Hurdle Hops - Plyometrics

The hurdle hop is a plyometric leg exercise where you jump over 5 to 10 hurdles and lift you knees towards you chest in mid-air. This exercise is good for the vertical leap. Especially if you are into gymnastics or a track and field sports, hurdle hops can be beneficial. Find more reactive strength exercises at track and field main.

Description: Hurdle Hops - Plyometrics

• Start less than 1/2 body length from the first hurdle and stand upright. Try to keep your trunk pretty vertical during the entire exercise and keep your head high. Legs closed, knees extended. Look straight forward. The hurdles can be anywhere between knee and waist height. The distance between the hurdles should be slightly more than 1/2 body lengths. Make sure the hurdles stand like illustrated here, so that if you touch the barriers with your feet, they can tip forward.
• Bend your knees and strike out with your arms behind the back. Keep your abs tight, don't hollow your back. Don't whip forward with your upper body, don't squat down too far. You can look down with your eyes, but don't bend you head down. Instead of starting from a standing position, you can also hop towards the first hurdle and bounce off directly.
• Jump off and swing your arms. Extend you legs and keep your abs tight. Don't hollow your back. You can look down with your eyes, but you should keep your head pretty straight and high.
• Lift you knees towards you chest and keep your legs closed. Don't separate your feet, don't lift you legs sideways over the hurdles. If you can't do that, your hurdles are probably too high.
• Land on the balls of your feet and jump off again immediately. Never hollow your back, don't pause in-between the hurdles. The heels don't touch the floor. Don't bend your knees too much.
• Bounce off and jump over the next hurdle. Before you bounce off, your hands should be behind back level again. Especially at this point it is important that you keep your abs tight.

Trainer advice: Hurdle Hops - Plyometrics

• Keep your abs tight during the entire exercise. Don't hollow your back.
• Jump over 5 to 10 hurdles and then rest 2 to 3 minutes. This is a plyometric leg exercise and not an endurance exercise. So your pulse should not be too high when you start the next set.
• I recommend 2 or 3 sets of this exercise.
• Do static stretches and shake your legs between sets and exercises.
• Stop immediately if your foot sole or your knees hurt.
• The hurdles can be anywhere between knee and waist height. If your hurdles are too high, you will probably not be able to jump over them without separating your feet or lifting your legs sideways.
• You can also start with a low hurdle and increase the height until the last hurdle.

Related instructions: Hurdle Hops - Plyometrics

• Box Jumps
• Frog Jumps
• Switch-Leg Leaps
• The Gymnastic Handstand
• Introduction to Plyometrics

Videos: Hurdle Hops - Plyometrics

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