Lateral Bound (Skater)

What is the Lateral Bound (Skater)?

The lateral bound, or skater jump, is a side-to-side single-leg plyometric: you push off one leg, jump laterally, and stick the landing on the other. It trains explosive power in the frontal plane — the sideways force behind cutting, change of direction, and single-leg stability — which most straight-ahead jumps neglect, making it a staple of athletic and knee-resilience training.

Muscles worked

Primary — Glutes

The glutes drive the powerful lateral push-off and control the single-leg landing, the prime mover in a side jump.

Secondary — Quads, Adductors, Abductors, Calves

The quads and calves assist the take-off, and the adductors and abductors stabilise the hip through the sideways movement.

How to perform the Lateral Bound (Skater)

1. Stand on one leg with a soft knee, the other foot lifted, and a clear space to the side to bound into.
2. Load the standing leg by bending the hip and knee, then push off explosively and jump sideways as far as you can.
3. Land on the opposite leg only, absorbing the force by bending that hip and knee and sticking the landing for a moment of balance.
4. Hold the single-leg landing briefly under control, then bound back the other way, mimicking a speed skater from side to side.

Suggested working range: 3–6 reps. Default progression: manual.

Mechanics

A unilateral, frontal-plane stretch-shortening movement: loading the standing hip and knee stores energy, and an explosive lateral push projects the body sideways to land and absorb on the opposite leg. The single-leg landing is as much of the drill as the jump — sticking it under control is what builds the lateral stability the movement trains.

Form cues

• •Load the standing leg by bending the hip and knee, then push explosively out to the side, not up.
• •Land on the opposite leg only and absorb by bending that hip and knee, keeping the knee tracking over the foot.
• •Stick and stabilise each single-leg landing for a beat before bounding back the other way.

Common mistakes

• •Bounding straight up instead of pushing powerfully out to the side, which misses the lateral hip drive.
• •Landing on a stiff leg rather than absorbing the force by bending the landing hip and knee.
• •Letting the landing knee cave inward, a common and risky fault under the sideways impact.
• •Failing to stabilise the single-leg landing before rebounding, so balance and control fall apart.

Variations & alternatives

• •Continuous skater bounds — link them rhythmically for a reactive, continuous lateral demand.
• •Lateral box jump — send the sideways power up onto a raised platform.
• •Single-leg lateral hop — smaller, controlled side hops to build toward full bounds.

Barbell Hip Thrust

Glutes · Barbell

Cable Kickback

Glutes · Cable

Single-Leg Hip Thrust

Glutes · Machine

Machine Hip Thrust

Glutes · Machine

Banded Hip Thrust

Glutes · Barbell

Programming: sets, reps & when to use it

Program it fresh and low-rep: 3–4 sets of 4–6 bounds per side, early in a session. It earns no hypertrophy or rank credit — the goal is lateral power and single-leg control. Prioritise sticking each landing over jumping far, and build distance and volume gradually because the single-leg landing is high-impact.

Frequently asked questions