How many reps of the Single-Leg Side-to-Side Line Hop should you do when you are new to the exercise?

Work up to 3 sets of about 10 seconds of continuous hopping per leg rather than counting individual hops, taking a full rest between sets. Add a few seconds per set before you try to hop faster or wider.

How do you make the Single-Leg Side-to-Side Line Hop easier or harder?

To regress it, hold a wall or rail lightly for balance while you groove the hop pattern, or slow the tempo down. To progress it, remove any support, add a light resistance band around the ankles, or hop over a slightly wider gap once every landing tracks cleanly.

What is the Single-Leg Side-to-Side Line Hop good for?

It builds the lateral ankle and hip control that protects against rolled ankles and sloppy cutting, which makes it useful for field and court athletes and for ankle-injury rehab. It is not the drill to reach for if you want raw jump height or distance, since the whole point here is a small, tightly controlled hop.

Intermediate

Single-Leg Side-to-Side Line Hop

This is the lateral partner to the front-to-back line hop: on one foot you hop side to side across a line, keeping contacts short and reactive. The sideways direction loads the peroneals, the outside of the ankle, and the glute medius, all key to controlling cuts and landings. Use it to shore up frontal-plane stiffness before higher-amplitude lateral plyometrics.

Equipment: Body Weight
Body part: Calves, Quads
Type: Plyometric
Browse by muscle: Gastrocnemius Lateral Head, Gastrocnemius Medial Head, Fibularis Longus
Browse by movement: Gait Drill

How to do it

1
Balance on one foot beside a line on the floor.
2
Hop sideways over the line, landing softly on the ball of the same foot.
3
Immediately hop back across to the starting side, keeping contacts quick.
4
Keep the trunk tall and the knee steady over the toes on each landing.
5
Maintain a light, springy rhythm for the prescribed reps or time.
6
Switch to the other leg and repeat.

Tips

Keep the amplitude small and the ground time short rather than reaching wide.
Feel the outside of the foot and ankle working to control each landing.
Do not let the knee drift inward as you push back across the line.

Variations

Common mistakes

The trunk tips sideways toward the landing foot instead of staying tall and centered, turning the hop into a lean instead of a controlled jump.
The hop lands with the foot turned outward instead of pointing forward, twisting the ankle into a position it did not train for.
Some athletes rush the tempo past what their landing control allows, so quickness comes at the cost of a stable, quiet foot strike.
The arms flail out wide for balance on each rep instead of staying controlled, showing that the base of support underneath is not yet stable.
Cutting a set short on the weaker side while finishing the full count on the stronger one leaves the side that needs the work with the least practice.

Frequently asked

How many reps of the Single-Leg Side-to-Side Line Hop should you do when you are new to the exercise?: Work up to 3 sets of about 10 seconds of continuous hopping per leg rather than counting individual hops, taking a full rest between sets. Add a few seconds per set before you try to hop faster or wider.
How do you make the Single-Leg Side-to-Side Line Hop easier or harder?: To regress it, hold a wall or rail lightly for balance while you groove the hop pattern, or slow the tempo down. To progress it, remove any support, add a light resistance band around the ankles, or hop over a slightly wider gap once every landing tracks cleanly.
What is the Single-Leg Side-to-Side Line Hop good for?: It builds the lateral ankle and hip control that protects against rolled ankles and sloppy cutting, which makes it useful for field and court athletes and for ankle-injury rehab. It is not the drill to reach for if you want raw jump height or distance, since the whole point here is a small, tightly controlled hop.

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