Intense and effective squat jump combo to strengthen the legs with lots of variety. Excellent for improving your athletic ability!
When it comes to developing athletic legs, variety is the king. Unless the muscles of your lower body are structurally balanced and well-rounded, you won't be able to move well.
This is true for any sport, martial arts and movement training. It's a common misconception to think that strength alone in the big lifts like the squat and deadlift will help the most but in reality they are only a small part of the big puzzle.
Squat is an excellent exercise, but it's the most effective when you do different variations of it. There is no "one size fits all" squat - all different variations emphasize different parts of the legs.
Combining all different squat variations in one workout will get you the most bang for your buck when it comes to training many parts of the lower body and emphasizing athletic ability.
Even if you have no interest in athleticism, variety in your leg training will improve your posture (immensely important for health and aesthetics) and the size and strength of your legs. Your knees and hips will also be thankful.
Here are two squat videos that can also be helpful:
Movement 20XX program also has numerous squatting variations and other leg mobility drills to develop healthy, mobile and athletic lower body.
Before attempting this squat combo, make sure you have mastered the basic forms of the exercises first and you can do them at ease!
This squat combo consists of these 4 exercises:
- Narrow jump squat
- Wide jump squat
- Narrow jump squat
- Jump lunge per side
You are basically jumping from one exercise to another without any rest between the exercises.
Combining all of these variations into one will make the workout very intense and challenge your cardio. You get many benefits in a relatively short period of time.
Your legs will receive very different stimulus compared to slow tempo training because not only are your muscles contracting explosively (fast twitch fibers: great for athleticism), the muscles also work extra hard in the descending phases after the jumps.
Squat jump combo workout |
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BEGINNER: bodyweight squat combo |
4-6 squat combos per round |
For 5 rounds |
INTERMEDIATE: kettlebell squat combo |
4-6 squat combos per round |
For 5 rounds |
ADVANCED: barbell squat combo |
4-6 squat combos per round |
For 5 rounds |
Rest 1-2 minutes between rounds. No rest between exercises during the rounds.
Barbell version is the hardest because your back muscles need to work way harder and the center of mass makes it more difficult to balance.
Narrow Jump Squat
Narrow jump squat will target the quads and hamstrings the most out of all conventional squat variations. To target the quads the most, see the sissy squat.
It's important to keep the legs in a nice narrow line so that you can keep the tension on the quads. Your feet should point directly forward.
Squatting parallel is more than enough - to go deeper you would need to break the line and externally rotate your legs which turns the squat into a very different exercise.
In case you want to add weight, holding the weight in the front will make it easier to balance and easier for your back compared to keeping a barbell on your back.
Wide Jump Squat
Wide jump squat will emphasize the glutes and inner thighs.
Your feet should point outwards in a 45 degree angle. This will increase the activation of the glutes and inner thighs.
Holding a weight in the front will increase the activation of the core and make it easier to stay upright. Both upright squat (goblet/front squat) and back squat where you lean more forward are perfectly fine - they just emphasize different muscles.
Jump Lunge
Jump lunge will hit the glutes, quads and inner thighs. You will also work the hamstrings to some degree.
Lunges work the quads and glutes in a very different fashion compared to the squats (lunges and squats are biomechanically very different) which is why it's important to do both squats and lunges for optimal results.
Holding a weight in the front will allow you stay more upright which works the core and targets the quads even more.
