Jumping Lunges take the standard Lunge to the next level. By combining fast leg movement and a jump in-between, this exercise will both strengthen your quads, hamstrings, and glutes, but induces serious caloric burn as well. Jumping Lunges count as a plyometric exercise: being that they induce you to exert as much force as possible in a short amount of time for maximum power development.
How to do a Jumping Lunge
To start: Stand with both feet shoulder-width apart and hold your arms together by clasping your hands at your chest throughout the movement. Extend your left leg back until your toes are bent and your heel is raised off of the floor. With your chest remaining upright, bend your right knee to lower your entire body down until your back left knee almost touches the floor. This is the lunge part of the movement.
Now brace your core and then explosively drive both feet into the floor and launch your body upward. The moment you are slightly airborne, switch your leg’s positions so that now your left leg lands in front and your right leg reversed to extend far behind your back as you begin to land. You want to land with your left foot flat on the floor and your right toes bent behind you. Try to maintain your balance as much as possible. Don’t lean forward too much or land on the toes of your forward foot.
Keep your knees relaxed and allow them to absorb the impact of the landing. Now drop to a deeper lunge position to set your legs up for the next jump upwards and leg switch. This completes one rep.
Tips for the Jumping Lunge
Make sure to avoid your front knee leaning forward past your toes, this can lead to injury. And if you’ve never tried this exercise before, try to master the basic stationary lunge before trying some gentle jumping lunges.
