How much bounding should I do in a session?

Four to six runs of 20 to 30 meters, with a full walk back and a couple of minutes between runs. Counting ground contacts works better than distance for some people: 30 to 50 hard contacts in a session is a lot for anyone new to it. Once a week is enough when you are also lifting.

How do I make bounding easier or harder?

Easier: start with A-skips or short alternating hops, keep the strides moderate and chase rhythm rather than distance, or bound up a gentle hill, which shortens the flight and softens the landing. Harder: chase distance per stride, count strides over a fixed distance and try to remove one, or add a light vest. Bounding downhill is not the harder version, it is the injury version.

What is bounding for, and who should not do it?

It builds single-leg reactive strength and horizontal power that transfer directly to sprinting and acceleration, and it teaches you to push the ground away instead of reaching with the foot. It is a poor choice for anyone new to jumping, carrying extra weight, or coming back from a calf, Achilles or knee problem, because the forces are high. It is also wrong at the end of a hard session, when the quality it trains is gone.

Advanced

Bounding

Bounding is running turned into a series of maximal single-leg jumps, teaching each leg to push hard into the ground and float through a long stride. It builds horizontal power, hip extension, and reactive strength that transfer directly to sprinting and acceleration. This is an advanced, high-force drill, so build it on a foundation of strength and simpler hops, and run it over short, low-fatigue distances.

Equipment: Body Weight
Body part: Glutes, Quads
Type: Balance, Plyometric
Browse by muscle: Gluteus Maximus, Rectus Femoris, Vastus Lateralis
Browse by movement: Gait Drill

How to do it

1
Start with a few easy jogging steps to build a little momentum.
2
Push off one leg and drive the opposite knee up and forward into a long leap.
3
Reach for maximal distance and hang time on each stride.
4
Land on the opposite foot and immediately push off into the next bound.
5
Use a strong, alternating arm drive to help propel each leap.
6
Cover the set distance, then walk back to recover fully before the next run.

Tips

Drive the knee up and out to cover distance rather than just reaching the foot forward.
Push the ground away hard behind you; bounding is about hip extension, not just knee lift.
Keep the distances short and the rest long so every bound stays powerful and clean.

Variations

Common mistakes

Bounds shrink into fast running strides as you tire, with the contact times short and the float gone; if you are not hanging in the air between contacts, the set is finished.
Arms cross the midline and the whole body starts snaking down the lane; drive them straight forward and back so the force goes along the line you are travelling.
Concrete and soft running shoes are the wrong ground and the wrong shoe for landings this hard; grass, turf or a track with a firm flat shoe takes far less out of the shins and knees.
The torso leans back to hang in the air, which drops the hips behind the feet and leaves the next push weak; stay tall with a slight forward lean over the lead thigh.
Bounding gets used as a finisher when it is one of the highest-force drills there is; put it early in the session on fresh legs or leave it out.

Frequently asked

How much bounding should I do in a session?: Four to six runs of 20 to 30 meters, with a full walk back and a couple of minutes between runs. Counting ground contacts works better than distance for some people: 30 to 50 hard contacts in a session is a lot for anyone new to it. Once a week is enough when you are also lifting.
How do I make bounding easier or harder?: Easier: start with A-skips or short alternating hops, keep the strides moderate and chase rhythm rather than distance, or bound up a gentle hill, which shortens the flight and softens the landing. Harder: chase distance per stride, count strides over a fixed distance and try to remove one, or add a light vest. Bounding downhill is not the harder version, it is the injury version.
What is bounding for, and who should not do it?: It builds single-leg reactive strength and horizontal power that transfer directly to sprinting and acceleration, and it teaches you to push the ground away instead of reaching with the foot. It is a poor choice for anyone new to jumping, carrying extra weight, or coming back from a calf, Achilles or knee problem, because the forces are high. It is also wrong at the end of a hard session, when the quality it trains is gone.

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