Jump Squats are a great way to improve your exercise cycle
jump squats stimulate your whole body and mind to prepare you to lift weights or as a means of increasing strength, stamina, and speed.
They may seem simple enough, but knowing how to do a jump squat properly is important to avoid injury and to do more in this strenuous activity. To find out how to do jump squats properly and why and when, we went to personal trainers Cam Countryman and Morgan Dowd. Keep reading what they said.
What are Jump Squats?
"Jump squat is a plyometric activity that not only tests your strength but also your ability to produce and transmit energy in a short time," said Countryman. Plyometrics are flexible, explosive, and short-circulated movements to create speed, power, and speed. They are often used in athletic training or high-intensity training and will increase your heart rate faster. Jump squat is a perfect example of plyometric exercise.
"Exercise requires strenuous movement when you fall down into a full squat and when you climb up you push the balls of your feet to jump from the ground, down slowly to return to the full squat position," adds Dowd.
Regarding planning, Countryman states that "they can be used as a single regular exercise or pre-set or post exercise routine to add weight or focus on balance and jumping." For example, use jump squats as part of a stimulus to stimulate your central nervous system and prepare you for physical activity. Alternatively, do it like a superset with a traditional barbell squat to lose muscle and promote flexibility that will lead to muscle growth.
Benefits
- Jump squats are more than just a fun way to increase your heart rate. Look at these benefits, according to Countryman and Dowd.
- Tighten the back chain: "Jump squats are amazing throughout the rear series," Countryman said. This includes your back muscles, glutes, hamstrings, and calves.
- Get more muscle groups: "Many trainers and coaches incorporate jump squats into their workouts because they benefit many muscle groups all in one movement," said Countryman.
- Develop athleticism: "Jump squats are also helpful for balance, speed, and running and can increase your jumping ability," said Countryman. "They are an amazing exercise for athletes, runners, and anyone who participates in activities that require rapid change of pace or rapid, explosive movements because movement strengthens your fast muscle muscles."
- Identify fast-moving muscles: "Jumping jump squats will help train the skeletal muscles that can help you run and jump faster, as well as help with things like holding yourself when you stumble," Dowd said.
- Cardio training and full-strength fitness: "Jump squats target quads, hamstrings, and glutes for one of the lower extremities, while the plyometric portion of exercise can help improve heart health," Dowd said.
- No equipment needed: "Jump squat is the perfect test to add to your routine at the gym or at home when no equipment is needed," Dowd said.
- The appropriate form of Jump Squat
- Follow our step-by-step guide from experts to learn how to do jump squats properly.
Start by splitting your feet shoulder width apart.
- Get down into the squat, toes facing forward, knees following over your second and third toes. Your arms should extend forward as you go down.
- As you climb up from the squat, use your arms to create momentum by moving yourself to the floor, pushing the balls of your feet, and jumping up and down from the ground.
- Bend your knees and return to the squat area with your arms facing forward as you arrive. Be careful not to let your knees pass over your toes in the squat and feel the toe on the heel on the way down.
- The glutes, hamstrings, calves, quad, and hips all come together as you squat down to produce energy. Hands are also used for swinging on the floor to increase strength.
- In a loaded position, get out into the air, push as hard as you can from the ground, use your hands to reach the sky and climb as low as you can.
- Arrival is just as important. You are forced to grab a seat by slowing down with the calves first, then return to the loaded area to get ready to start the second step again.
How to Change
Adjusting the jump squat can help you to stretch more muscles, focus on specific parts of the body, or adjust the weight to make it bigger or smaller.
"Another common change is to add knee when you get off the ground," Countryman said. "This makes the core less involved while adding to the challenge with the arrival and slowing down." You will really need to push it down so you have time to kneel on your knees to your chest.
"You can adjust your pace and your height from the ground to make the action more relaxed and secure in your body," continues Countryman. "Increasing the speed between reps will probably increase your repetition rate, resulting in shorter squat depths and less height in your straight jump. If you increase your jump height, there will be deeper squat depth and longer time. Between reps to produce more power. "
There are a few options when adjusting jump squats to make them more accessible to beginners. “One option is to do regular weight squats but speed up the time between reps to create a blast,” Dowd said. "Another option is to do a squat, but instead of jumping from the floor, come over your nerves up and go back to the squat."
Safety Considerations
As with any exercise, performing a movement safely and with proper form is vital. Additionally, warming up the muscles and listening to your body in terms of volume and intensity is key with plyometric exercises.
"Jump squats are a very athletic movement. Make sure that you have warmed up the proper muscle groups so that you can be safe and explosive," cautions Countryman. "Also, landing back on both feet at the same time is going to be very important to make sure your weight distribution and force coming back to the ground does not result in injury."
You should steer clear of jump squats if you are unable to perform a full squat, or if you have any pain when squatting or jumping. "They are high-impact so it is important to work up to them if you are a beginner," says Dowd. "It is also important to land with your knees bent and toe to heel to avoid any knee, hip, or back pain."
The Final Takeaway
Adding plyometric exercises like jump squats to your fitness routine will boost your power, agility, and overall athleticism. When used before a workout as a priming movement, your central nervous system will wake up and get ready for the workout ahead.
It's vital to master the bodyweight squat movement pattern before adding in explosiveness with the jump squat. Be sure to go slowly and jump carefully, following the pro's tips for proper form to protect your joints from injury.