How many reps of the sumo squat jump should you do when you are new to the exercise?

Start with 2 to 3 sets of 6 to 8 jumps, resting a full 60 to 90 seconds between sets so every rep can land soft and controlled. Add a set or a few reps only once landings stay quiet and the knees track cleanly through the whole set, since sloppy volume here builds a bad landing habit instead of a good one.

How can I scale the sumo squat jump up or down?

To make it easier, drop the jump and do slow sumo squats instead, or reduce the range so you're not sinking all the way to parallel. To make it harder, add a small pause at the bottom of the squat before jumping, or hold light dumbbells at your sides to add load to the landing.

What does the sumo squat jump train, and who should avoid it?

It's a power and conditioning move for the glutes and inner thighs, useful for athletes who need explosive lower-body output or as a spicy finisher in a conditioning circuit. Skip it if you have knee or ankle pain with impact, or if you can't yet land a regular squat jump softly, since the wide stance adds torque those joints don't need while you're still building landing control.

Intermediate

Sumo Squat Jump

Jumping from a sumo stance asks the adductors to fire explosively out of the bottom and then absorb the landing, building power and resilience through the inner thigh. The wide base makes it more adductor-driven than a standard jump squat. Use it for athletic power work or as a spicy inner-thigh conditioning finisher.

Equipment: Body Weight
Body part: Glutes, Thighs
Type: Plyometric, Strength
Browse by muscle: Adductor Magnus, Adductor Longus
Browse by movement: Squat

How to do it

1
Stand with a wide stance, toes turned out, hands ready at your chest.
2
Sit into a wide squat until your thighs are near parallel.
3
Explosively extend your hips and knees to jump straight up.
4
Keep your knees tracking out over your toes as you leave the floor.
5
Land softly back into the wide stance, absorbing through the hips and inner thighs.
6
Reset your posture and repeat for crisp, powerful reps.

Tips

Land quietly with soft knees to protect the joints and control the eccentric.
Keep the knees driving out on both takeoff and landing; never let them cave.
Reset briefly between reps rather than rushing sloppy, fatigued jumps.

Variations

Common mistakes

The heels slam down first on landing instead of the balls of the feet, sending a hard jolt up through the ankles and knees.
Letting the stance narrow a little more with every rep quietly turns a sumo jump into a regular jump squat as fatigue builds.
The dip before each jump gets shallower as fatigue creeps in, cutting the range the hips and thighs need to produce real power.
The hands stay pinned at the chest through the whole jump instead of swinging to help drive height, leaving free power on the table.
The torso pitches forward on landing to catch balance, rounding the lower back right as the body is absorbing the most force.

Frequently asked

How many reps of the sumo squat jump should you do when you are new to the exercise?: Start with 2 to 3 sets of 6 to 8 jumps, resting a full 60 to 90 seconds between sets so every rep can land soft and controlled. Add a set or a few reps only once landings stay quiet and the knees track cleanly through the whole set, since sloppy volume here builds a bad landing habit instead of a good one.
How can I scale the sumo squat jump up or down?: To make it easier, drop the jump and do slow sumo squats instead, or reduce the range so you're not sinking all the way to parallel. To make it harder, add a small pause at the bottom of the squat before jumping, or hold light dumbbells at your sides to add load to the landing.
What does the sumo squat jump train, and who should avoid it?: It's a power and conditioning move for the glutes and inner thighs, useful for athletes who need explosive lower-body output or as a spicy finisher in a conditioning circuit. Skip it if you have knee or ankle pain with impact, or if you can't yet land a regular squat jump softly, since the wide stance adds torque those joints don't need while you're still building landing control.

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