How many reps of the single-leg hop should you do per leg when you are new to the exercise?

Begin with 3 sets of 5 hops per leg in place, adding forward distance only once landings are consistently controlled. Rest long enough between sets that fatigue never becomes the reason a landing looks sloppy.

How do you make the single-leg hop easier or harder?

To make it easier, hop in place with minimal height or distance and focus purely on a stable landing. To make it harder, add distance, chain hops continuously, or hop over a low hurdle once landings are rock solid.

What is the single-leg hop good for and when should you skip it?

It exposes side-to-side power differences that two-legged jumps hide, which is exactly why return-to-sport programs lean on it. It is a poor choice without clearance if you are currently rehabbing a lower-body injury, and a poor first single-leg jump before you have built basic single-leg strength and balance.

Advanced

Single-Leg Hop

The single-leg hop exposes side-to-side power differences that two-legged jumps hide, making it a favorite for athletes and return-to-sport work. Each hop demands the ankle, knee, and hip to fire and then stabilize on one limb, which builds reactive strength and true single-leg balance. Keep the hops controlled and stop before form degrades, since the loads on one leg are significant.

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
Balance on one leg with a soft bend in the knee.
2
Dip slightly and swing the arms back to load the leg.
3
Hop forward or vertically by extending the hip, knee, and ankle together.
4
Reach for a quick, springy ground contact on landing.
5
Absorb the landing on the same leg with the knee tracking over the toes.
6
Chain smooth, rhythmic hops or reset between each maximal effort.

Tips

Keep the landing knee stacked over the foot; inward collapse is the main fault to fix.
Start with hops in place before progressing to distance or continuous bounding.
Train both legs equally and note any gap in power or control between sides.

Variations

Common mistakes

Only tracking total reps and never comparing how each leg looked hides a real side-to-side gap that matters most for return-to-sport work.
The trunk leans away from the working leg to steal balance from momentum instead of the hip actually doing the stabilizing.
Pushing the weaker leg to match the stronger leg's rep count trains a worse landing pattern on exactly the side that needs the most help.
Distance gets added before hops in place land under control, skipping the balance foundation the whole progression is built on.

Frequently asked

How many reps of the single-leg hop should you do per leg when you are new to the exercise?: Begin with 3 sets of 5 hops per leg in place, adding forward distance only once landings are consistently controlled. Rest long enough between sets that fatigue never becomes the reason a landing looks sloppy.
How do you make the single-leg hop easier or harder?: To make it easier, hop in place with minimal height or distance and focus purely on a stable landing. To make it harder, add distance, chain hops continuously, or hop over a low hurdle once landings are rock solid.
What is the single-leg hop good for and when should you skip it?: It exposes side-to-side power differences that two-legged jumps hide, which is exactly why return-to-sport programs lean on it. It is a poor choice without clearance if you are currently rehabbing a lower-body injury, and a poor first single-leg jump before you have built basic single-leg strength and balance.

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