Legs · Bodyweight
Forward Sideward Hop
How to do the forward sideward hop, the muscles it works, and the mistakes to avoid. Pulled straight from the Kovo app's exercise library.
- Equipment
- Bodyweight
- Difficulty
- Intermediate
- Logged as
- time
- Movement
- Squat
- Mechanic
- Compound
How to do it
Stand on one foot in an athletic stance with your knee slightly bent. Hop forward, then immediately hop sideways, landing softly on the same foot and absorbing each landing through your hip and knee. Keep your chest up and use your arms for balance as you cycle through the forward and sideward pattern. Switch legs to train both sides.
- 1Soft, springy landings absorbed through your hip and knee
- 2Your glute and quad loading on each touchdown
- 3Balance and control as you change direction
Common mistakes
- Landing stiff-legged or letting your knee cave inward
- Crashing down instead of cushioning the landing
- Losing your balance and putting the free foot down
Muscles worked
The forward sideward hop mainly works the quads, glutes, and calves, with the hamstrings, lower back, lower abs, obliques, adductors, hip flexors, and tibialis anterior assisting.
- QuadsPrimary
- GlutesPrimary
- CalvesPrimary
- HamstringsSupport
- Lower BackSupport
- Lower AbsSupport
- ObliquesSupport
- AdductorsSupport
- Hip FlexorsSupport
- Tibialis AnteriorSupport
- Upper AbsMinor
- Side DeltsMinor
Kovo programs the forward sideward hop for you and tracks it every session.
We build your whole program, drop the right lifts into each workout, and adjust your weights as you get stronger. Free on iOS and Android.
More quads exercises
- How to do the resistance band squat
- How to do the resistance band squat to press
- How to do the resistance band thruster
- How to do the resistance band squat walk
- How to do the barbell squat
- How to do the barbell bulgarian split squat
Last reviewed June 2026.