The squats They are a very popular exercise that can be done both in the gym, at home or while traveling and that involves a very complete body work. They allow you to strengthen the entire lower body, as well as the abdomen, dorsal and lumbar muscles, helping to improve sports performance and burn calories. In this case, we focus on the squats with jump or jump squatsa type of squat that allows you to take this type of functional exercise to another level.

It is a type of strength exercise that uses body weight and is considered plyometricsince it allows the muscles to reach their maximum strength in a minimum of time, through a powerful movement that stretches and shortens them quickly. Find out below how it is done and what its benefits are.

Jump squats: how to do jump squats

Basically, it is about performing a squat in which, instead of returning to the starting position, standing, with your legs stretched, you have to jump to lift your feet off the ground.

Tips for performing jump squats correctly:

• You must place the feet a little more open than the width of the hips.
• Avoid overstepping with your knees the tips of the feet.
• Prevents knees from turning inward and keep them aligned with the balls of your feet.
• Lower your hips, at least, to the line of the knees to work in depth.
• keep the core activated to protect the lumbar.
• keep the straight back at all times, with your shoulders back and down.
• Take the arms outstretched at the sides of the body during the jump and bend them forward in the squat for balance. They will also allow you to boost yourself.
• Gradually place your feet on the floor when landing from the jump, first, with the middle of the foot and then with the heel.
• Push off with your whole foot in each squat and avoid doing it only with the tips.
• Avoid locking your knees or quads to avoid injuries during jumping.

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To make the movement as explosive as possible, it is advisable to jump as high as possible and keep your feet on the ground for as little time as possible.

Since this is a maximum intensity exercise with an explosive jump, it is recommended take a one minute break between sets. For example, you can do 10 repetitions, in 2-3 sets.

The prisoner version

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If you want to increase the intensity of the exercise, you can try the version with the hands behind headin the prisoner’s position. This variant allows more intense work on the center of the body and back and increases explosiveness in the legs. You can also add some weights to the exercise to increase calorie burning and, therefore, the basal metabolism.

What do you work with jump squats?

This type of jump squat is ideal for developing greater muscular endurance and greater power. The muscle groups that intervene in its execution make it a very complete exercise:

• Quadriceps, hamstrings and calves.
• Glutes
• Abdominals and transverse
• hip flexors
• Spinal erectors

With all this, we improve the strength and power of the lower body, preventing the effects of sarcopenia or muscle weakness associated with aging.

Furthermore, in the jump squat the joints of the ankles, knees and pelvis, in a very beneficial job.

On the other hand, with jump squats too you perform cardio exerciseespecially if, once you master the technique, you manage to increase the speed of your jumps.

It is also important to highlight the burning fat and calories that occurs with this type of exercise, within a training routine that combines strength and cardio. In addition to burning calories during activity, squats have a thermogenic effect, meaning they continue to burn in the hours after training.

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