do a standard squat, but explode in a jump at the end. Note, a jump is different than a hop, and exploding at the end of the movement will really fire up those muscles.

Checkout this example here.

Ready to get those legs and buttocks burning? Try jump squats, and let us know if you can feel the difference!