Intermediate

Pike Jump

The pike jump adds a demanding hip-flexion and hamstring-flexibility component to an explosive vertical jump. As you rise, the straight legs lift toward horizontal to reach for the hands, training hip flexors, core, and mid-air body control alongside jumping power.

Equipment
Body Weight
Body part
Hamstring, Quads
Type
Plyometric
Browse by movement
Squat
Muscles worked
Target
Rectus Femoris, Vastus Lateralis
Secondary
Gluteus Maximus, Biceps Femoris, Semitendinosus
Tertiary
Upper Rectus Abdominals, Lower Rectus Abdominals, Gastrocnemius Lateral Head

How to do it

  1. 1

    Stand tall with feet hip-width and arms extended forward at shoulder height.

  2. 2

    Dip into a quarter squat and swing the arms slightly for load.

  3. 3

    Jump straight up as high as possible, driving through both feet.

  4. 4

    At the peak, keep the legs straight and lift them forward toward your hands into a pike.

  5. 5

    Lower the legs back under you and land softly on the balls of both feet with soft knees.

  6. 6

    Reset tall and repeat.

Tips

  • Get real height first, then add the pike; do not sacrifice the jump to reach the legs up.
  • Keep the legs straight as they rise to maximize the hip-flexor and hamstring demand.
  • Land softly and absorb through the hips and knees to protect the joints.

Variations

Common mistakes

  • The chest dives down to meet the legs, so the pike gets built by folding the torso rather than lifting the legs, and the jump height drops to pay for it.
  • Legs stay out in front as the floor arrives, which lands you on your heels and behind your feet. Bring them back underneath you before you touch down.
  • Once the hamstrings run out of range, the lower back rounds hard to buy a few more degrees and the fold stops happening at the hips. Lift only as high as your range allows.
  • Air time drops off around the fifth rep but the pike keeps getting attempted on a jump that is no longer high enough, which is where the rushed landings come from.
  • The arms drop to the sides at the peak instead of holding out in front, and without a target to reach for the legs have nothing to aim at.

Frequently asked

How many reps of the pike jump should you do when you are new to the exercise?
Three sets of 5 reps is plenty, with a minute or two between sets and a full stand-tall reset between reps. Every rep is a maximal jump, so the moment height drops the set is finished even if you planned more. Spend the first few sessions jumping high with only a small leg lift, then add pike height as your jump and your hamstring range allow. If you can only reach a shallow pike, that is a flexibility project rather than a reason to jump harder.
How do I make the pike jump easier or harder?
Easier: jump and lift the legs only a foot or so, or rehearse the shape on the floor with a seated pike reach so the fold is familiar before you add flight. A tuck jump builds the same fast hip flexion with far less range required. Harder: reach the hands to the shins or the toes at the peak, hold the arms higher so the legs have to travel further, or run the reps continuously with no reset between them.
What is the pike jump good for, and who should skip it?
It pairs a maximal vertical jump with fast hip flexion and a hamstring stretch under speed, which suits dancers, gymnasts, martial artists and anyone whose sport asks for a high controlled leg lift. For general jump training it is a roundabout choice, since hamstring range rather than power usually limits it. Skip it with a history of hamstring strain, because a fast lift at end range is how those happen, and skip it if you cannot land a plain vertical jump softly.

Related exercises

Other movements among FitRay's 2,000+ exercises that load the same target muscle — same equipment and level first.

All Hamstring exercises