How to Do the Tuck Jump

The tuck jump is a plyometric jump where you leap up and pull your knees toward your chest in midair. It builds explosive power, core control and cardio. It suits intermediate athletes with strong landing mechanics.

Quads Abs BodyweightIntermediate

Log every set of your Tuck Jump in Superlift

Muscles worked

Primary

Quads
Abs

Secondary

Glutes
Calves

How to do the Tuck Jump

1
Stand with your feet shoulder-width apart and your arms at your sides.
2
Dip into a quarter squat and swing your arms back.
3
Jump explosively and drive your knees toward your chest.
4
Tuck as high as you can while keeping your chest up.
5
Extend your legs before landing.
6
Land softly with bent knees and absorb the impact.
7
Reset and repeat for your reps.

Form cues to remember

Jump tall, tuck high
Land softly, bend knees
Chest stays up
Reset between reps

Tuck Jump video tutorial

How to Do a Tuck Jump | Plyometric Exercises · Howcast on YouTube

Common mistakes

Landing with straight legs

Bend your knees and absorb the landing through your hips.

Rounding your back

Keep your chest tall and tuck with your knees, not your torso.

Chaining reps with sloppy form

Pause between reps for clean landings.

Not jumping high enough

Swing your arms and drive your knees up fast.

Sets and reps

Conditioning	4–6 rounds of 20–30 seconds, with 30–40 seconds rest
Strength	3–4 sets of 5–8 reps, with 60–90 seconds rest

The high-impact landing loads your knees and ankles. Skip it if you have knee pain, and keep the sets short.

Superlift for iPhone

Track your Tuck Jump and watch it go up

Superlift shows what you lifted last time, times your rest, and charts your strength week by week, so you always know what to beat. Every exercise in this library is built in, with the same demos and tutorials.