Legs · Bodyweight
Hopping Pendulum
How to do the hopping pendulum, the muscles it works, and the mistakes to avoid. Pulled straight from the Kovo app's exercise library.
- Equipment
- Bodyweight
- Difficulty
- Intermediate
- Logged as
- Reps
- Movement
- Lunge
- Mechanic
- Compound
How to do it
Stand on one leg with a soft knee. Hop sideways onto the other foot, swinging the trailing leg out to the side like a pendulum and sticking the landing on the new standing leg. Hop back to the other side and repeat, staying balanced on each landing.
- 1Your glutes and outer hip controlling each landing
- 2A springy push off the standing foot to drive the hop sideways
- 3Your core and standing leg stabilizing as you stick the landing
Common mistakes
- Crashing into the landing instead of sticking it under control
- Letting your knee cave inward when you land
- Hopping so far you lose your balance and stumble
Muscles worked
The hopping pendulum mainly works the glutes, with the quads, hamstrings, calves, lower abs, and adductors assisting.
- GlutesPrimary
- QuadsSupport
- HamstringsSupport
- CalvesSupport
- Lower AbsSupport
- AdductorsSupport
- Lower BackMinor
- Upper AbsMinor
- ObliquesMinor
- Hip FlexorsMinor
- Tibialis AnteriorMinor
Kovo programs the hopping pendulum 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 glutes exercises
- How to do the agility ladder drill
- How to do the airdyne bike
- How to do the arc trainer
- How to do the assault bike
- How to do the medicine ball atlas stone lift
- How to do the b stance hip thrust
Last reviewed June 2026.