How many reps of the lateral bound should you do per side when you are new to the exercise?

Start with 3 sets of 5 reps per side, sticking every landing before you bound back the other way. Only move to continuous, rhythmic bounds once single, controlled reps feel completely solid.

How do you make the lateral bound easier or harder?

To make it easier, shrink the distance and focus purely on a soft, balanced landing. To make it harder, chain bounds continuously without a full stop, or add distance and a longer hold at the end.

What is the lateral bound good for and when should you skip it?

It trains power in the frontal plane, which straight-ahead jumps miss, and builds real glute medius strength for cutting and change-of-direction sports. It is a poor choice while rehabbing a knee or ankle, and not a priority if your goals are pure straight-line strength or muscle size.

Intermediate

Lateral Bound

The lateral bound trains power in the frontal plane, which straight-ahead jumps miss entirely. Pushing off and landing on one leg loads the glute medius hard for hip stability and carries over to cutting, skating, and change of direction. The single-leg landings also demand real balance, so treat a controlled stick as the goal of every rep.

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

How to do it

1
Stand on one leg with a slight bend in the knee and hip.
2
Load the standing leg by hinging the hips back and dropping into a quarter squat.
3
Push explosively off that leg and bound sideways to the opposite leg.
4
Swing the arms across the body to help drive the jump.
5
Land on the outside leg in a soft, balanced quarter squat and stabilize.
6
Pause to control the landing, then bound back the other direction.

Tips

Land with the knee tracking over the foot, not caving inward.
Cover distance to the side rather than jumping up, since the goal is lateral power.
Master a controlled stick before chaining continuous, rhythmic bounds.

Variations

Common mistakes

The landing knee caves toward the midline instead of stacking over the foot, the exact fault linked to knee trouble on cutting movements.
Jumping for height instead of side-to-side distance misses the entire point of training power in the frontal plane.
The free leg swings wide and uncontrolled instead of trailing close, throwing the landing off balance before the foot even touches down.
Rushing straight into continuous, rhythmic bounds before a single stick lands under control skips the very foundation the progression is built on.

Frequently asked

How many reps of the lateral bound should you do per side when you are new to the exercise?: Start with 3 sets of 5 reps per side, sticking every landing before you bound back the other way. Only move to continuous, rhythmic bounds once single, controlled reps feel completely solid.
How do you make the lateral bound easier or harder?: To make it easier, shrink the distance and focus purely on a soft, balanced landing. To make it harder, chain bounds continuously without a full stop, or add distance and a longer hold at the end.
What is the lateral bound good for and when should you skip it?: It trains power in the frontal plane, which straight-ahead jumps miss, and builds real glute medius strength for cutting and change-of-direction sports. It is a poor choice while rehabbing a knee or ankle, and not a priority if your goals are pure straight-line strength or muscle size.

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