Backward Jump
- Primary muscleQuads
- EquipmentBodyweight
- DifficultyIntermediate
- TypePlyometric · Explosive
- Secondary muscles
- Hamstrings, Glutes, Calves
- Body part
- Upper Legs
- Position
- Standing
- Laterality
- Bilateral (both sides together)
- Category
- Plyometrics
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Jumping backward removes the visual feedback you rely on going forward, so the calves and quads must control a landing you cannot see. Keep each hop short, stick the landing before rebounding, and treat it as a control drill at low volume rather than a max-effort power exercise.
How to do the Backward Jump
- Stand with your feet shoulder-width apart.
- Bend your knees slightly and jump backwards, pushing off with both feet.
- Land softly on the balls of your feet, bending your knees to absorb the impact.
- Repeat for the desired number of repetitions.
Tip: Swing the arms back as you dip, then throw them up hard as you leave the ground.
Muscles worked
Primary
Quads · Legs
The quads produce most of the takeoff force and absorb most of the landing, so a few sets can leave them surprisingly sore.
Secondary
- Hamstrings
- Glutes — The glutes fire hard to extend the hips at takeoff, especially on broad jumps where you cover distance.
- Calves — The calves add the final snap at the ankle on takeoff and cushion the first contact when you land.
Common mistakes
- Landing stiff-legged — a loud landing means the joints took the force; land softly on the balls of the feet and let the knees and hips bend to absorb it.
- Knees caving on landing — keep the knees tracking over the toes both on takeoff and landing, and widen the stance slightly if they cave.
- Treating jumps as conditioning — a jump is a power exercise, so rest fully between reps; if you are gasping, you are doing something else.
- Box too high — a tall box that requires tucking the knees to the chest just tests hip mobility; use a box you can land on with a quarter squat.
Where it fits in a workout
Jumps go at the start of a session after the warm-up and before heavy lifting, when the nervous system is fresh. Three to five reps of box jumps before squats is a common pairing.
How many sets, how heavy and how hard: see what the ACSM position stands support.
Variations and alternatives
Similar exercises
Alternatives
When to talk to someone
- Chest discomfort, feeling faint or lightheaded, or trouble breathing during or after exercise can be signs of a heart attack. In the US, call 911 right away; elsewhere, call your local emergency number.
- Heart, metabolic or kidney disease, or symptoms like these when you are active: talk to your doctor before you start or step up training.
- Pregnant: ask your obstetric care provider which exercise suits you.
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More exercises
Sources
- ACSM position stand on exercise quantity and quality (Garber et al., 2011)
- ACSM preparticipation health screening (Riebe et al., 2015)
- ACOG Committee Opinion No. 804 on exercise in pregnancy (2020)
- CDC: About Heart Attack Symptoms, Risk, and Recovery (2024)
Sources checked on October 17, 2026. Full citations are in the exercise library.
Animation and exercise data: ExerciseDB, licensed to SetGrip. General information, not medical or coaching advice.