7 Minute Plyometric Workout - Squat Jumps
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Having a hard time getting into the gym? Can't afford a membership? Are you on vacation? You can get a good leg workout without having to go to the gym and all you need are.... working legs. I set up a short workout using a plyometric movement called a squat jump.
If you look at the picture, you can see the basic movement you'll be doing. I like to do them with your arms in that "prisoner" position.
In theory, this workout will help you with your endurance strength, give you gains in explosive power, spark new muscle growth and help you lose weight. Help you lose weight? Yes, I set it up in a way so it will be a short interval workout. This isn't a common form of "cardio" but this interval workout will definitely help you burn fat.
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The Basic Movement
Let's practice the basic movement a couple times, it's pretty simple. Put your hands behind your head like you're being arrested, as shown in the picture. Don't worry, working out isn't a crime.
Now squat down until the top of your thighs are parallel to the floor or until you feel the bottom of your thighs touch your calves. As soon as you squat down, you'll want to jump up in an explosive movement so that your legs straighten and your feet leave the floor a little bit. Make sure you keep your hands behind your head the whole time and that, as you squat down, you're keeping your back pretty straight up and down. As soon as you land you'll want to go straight back down into the squat position and jump again.
Practice that a couple times so that you can complete it quickly. You'll need to do these fast, but with good form, to track your progress with this workout. Alright, got the movement down? Let's move on.
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Care to Compete?
As I said before, I've done this workout; I don't make up workouts and then never try them myself. This one really fires up your legs! So let's have a friendly competition. Once you've tried this workout, post your results in a comment. Don't be shy, for all I know, you're better than me at them! Here's what you need to post:
- The DATE you did the workout
- Your AGE and GENDER
- Your HEIGHT and WEIGHT
- # of squat jumps completed each set
- Total # of squat jumps completed in the 4 minutes of intervals you did (add the totals from each set together)
- Did you like the workout?
- Will you do it again?
Here are my results after doing this workout the first time:
July 2nd, 2007 - I'm a 25 year old Male, I'm almost 6'3" and was around 243lbs when I did this workout. I did 33 squat jumps in the first set, 27 in the 2nd, 24 in the 3rd and 23 in the 4th. So that's 107 squat jumps for the whole workout. I did like this workout, even though my legs hurt for the next couple days, but just means I worked my muscles in a way they're not use to. I will be doing this workout again soon.
July 30th, 2007:
- I was around 228lbs
- I did 42 squat jumps in the first set, 33 in the 2nd, 31 in the 3rd and 29 in the last set.
- So that's 135 squat jumps total (I beat my last record by 28 reps overall).
- My legs didn't hurt as bad this time after I did them, so that's a relief.
The Workout
What you're going to want to do is get a watch with a countdown timer on it or you can even use an egg timer or your microwave. You just want something that you can set up to count down a minute and then set off an alarm so you know when to stop. You'll want a piece of paper and pen near you and probably a drink.
You're going to do 4 sets of squat jumps. Your sets will be a minute long and you'll have a minute of rest in between each set. So you'll start the timer and immediately start doing squat jumps when the timer starts. You want to do them fast but make sure that you're doing the full movement. MAKE SURE YOU COUNT OUT YOUR REPS; this is how you're going to track your progress.
Do a minute straight of squat jumps, counting out your reps. When the alarm goes off, stop jumping and start the timer again. You've got a minute to write down the number of squat jumps you did and to get a drink if you need one. Once the alarm sounds, your "break" is over. You have to set the timer again and start doing squat jumps. Count them out and feel the burn! Do them as fast as you can, but if you need a SHORT breather during your set, then take one.
You'll want to do that four times and that's it. That took seven measly minutes and I'm willing to bet that your legs are cooked. The first time I did this workout, my legs ached for a few days. Pain is progress folks. You CAN get a good workout using just your body weight and it doesn't have to be overly long. Now try this out and tell me how much you hate me in a comment because your legs hurt so much.
This is an intense workout, so try it once and then deicde if you need to make any changes (like maybe dropping a set) to better suit you. You don't need to do a workout like this everyday, have some variety in your workouts. Do this once every other week if you can handle it, or even once a month like I'm going to do. Just add this to your arsenal of workouts. I do my squat jumps out in my garage and I put a foam pad down to help absorb some shock to save my knees. I usually do some pushups and pull-ups after I do squat jumps, so I can have more of a full body workout, but that's up to you.
Plyometrics in the News
- Community CalendarNiles Herald-Spectator17 hours ago
Submissions for Community Calendar are required 14 days preceding the date of publication. Send to: Niles Managing Editor, Pioneer Press, 3701 W. Lake Ave., Glenview IL 60026. Information may be faxed to (847) 486-7495 or e-mailed to mbottari@pioneerlocal.com.
- The Ducks’ hidden strengthThe Register-Guard2 days ago
Since he came to Oregon as a freshman in the summer of 2008, center Michael Dunigan has lost a total of 25 pounds and cut his percentage of body fat by more than half. When he went home to Atlanta this summer, Oregon wing Teondre Williams said old friends commented …
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Comments
I will attempt this on the weekend. See how it goes. I just started to workout again after 12 years, and I'm in need of losing this baby fat.
I will definitely give this a try and let you know how this works. I like the sound already.
God this work out works
This is easily one of the most intense, lung busting, leg busting workouts I've ever tried and I've done just about everything. The pain you feel in your legs and lungs after doing a set of these is incredible. It definitely helps develop explosive power, takes off the pounds, and takes very little time. And the best part is, its free, doesn't require any equipment, a gym membership, or lots of room. Thank you for introducing me to this workout, I will use it and recommend it for the rest of my life. Thank you!
That is a heck of a testimonial Jonathan, thanks! Definitely rough to get through even if you think, "7 minutes? That's weak!" I know I wasn't always happy to start out with this workout and I only did it once a month.. It's harsh but it does its job and it's simple; that's why I love it. Glad you enjoy it too!
BTW, when I first tried this, I couldn't even make 30 seconds and did about 25 reps before collapsing in exhaustion. Now I can do 3 sets of 60 seconds and do 55-58 reps per set. If I feel extra strong, I can occasionally break the 60 rep barrier in 60 seconds. I'd say that's a pretty dramatic improvement! Sometimes, if my legs will take it, I will extend it to 75 straight, ignoring the stopwatch alarm. I'm 36 years old. Again, thank you for this fabulous workout.
That's great Jonathan! A jump a second shows good endurance on your part. You're 10 years older than me and you are doing them better than I ever did! I think it's good to pace yourself like you did. Do what you can, then baby step up. I think these are great if you hit a stall point in your legs, gives you endurance and some explosive power. Keep up the good work!
I tried this for the first time and I felt like puking for an hour afterwards.
AWESOME!
Haha that's never a good feeling Shaun but I'm glad you have a sense of humor about it. This is a rough workout, modify it to be suit you if you feel the need. Or try it again as is and see if your body has adapted to it.
Very well written article. You were careful to point out a very key component of this exercise when you wrote, " As soon as you land you'll want to go straight back down into the squat position and jump again.". This will force your quadriceps into an eccentric contraction, before a rapid concentric contraction, which is the key to plyometrics.
I've seen other plyometric programs that showed athletes jumping up and down off of boxes, or perhaps jumping down an open track, but without emphasizing the part about getting down into a squat position when landing. I often wondered where the plyometric part (muscle lengthening (eccentric) followed by muscle contracting (concentric)) of their exercise was taking place.
Your demonstration will help lot's of athletes.
Dr. Larry Van Such
Im 16 years old and about 120 pound (just an ectomorph who is in shape yet who does not have extremely strong). I have lifted in the past and this was 7 minutes of the most grueling workout i have ever encountered. I was able to do 4 reps of 35 each for a grand total of 140, but my lungs were on fire, and now i can feel my quads pulsating after that workload. This is going to hurt in the morning!!!!
Thank You Dr. Van Such..
and
I'm glad you enjoyed? the workout Gaurav! It is rough, and could possibly be shortened to 3 sets... or maybe 4 sets of 30 second rounds.. I remember I was aching for a while after I did this my first time. Now you can probably see why I'd only do this once a month!
OMG! i thought I was going to die, I started on Monday, still hurts like crazy today!!! But Im loving it... no pain, no gain!!!
Glad you love it MIA! Make sure you're getting your rest and the soreness will be gone before you know it. Try it out again once the soreness is gone and I bet you beat your old reps!
I have been doing this workout on a regular basis once a week for 6 weeks to get in shape for sprints. I can say this has def. helped my explosiveness. My legs feel very strong and I feel like I can push myself out of the blocks much harder than before. Thanks for the good workout.
That's awesome Justin, I'm glad that you can see the progress in your sprints!
Squat jumps are a great addition to a leg workout. When I played basketball in high school I did a lot of these to help improve my vertical jump.
Yeah I agree Thadrok, I added them to my vertical leap workout that I'm in the process of right now.. The really spark new muscle growth, especially when you bring a weighted vest into the mix.
wow. ive been lookin for ways to help me in high jump, and in basketball, after my first workout i know its already working
Glad you like the workout Donavon! These always work my legs hard too.. I love them and I hate them at the same time haha.. I'll be doing them again soon myself.
Squat Jumps are great for getting a bigger round behind, which many woman would love to have. Not to mention also a good leg workout. Thanks!
Just did this for the first time this morning, and had difficulty going down the flight of stairs leaving afterward. Simply amazing. Even had to shorten the rest of my workout after this because it wiped me out. I suspect I'll be able to take flight after a month of working these.
I know exactly what you mean Corey! Steps are quite difficult after this exercise, especially walking down stairs right after doing it. You'll probably still feel it in your legs for a day or two as your muscles repair.
I am training for a marathon and my cardiovascular conditioning seems fine, but after maybe ten miles my legs start to feel pretty sore, I was wondering if this workout would help lessen that soreness during the run.
Hey Christian,
I think what you're probably feeling is lactic acid build up as you're running.. Your muscles just aren't use to endurance runs yet, but with practice they can be.
This workout is designed for short bursts which would be more beneficial for sprinting than running a marathon. If you want to work your endurance more, you can try lengthening the time that you do squat jumps more and more as you progress. 4 minutes of squat jumps aren't going to equal how ever long it'll take you to run a marathon. So possibly 4 sets of 2 minutes until that's not hard anymore.. then 4 sets of 3 minutes and so on. But I still don't feel that this type of exercise will benefit a marathon runner that much.
Working up to running the maranthon distance is going to help you the most. Just gradually increase your overall distance and you'll make it to where you want to be. Keep running just a little past that sticking point where your legs get sore and eventually you'll condition yourself to be able to handle it. Then add more distance and work past the new sticking point.
Thanks for the advice
dreadpal says:
2 years ago
Excellent hub. Thanks for the workout tip. I'll give it a try.