The pop squat is a bodyweight plyometric exercise alternating a wide-stance squat with a small jump to a feet-together stand, training the quads and glutes with a fast in-and-out rhythm. Unlike a squat jump, the height of the hop is not the point: the feet pop outward into a wide squat and back inward to a narrow stand, so the hips open and close on every rep and the adductors and glute medius work to place the landing. It needsno equipmentand coaches program it in conditioning circuits or as a lower-body finisher.
What Muscles Does the Pop Squat Work?
- Primary: Quadriceps, gluteus maximus
- Secondary: Adductors, gluteus medius (side glute), hamstrings
- Tertiary: Gastrocnemius and soleus (calves), rectus abdominis, erector spinae
How Do You Set Up for the Pop Squat?
Clear a space about a metre wide on a firm, non-slip floor. Stand tall with your feet together, toes pointing forward, arms hanging at your sides or hands held in front of your chest. Soften the knees slightly, brace your abs, and fix your eyes on a point ahead at head height so the chest stays up when you drop into the wide squat.
How Do You Perform the Pop Squat?
- Hop your feet outward to a stance wider than your shoulders, toes turned slightly out.
- Land into a squat, absorbing the drop by bending the knees and hips until the thighs are near parallel and one hand taps the floor between your feet.
- Drive off both feet from the bottom of the squat, extending the hips and knees together.
- Snap the feet together in the air and land standing tall, knees soft, weight on the mid-foot.
- Pause for a beat with the feet together to check the balance and reset the arms.
- Hop back out into the wide squat to start the next rep, keeping a steady rhythm.
What Are the Key Form Cues?
- Land in the squat, do not fall into it: Reach the wide stance with the hips already bending so the feet and hips arrive together.
- Quiet feet: Aim for a soft tap on each landing, which means the calves and quads are absorbing the drop.
- Keep the chest up and eyes forward as the hand taps the floor, so the back stays flat at the bottom.
- Push the knees out over the toes on the wide landing to keep them from rolling inward.
- Stay on the balls of your feet between reps so the next hop starts at once.
What Are the Most Common Mistakes?
- Turning it into a max-height jump: the rhythm breaks, the landings get heavy and the set ends early, so keep the hop low and the tempo steady.
- Landing wide with straight knees and then squatting: the impact goes into the knees and the quads miss the loaded landing, so bend as the feet touch.
- Letting the knees collapse inward on the wide landing: the medial knee ligaments take the load the glutes should hold, so land with the knees tracking over the toes.
- Rounding the back to touch the floor: the lower back flexes on every rep and the hips stop dropping, so drop the hips, not the shoulders.
- Landing feet-together on the heels: the body rocks back and the next hop starts late, so land on the mid-foot with soft knees.
What Are the Best Pop Squat Variations?
- Pop squat without the floor tap: hands at the chest and a shallower squat, for beginners.
- Pop squat to jump: the feet-together landing becomes a full vertical jump, adding height and impact.
- Half-depth pop squat: the wide landing stops at a quarter squat for a faster tempo and less knee load.
- Single-leg pop squat: landing the wide position on one leg loads each hip alone.
- Squat Jump Double Bounce: the same jump-and-land rhythm with the feet fixed in a squat stance.
How Do You Progress the Pop Squat?
- Add depth first: sink from a quarter squat to thighs parallel on the wide landing before doing anything else.
- Build from 10 to 20 reps per set at a steady tempo.
- Add a fourth set, or a second conditioning circuit per week, once three sets no longer leave the quads burning.
- Speed the tempo, or remove the pause at the feet-together stand, once every landing is quiet.
How Should You Program the Pop Squat?
Place the pop squat at the end of a lower-body session as a finisher, or inside a conditioning circuit after the strength work, never before heavy squats. Train it 2 to 3 times per week for 3 to 4 sets of 10 to 20 reps, resting 45 to 60 seconds between sets. Pair it with a plank or a glute bridge so the hips get a slow movement between fast sets.