Legs · Bodyweight
Side to Side Hop
How to do the side to side hop, the muscles it works, and the mistakes to avoid. Pulled straight from the Kovo app's exercise library.
- Equipment
- Bodyweight
- Difficulty
- Beginner
- Logged as
- Reps
- Movement
- Lunge
- Mechanic
- Compound
How to do it
Stand with your feet hip-width apart and knees slightly bent. Push off one foot to hop laterally a short distance, landing softly on the balls of your feet with bent knees, then immediately hop back the other way. Keep a quick, rhythmic bounce from side to side.
- 1Feel your calves and quads spring you off the ground and absorb each
- 2landing
- 3Stay light on the balls of your feet with knees soft to cushion impact
- 4Use your arms and core to control balance as you change direction
Common mistakes
- Don't land flat-footed or stiff-legged; keep the knees bending to absorb
- Avoid letting your knees cave inward on landing
- Don't hop so wide you lose control of your balance
Muscles worked
The side to side hop mainly works the calves and quads, with the glutes, obliques, hamstrings, adductors, and tibialis anterior assisting.
- CalvesPrimary
- QuadsPrimary
- GlutesSupport
- ObliquesSupport
- HamstringsSupport
- AdductorsSupport
- Tibialis AnteriorSupport
- Lower BackMinor
- Upper AbsMinor
- Lower AbsMinor
- Hip FlexorsMinor
Kovo programs the side to side 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 calves & shins exercises
- How to do the ankle cars
- How to do the ankle circles
- How to do the ankle rocks
- How to do the resistance band ankle mobilization
- How to do the calf press
- How to do the calf raises with hold
Last reviewed June 2026.