What is the difference between a tuck jump and a jump squat?

A Jump Squat leaves the legs straight in the air, while a tuck jump adds a hard knee drive toward the chest at the top. That makes it more demanding on your timing, since you have to untuck and get your feet back under you before you land.

Should I swing my arms during tuck jumps?

Either works. The version shown holds the forearms level at chest height as a target for the knees, which keeps the torso upright and leaves the legs to do all the work. Swinging the arms up as you jump adds height, and it is how the jump is done in the Tuck Jump Assessment.

Are tuck jumps bad for your knees?

Not for most healthy people who have built up to them and land with control, but they are a high-impact jump, so the number of good landings you do matters. Anyone with current knee pain, a recent knee injury or patellar tendon trouble should get cleared before adding them, and a Box Jump is easier on the landing.

How many tuck jumps should I do?

For power, do 3 to 5 sets of 5 to 8 reps with a minute or two of rest between sets, ending each set when landings get loud or your knees drift inward. In a conditioning circuit, work for a short interval such as 20 to 30 seconds and hold every landing to the same standard.

Can beginners do tuck jumps?

Most beginners should build up to them first. Get comfortable with the Bodyweight Squat, then learn to land a Jump Squat quietly with your knees over your toes before adding the tuck.

Are tuck jumps cardio?

They are a plyometric exercise first, meant to build power, but done in timed intervals with short rest they raise the heart rate quickly and work well in a conditioning circuit.

Tuck Jump

What Is the Tuck Jump?

Tuck Jump is a compound exercise that primarily targets the quads and also engages the glutes, calves, hip flexors and abdominals. It is an intermediate-level movement: a vertical jump from a squat in which you drive both knees up toward your chest at the top of the flight, then extend your legs again before you land. The version shown holds the forearms level in front of the chest as a target for the knees, so the arms add no swing and the legs do all the work.

Tuck jumps build lower-body power and the ability to leave the ground quickly, and because the knees have to be pulled up in the air, they also train fast hip flexion and trunk control during flight. Coaches use them in plyometric blocks for jumping and field sports, usually early in a session after the warm-up while the legs are fresh, and in conditioning circuits where a short set drives the heart rate up quickly. Even in a circuit, the quality of each landing matters more than the number of reps.

The jump also has a place in sports medicine. Ten seconds of continuous tuck jumps make up the Tuck Jump Assessment, a screening drill clinicians use with athletes to spot landing flaws linked to anterior cruciate ligament injury risk, such as the knees collapsing inward, the feet landing too close together or one foot landing before the other.

The quads and glutes drive the takeoff through a powerful extension of the hips, knees and ankles, the calves add the final push off the balls of the feet, and the same muscles absorb the landing. The tuck itself is done by the hip flexors and lower abdominals, and pulling the knees higher asks more of them. Compared with a Jump Squat, the tuck adds a coordination demand in the air and leaves less time to get your legs back under you before landing.

Tuck jumps suit athletes and trained exercisers who already have a solid Bodyweight Squat and can land a jump quietly with their knees tracking over their toes. If you are new to jumping, build up with the Jump Squat and the Box Jump, where the box shortens the fall you land from, and practice sticking single landings before stringing tuck jumps together. They are not a good fit for anyone with current knee, ankle or lower back pain, or for anyone who has been told to avoid impact.

Muscles Worked

MuscleActivation

Rectus Femoris: Primary
Vastus Lateralis: Primary
Vastus Medialis: Primary
Gastrocnemius (Lateral Head): High
Gastrocnemius (Medial Head): High
Gluteus Maximus: High
Rectus Abdominis (Lower): Medium
Soleus: Medium
Biceps Femoris: Low
Sartorius: Low

Instructions

Stand with your feet about shoulder-width apart and your toes pointed slightly out.
Raise your arms and hold your forearms level in front of your chest, one hand resting on the other, with your elbows pointing out to the sides.
Brace your core, then push your hips back and bend your knees to drop into a squat, keeping your chest up and your heels down.
Without pausing at the bottom, drive through your feet and jump straight up, fully extending your hips, knees and ankles.
At the top of the jump, pull both knees up toward your forearms until your thighs are at least parallel to the floor, keeping your torso upright and your arms still.
Straighten your legs back under you before you come down, with your feet shoulder-width apart.
Land softly on the front of both feet at the same time, let your heels settle, and bend your hips and knees to absorb the landing with your knees tracking over your toes.
Go straight into the next jump from that landing, or reset for a moment between reps if your landings start to get loud or your knees drift inward.
After the last rep, stick the landing and stand up tall.

Common Mistakes

Knees caving in
Letting the knees collapse inward on takeoff or landing loads the knee ligaments and is the main flaw clinicians screen for in this jump.
Bringing the chest to the knees
Hunching the chest down to meet the knees instead of driving the knees up fakes the tuck, cuts jump height and rounds the lower back.
Stiff, loud landings
Landing flat-footed or with straight legs sends the impact into the knees and back instead of letting the hips, knees and ankles absorb it.
Tucking too early
Pulling the knees up before the legs have fully extended off the floor cuts the jump short and turns it into a hop.
Uneven foot placement on landing
Landing with the feet too close together, staggered, or one foot before the other makes the landing unstable and shifts the load onto one leg.
Chasing reps when form fades
Grinding out more reps once landings get sloppy trains the flaws in, so end the set when the landings stop being quiet and controlled.

Injuries

Tuck Jump is a medium risk exercise when performed with proper technique. Every landing sends a high impact load through the ankles, knees and hips, and repeated jumps add up quickly, so the knees (especially the patellar tendon), the Achilles tendons and the lower back take most of the strain. The main hazards are the knees collapsing inward on landing, landing stiff-legged, and rounding the lower back by crunching the chest down toward the knees.

Keep the volume low and the rest generous: a few short sets of 5 to 8 good reps is plenty, done on a forgiving surface such as a sprung floor, turf or rubber matting rather than concrete, in supportive shoes. Do tuck jumps early in the session rather than after heavy leg work, and end the set as soon as landings get loud, your knees start drifting inward or you can no longer get your thighs to parallel.

To regress, go back to the Jump Squat or the Box Jump, or do single tuck jumps with a stuck landing and a full reset between reps. To progress, spend less time on the ground between jumps or add a few reps, rather than adding weight. Stop and get it checked if you feel sharp pain in the knee, shin, heel or lower back, or pain below the kneecap that lingers after training.

Overview

Primary Focus: Quads
Equipment: Body weight
Modality: Plyometrics
Difficulty: Intermediate

Alternative Exercises

Other Names for the Tuck Jump

The Tuck Jump is also known as:

Knee Tuck Jump

Frequently Asked Questions

Q: What is the difference between a tuck jump and a jump squat?: A Jump Squat leaves the legs straight in the air, while a tuck jump adds a hard knee drive toward the chest at the top. That makes it more demanding on your timing, since you have to untuck and get your feet back under you before you land.
Q: Should I swing my arms during tuck jumps?: Either works. The version shown holds the forearms level at chest height as a target for the knees, which keeps the torso upright and leaves the legs to do all the work. Swinging the arms up as you jump adds height, and it is how the jump is done in the Tuck Jump Assessment.
Q: Are tuck jumps bad for your knees?: Not for most healthy people who have built up to them and land with control, but they are a high-impact jump, so the number of good landings you do matters. Anyone with current knee pain, a recent knee injury or patellar tendon trouble should get cleared before adding them, and a Box Jump is easier on the landing.
Q: How many tuck jumps should I do?: For power, do 3 to 5 sets of 5 to 8 reps with a minute or two of rest between sets, ending each set when landings get loud or your knees drift inward. In a conditioning circuit, work for a short interval such as 20 to 30 seconds and hold every landing to the same standard.
Q: Can beginners do tuck jumps?: Most beginners should build up to them first. Get comfortable with the Bodyweight Squat, then learn to land a Jump Squat quietly with your knees over your toes before adding the tuck.
Q: Are tuck jumps cardio?: They are a plyometric exercise first, meant to build power, but done in timed intervals with short rest they raise the heart rate quickly and work well in a conditioning circuit.