Bounds

What you'll gain

• Trains horizontal spring and stride power that transfers to sprinting and jumping.

• Uses only bodyweight, so it fits field and studio plyometric blocks.

• Bridges a two-foot broad jump and actual running without adding a box.

Step-by-Step Instructions

1. 1

   Stand tall with the feet close, one foot slightly ahead, and the arms relaxed.

2. 2

   Lean forward a little and load the lead leg without sitting into a deep squat.

3. 3

   Drive that leg into the floor and bound forward, cycling the other knee through.

4. 4

   Land on the opposite foot on the ball of the foot, then bound again immediately.

5. 5

   Keep the torso upright and the legs relatively long rather than tucking into a hop.

6. 6

   Continue alternating legs for the desired distance or number of contacts.

Common Mistakes

• Sitting into a deep squat on each takeoff, which turns the bound into a jump squat.

• Landing stiff-legged with a locked knee, which dumps the impact into the joint.

• Letting the hips twist so each bound becomes a shuffle instead of a straight stride.

• Pausing on every landing instead of using the landing as the next takeoff.

About This Exercise

Bounds are a plyometric running drill. Each takeoff is a single-leg push that sends the body forward and up, then the opposite leg lands and immediately bounds again. The stride is longer and stiffer than a jog, with a visible flight phase, so the quads, glutes, hamstrings, and calves all contribute to the spring. Plyometrics are short, intense bursts that target fast-twitch fibers for speed and jump power, and alternating bounding sits among track-and-field plyometric drills. The approved clip is bodyweight with no box or hurdle, shown from a standing start so the first bound is readable in a locked studio frame. In a catalog it is the horizontal-power page between a broad jump (two-foot takeoff) and a sprint drill.

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