How to Do Skater Jumps (and a Low-Impact Version)

To do skater jumps, stand on your right leg, push off sideways and jump to the left, landing softly on your left foot with your right foot swinging behind you, then push back the other way. For the low-impact version, do the skater step instead: the same side-to-side movement, but you step rather than jump, so one foot is always on the floor.

Skater jumps are a HIIT staple and one of the few common moves that go side to side rather than forwards. This guide, part of our series on doing the big movements properly, covers the muscles they work, step-by-step cues, the low-impact version, and how they fit a HIIT circuit and a hybrid week with running.

What muscles do skater jumps work?

Skater jumps are a single-leg move, so each leg takes your whole body weight on every landing. Your glutes and quads (the fronts of your thighs) push you off and soak up the landing, while your glute medius, a smaller muscle on the side of your hip, stops your knee caving in and your hip dropping. Your inner thighs, hamstrings and calves chip in too.

Your core and the small muscles around your ankle keep you steady as you land on one foot. Done at pace, skater jumps also raise your heart rate fast, which is why HIIT sessions use them so often.

How do you do a skater jump with good form?

Learn the pattern slowly first, ideally as a skater step (see the next section), then use these cues.

• Space. Clear a strip of floor about two metres wide that is not slippery. Wear trainers, not socks.
• Start. Stand on your right leg with a soft knee, hips pushed back a little and your chest leaning slightly forward, like a quarter squat.
• Push. Drive off your right foot and jump sideways to the left, letting your arms swing across to help.
• Land. Touch down on the ball of your left foot, then let your heel come down as your hip and knee bend to soak up the landing.
• Swing. Let your right foot sweep behind your left ankle. It can hover or lightly tap the floor.
• Knee. Keep your left knee pointing the same way as your toes, not caving inwards.
• Hold. Pause until you feel steady, then push back to the right.
• Breathing. Breathe out as you push off and keep breathing steadily. If you are holding your breath, slow down.

Tip: listen to your landings. A loud slap or thud usually means you are landing with stiff legs. Quiet landings are the goal.

What is the low-impact version of a skater jump?

The low-impact version is the skater step. It follows the same pattern with the jump taken out. One foot stays on the floor the whole time, so there is far less impact, and it is quieter too, which helps if you live in a flat.

• Stand with your feet hip-width apart and a soft bend in your knees.
• Take a big step to the left with your left foot, bending your left knee and pushing your hips back.
• As your weight moves onto your left leg, sweep your right foot behind your left ankle and lightly tap the floor.
• If it feels comfortable, reach your right hand towards your left foot, keeping your chest up.
• Push back to the right and repeat on the other side.

It suits you if you are new to exercise, coming back after time off, prefer not to jump, or want a lighter day, and you never have to progress past it. If you have knee, ankle or hip problems, speak to your GP or a physio before adding any jumping.

What are the easier and harder versions of skater jumps?

Two dials make the move harder: how far off the ground you go, and how quickly you change direction. Pick the rung where your landings stay quiet and your knee stays in line with your toes, then climb.

• Rung 1: Skater steps. The low-impact version above, at a slow, steady pace. If balance is the tricky part, do them next to a wall or worktop you can touch.
• Rung 2: Reaching skater steps. Step wider, sink lower and reach your hand towards the outside of your front foot. More range, still no jump.
• Rung 3: Small skater hops. A short, low hop sideways, about shoulder-width, landing and holding for two seconds each time.
• Rung 4: Skater jumps with a stick. Full-width jumps, holding each landing for a count of two before you go back the other way.
• Rung 5: Continuous skater jumps. The classic HIIT version. Bound from side to side with only a short, springy pause on each landing. Only move here once rung 4 feels solid.

Move up a rung when you can do 3 rounds of 30 seconds at your current level with quiet landings and steady knees. Dropping back a rung on a tired day is completely fine.

How do you land skater jumps softly?

Soft landings are the most important skill in this move, and most problems come from landing hard, stiff or wobbly.

• Land on the ball of your foot and roll down to your heel, rather than slapping down flat.
• Bend at your hips and knees as you land, sitting back a little as if into a mini squat.
• Stick it. Hold each landing for a second or two while you learn. Speed comes later.
• Jump smaller before you jump further. A short, controlled hop beats a long, wobbly one.

What are the most common skater jump mistakes, and how do you fix them?

• Knee caving in. Your landing knee drops inwards. Jump smaller, slow down and think about keeping your knee over your little toe.
• Loud, stiff landings. You land flat-footed with straight legs. Land on the ball of your foot, bend your hips and knees, and hold the landing.
• Too far, too soon. Shrink the jump until every landing is steady, then widen it bit by bit.
• Slipping. Wear trainers on a surface with some grip. A thick, squashy mat can make balance harder.

How many sets and reps of skater jumps should you do?

In HIIT they are usually done for time; for technique practice, count reps. A rough guide:

• Starting out. 3 to 4 rounds of 20 seconds, with 40 seconds of rest between them.
• Building up. 4 to 6 rounds of 30 seconds, with 30 seconds of rest.
• Technique practice. 3 sets of 6 to 8 reps each side with a two-second hold on every landing, resting about a minute between sets.
• How often. 2 to 3 times a week is plenty, with at least a day between harder jumping sessions.

What does a 4-week skater jump plan look like?

Follow this plan two or three times a week with a day off in between, after a 5-minute warm-up. If a week feels too hard, repeat it.

By week 4 you should be landing full skater jumps quietly with your knee in line. If not, stay on small hops for another week or two. That is completely normal.

How do you use skater jumps in a HIIT circuit?

Skater jumps pair well with moves that use your upper body or core, which gives your legs a short break. Here is a simple beginner circuit. Do each move for 30 seconds with 15 seconds of rest between moves, rest for 60 seconds at the end of the round, and complete 3 rounds after a 5-minute warm-up.

• Bodyweight squats.
• Push-ups, on your knees or with your hands on a bench if you need to.
• Skater jumps or skater steps, at whichever rung you are on.
• Mountain climbers.
• Glute bridges.

If climbers are new to you, our guide to how to do mountain climbers covers the easier versions. Once the circuit feels comfortable, you could swap squats for burpees, and our beginner's guide to burpees shows you how to build up to them.

Why do runners like lateral work like skater jumps?

Running is almost all forwards, so the muscles that control side-to-side movement, especially around your hips, can get less attention. Many runners and coaches add lateral moves such as skater jumps and side lunges to give those muscles some work, with the idea that steadier hips may help you feel more stable on your feet. There is no guarantee it will make you faster or keep you injury-free, so treat it as one useful part of a balanced strength routine rather than a fix.

Running is also a long series of one-legged landings, so practising them with control is a sensible fit. As a jumping move, skater jumps belong with plyometrics, and our guide to plyometric training for runners explains how to build jumping work in gradually.

How do skater jumps fit into a hybrid week with running?

A few rounds of skater steps slot in almost anywhere. A hard session of full skater jumps loads your legs more, so count it as one of your harder days and keep it away from the day before a long run or speed session.

A simple week could look like this:

• Monday. Strength session, finishing with 3 rounds of skater steps or small hops.
• Tuesday. Easy run.
• Wednesday. HIIT circuit that includes skater jumps.
• Thursday. Easy run.
• Friday. Strength session.
• Saturday. Rest or a walk.
• Sunday. Long run.

At Edge we treat running, strength and HIIT as one plan rather than three separate ones, so jumping work like this sits alongside your runs instead of competing with them. Edge is free to use, and Edge Pro, from £19.99 a month with a free 7-day trial (a card is needed to start it), gives you a fully personalised plan across running, strength, HIIT and mobility, ready within 24 hours, with a real coach to message anytime if you are not sure which rung to be on. It is how 20,000+ members fit their training together.

This article is general guidance, not medical advice. If you are new to exercise, returning from injury, or managing a health condition, speak to your GP before starting, and see a physio for any niggle that does not settle.