Welcome to our weekly Move of the Week series. Every Monday, we’ll be sharing with you one of our favourite exercises – how to do them, what muscles they work and why they should be a regular part of your workout regime. This week: high jumps.

Do you ever start your workout feeling flat? Sometimes, it’s hard to get in the groove, and we need to kickstart our session with something to get our energy up. While stretching should always form part of your warm-up routine, explosive cardio moves are a great way to get your head in the game and boost focus. 

High jumps are a challenging way to do just that. Here’s why we love adding them to the start of our sessions. 

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What are high jumps?

Like a tuck jump, high jumps involve jumping up on the spot and bringing your knees to your chest.

The exercise is great because it:

It increases your heart rate: getting oxygen around the body to make you feel energised.

It builds power: you need a lot of strength and control to jump high and land properly.

It can be done anywhere: unlike box jumps, you don’t need any equipment.  

What muscles are worked in box jumps?

While box jumps are a cardio exercise, they also use these muscles: 

  • Quads
  • Hamstrings
  • Glutes
  • Core
  • Arms

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How to do high jumps

  1. Begin standing with a solid core and knees slightly bent. 
  2. Bend your knees and drive your arms down to create power.
  3. Explode off your feet and bring your knees to your chest. 
  4. Extend the legs as you come down to the ground, landing softly.

For more moves of the week and fitness tips, sign up to the Strong Women Training Club.

Images: Stylist

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