HOME WORKOUTS: Tuck Jump, Jog in Place
Muscles Worked: Quads, Hamstrings, Glutes, Calves, Hip Flexors, Core, Heart
Exercise Type: Compound Movement
Develops: Explosive Power, Coordination
Exercise Level: Advanced
NOTES
Before working to a full tuck jump, it is highly recommended that one has built up a base starting with squats (BEGINNERS), then squat-jumps starting very small and building up to bigger jumps. Also, box or step jumps would be a helpful for intermediates.
Here is a great video that shows how to do a tuck jump:
INSTRUCTIONS
1. Stand with your feet hip-width apart and soften your knees so they are not locked.
2. Bend your hips and knees to lower your body into a partial squat (picture a lineman in football)—hips and knees bent, chest lined up with your toes, looking forward. Your torso should be about 45 degrees to the floor. Swing your arms back as you bend your hips so that they run parallel to your spine. (All of the above happens quickly and in one movement. Think of it as coiling a spring as you dip your hips down and back before you reverse the movement to explode upward.)
3. Immediately rise up, extending your hips, knees, and ankles (come up onto your toes) and swinging your arms forward and up in order to jump as high as you can into the air. As you jump, pull your knees up, tucking them into your chest. Try to stay tall as you tuck, don’t crunch yourself into a ball.
4. Extend your knees on the descent and use your hips and knees to absorb the force of the ground, you should end in the same position that you started the jump.
5. Stand up straight and jog in place for about 10 seconds before repeating. (You can also begin each successive jump immediately, rebounding out of your landing, but this is not recommended as it gets sloppy.)
Sources: onnit, Les Mills