Scissors Jump
The scissors jump is a plyometric exercise where you jump from a lunge position and switch your legs in the air, landing in the opposite lunge, like the blades of a pair of scissors crossing. It trains your quads, glutes, and hamstrings to produce and absorb force quickly, building explosive lower-body power and coordination. It suits lifters who already move comfortably through a bodyweight lunge and want to add impact and speed to that pattern.
Why it works
A regular lunge trains your legs to produce force slowly and under control, but the scissors jump asks the same muscles to do it explosively, driving you off the ground and switching legs mid-air before landing in a fresh lunge. That combination of a powerful jump and a controlled landing trains your quads, glutes, and hamstrings to absorb force just as much as produce it, which is the demand that carries over to sprinting, cutting, and jumping in most sports. The alternating pattern also forces each leg to work independently, so it exposes and corrects side-to-side strength differences that a two-legged jump can hide. Your core also has to work overtime here, bracing against the rotation and shift in balance that happens every time you swap legs mid-flight, which is part of why this exercise tires you out faster than its short duration would suggest.
Set up
- Stand in a split stance with one foot forward and one foot back, both knees slightly bent.
- Keep your chest up and your core braced.
- Find a clear, flat landing space with enough room to jump without hitting anything.
How to do it
- Dip down slightly by bending both knees, then drive explosively off the ground.
- While airborne, switch your legs so your back leg comes forward and your front leg goes back.
- Land softly in the opposite lunge position, absorbing the impact through your bent knees.
- Immediately dip and jump again, continuing to alternate legs each rep.
Form cues
- Land softly and under control to confirm you're absorbing the impact through your legs.
- Keep your front knee tracking over your foot, not caving inward, on every landing.
- Keep your torso upright rather than leaning forward during the jump.
- Use your arms to help drive the jump, swinging them the opposite direction of your legs.
Breathing: Exhale as you drive up into the jump, and inhale as you land and reset for the next rep.
Common mistakes
Landing stiff-legged instead of bending the knees.
Fix: Focus on landing softly with bent knees to absorb the impact, rather than letting your joints take the full shock.
Letting the front knee collapse inward on landing.
Fix: Actively keep your knee tracking in line with your toes as you land in each lunge.
Leaning the torso too far forward during the jump.
Fix: Keep your chest lifted and your core braced so the jump comes from your legs, not a forward lean.
Rushing the reps without resetting balance between jumps.
Fix: Take a brief moment to stabilize in each landing before driving into the next jump, especially early on.
How to program it
- As a high-impact plyometric move, 3 to 4 sets of 6 to 10 reps per leg, with full recovery between sets, gets the power benefit without accumulating excess fatigue.
- Program it early in a workout, right after your warm-up, when your legs are fresh enough to jump with good landing mechanics.
- Because of the repeated jumping impact, 1 to 2 times a week is plenty; more frequent plyometric work raises the risk of overuse without added benefit.
Safety notes
- Master the bodyweight walking lunge with good knee tracking before adding the jump.
- Land on a surface with some give, like a gym floor or grass, rather than bare concrete.
- Stop the set if your landings start feeling unstable or your knees start caving inward from fatigue.
- Wear supportive footwear that grips the floor, since a slip mid-jump is far riskier than during a standard lunge.
Exercise profile
- Force
- Push
- Mechanics
- Compound
- Category
- plyometrics
Frequently asked questions
How many reps of scissors jumps should I do?
6 to 10 reps per leg for 3 to 4 sets is a solid starting point, since the explosive effort tires your legs faster than a slow lunge would.
What's the difference between a scissors jump and a split jump?
They're essentially the same alternating jumping lunge pattern; both switch your legs in the air and land in the opposite lunge, just under slightly different names.
Do I need to jump high?
No. Focus on switching your legs cleanly and landing softly rather than jumping for height; a controlled, moderate jump trains the pattern just as well and is easier on your joints.
Can beginners do scissors jumps?
Only once you can perform a bodyweight walking lunge with good knee alignment. If that still feels unstable, build strength there first before adding the jump and landing impact.