Weighted Jump Squat

How to do it

1. Take a light barbell on the upper back and set the feet about shoulder-width apart.
2. Hold the bar firmly against the back so it cannot bounce.
3. Dip into a quarter to half squat with the chest up.
4. Drive up explosively and jump off the floor.
5. Land softly on the balls of the feet, bending the knees to absorb the landing, and settle before the next repetition.
6. Keep the torso upright and the bar pinned throughout.

Common mistakes

• Loading the bar like a squat. A jump squat uses a small fraction of a squat's load; if the jump is only an inch, the bar is too heavy.
• Letting the bar bounce on the back. The hands pull it down hard into the traps; a bar that lifts off on the jump lands on the neck.
• Landing stiff-legged. The knees bend on every landing; a straight-leg landing sends the impact into the spine.
• Rebounding straight into the next jump. Land, settle, reset, then jump; a rushed rebound is a landing that was never controlled.

Muscles worked

Primary

• Quads

Secondary

• Calves
• Glutes
• Hamstrings
• Spinal Erectors