Legs · Bodyweight
Jumping Pistol Squat
How to do the jumping pistol squat, the muscles it works, and the mistakes to avoid. Pulled straight from the Kovo app's exercise library.
- Equipment
- Bodyweight
- Difficulty
- Expert
- Logged as
- Reps
- Movement
- Squat
- Mechanic
- Compound
How to do it
Balance on one leg with the other leg extended straight out in front of you. Lower into a full single-leg squat, then explode up into a jump off the working leg, landing softly on the same leg. This is one of the most demanding lower-body bodyweight movements for strength, balance, and power.
- 1Standing-leg quad and glute firing to launch you up
- 2Core and hips fighting to keep you balanced
- 3Soft knee and ankle absorbing each landing
Common mistakes
- Knee caving inward under the load
- Landing stiff or off-balance instead of soft
- Letting the extended leg touch down to cheat the rep
Muscles worked
The jumping pistol squat mainly works the quads and glutes, with the hamstrings, calves, lower back, lower abs, and hip flexors assisting.
- QuadsPrimary
- GlutesPrimary
- HamstringsSupport
- CalvesSupport
- Lower BackSupport
- Lower AbsSupport
- Hip FlexorsSupport
- Upper AbsMinor
- ObliquesMinor
- AdductorsMinor
- Tibialis AnteriorMinor
Kovo programs the jumping pistol squat 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.