Lateral Cone Hops
Lateral cone hops have you jumping sideways back and forth over a low line of cones, both feet together, landing and immediately pushing off again rather than pausing between hops. It trains the same side-to-side power as a lateral bound, but in quick, repeated bursts instead of one all-out jump, building the reactive quality your ankles, adductors, and glutes need to keep absorbing and redirecting force without resetting each time.
Why it works
A single lateral bound tests how far you can jump and how well you can stick one landing. Cone hops test something else: how quickly your adductors, abductors, glutes, quads, and calves can cycle between absorbing a landing and immediately producing the next push-off, over and over, with barely any ground contact time in between. That fast stretch-and-release through your ankles and hips is what builds reactive strength, the quality that shows up when you have to change direction quickly and keep moving rather than plant and stop.
Set up
- Set a low line of 4 to 6 cones in a row, spaced close enough to clear with a small hop.
- Stand beside the first cone with feet together, knees slightly bent.
- Keep your arms loose and ready to help drive each hop.
How to do it
- Hop sideways over the first cone, landing with both feet together on the other side.
- Push off immediately into the next hop back over the same cone, or continue down the line.
- Keep ground contact time short; land and go rather than pausing to reset.
- Continue hopping down the full line of cones, then turn and repeat.
- Slow down or stop if your landings start losing control rather than pushing through fatigue.
Form cues
- Land soft on the balls of your feet, not flat-footed.
- Ground contact is quick; think bounce, not stomp.
- Knees track over your toes on every landing.
- Keep your hops low and controlled rather than jumping for height.
Breathing: Breathe in a steady rhythm through the set rather than holding your breath between hops.
Common mistakes
Pausing fully between each hop instead of moving quickly.
Fix: Aim for a light, quick bounce off the ground; a full stop between hops trains a different quality than this drill is meant for.
Landing flat-footed with locked knees.
Fix: Land on the balls of your feet with a soft bend in the knees so each hop lands without a stomp.
Letting form fall apart as fatigue builds.
Fix: Stop the set once your landings get sloppy; a slower, clean set beats a longer, sloppy one for this drill.
Jumping for height instead of staying low and quick.
Fix: Keep the hops small and close to the ground; height isn't the point here, quickness is.
How to program it
- Two or three sets of 20 to 30 seconds of continuous hopping is a typical dose, since the drill trains speed and reactivity rather than raw output.
- Use it early in a warm-up or agility block, since clean, quick ground contacts are hardest to hold onto once your legs are tired.
- Progress by shortening ground contact time and keeping the rhythm consistent, rather than by adding more cones or jumping higher.
- It complements the lateral bound and lateral box jump well, giving you a rapid-fire option alongside those single, maximal-effort jumps.
Safety notes
- Use low, soft cones rather than anything rigid enough to cause a fall if you clip one.
- Stop the set as soon as your ankles or knees feel unstable; this drill should feel quick and light, never wobbly.
Exercise profile
- Force
- Push
- Mechanics
- Compound
- Category
- plyometrics
Frequently asked questions
How long should a set of lateral cone hops last?
Twenty to thirty seconds of continuous hopping is plenty for most people. The drill is about quick, controlled ground contacts, not endurance.
What muscles do lateral cone hops work?
Your adductors and abductors drive and control the side-to-side movement, while your glutes, quads, calves, and hamstrings help absorb and redirect each landing.
What's a harder version of lateral cone hops?
The lateral box jump adds a raised landing target, asking for more power and a more precise landing than hopping over cones on flat ground.
Do I need actual cones to do this drill?
No. Any low, safe marker works, a line taped on the floor, a shoe, or a small object placed on the ground.