Tuck Jump
quadriceps
What moves the load, and what it costs
8.0MET
Quadriceps is the prime mover, with the abs, hip flexors, calves assisting. Adds a hip-flexor demand to a vertical jump. Keep the reps low; landing quality falls off quickly.
Cue: Jump and pull the knees towards the chest, landing softly with the feet under the hips.
మూలం·2024 Adult Compendium of Physical Activities·FILED UNDER CALISTHENICS, VIGOROUS·జూలై 2026న సమీక్షించాం
SHARED AXIS · SEVEN VALUES FROM ONE TABLE · HIGHLIGHTED ROW IS THIS MOVEMENT
The compendium files tuck jump under a category, not a lift. Read the ladder as position, not precision: this is heavier work than sitting quietly by a factor of 8.0, and at the top end of what a gym floor produces.
Turning that MET value into a real energy cost
- Map the movement to a published category. The compendium measures categories of conditioning work, never individual lifts, so tuck jump is filed under Calisthenics (e.g. push-ups, sit-ups, pull-ups), vigorous effort.
- Take the category's MET value — 8.0. One MET is the cost of sitting quietly, so this is 8.0 times resting metabolism.
- Multiply by 3.5 to get millilitres of oxygen per kilogram per minute, the unit the MET is actually defined in.
- Multiply by your bodyweight in kilograms and divide by 200. The result is kilocalories per minute of work.
- Count working minutes only. Under load, not under the roof — a set of eight is about 25 seconds of the hour you were there.
kcal/min = MET × 3.5 × body mass (kg) ÷ 200 Tuck Jump: 8.0 × 3.5 × 70 ÷ 200 = 9.80 kcal/min
మూలం·ACSM metabolic equation + 2024 Adult Compendium of Physical Activities·REFERENCE BODY MASS 70 KG·జూలై 2026న సమీక్షించాం
What is actually doing the work
| Muscle | Role | What it does here |
|---|---|---|
| QuadricepsRectus femoris and the three vasti | Prime mover | Straightens the knee. Rectus femoris also crosses the hip and flexes it, so it is loaded differently in a squat than in a leg extension. |
| AbsRectus abdominis | Synergist / stabiliser | Bends the trunk forward and, more usefully, resists it being extended backwards. Both a crunch and a plank load it — differently. |
| Hip flexorsIliopsoas and rectus femoris | Synergist / stabiliser | Lift the thigh towards the chest. They drive every leg raise and knee raise, which is why 'ab' exercises often feel like hip work. |
| CalvesGastrocnemius and soleus | Synergist / stabiliser | Point the foot down (plantarflexion). Gastrocnemius also crosses the knee, so it works hardest with the leg straight; soleus takes over when the knee is bent. |
The prime mover produces the movement against the resistance; synergists assist and stabilisers hold a joint still without moving it. An exercise trains the whole muscle it loads — there is no way to work only part of a muscle, and no exercise removes fat from the area around it.
Set up, then earn the rep
Bodyweight. Every rep should look like the first one. The moment it stops looking like the first one, the set is finished.
PATTERN · SQUAT
- Stand with the feet hip to shoulder width.
- Dip quickly into a quarter squat, swinging the arms back.
- Jump and pull the knees towards the chest, landing softly with the feet under the hips.
- Drive through the whole foot and extend the hips, knees and ankles explosively.
- Land softly on the whole foot with the knees tracking over the toes and the hips absorbing the impact.
- Reset completely between reps — every jump should be a maximum-quality effort.
Where this one breaks down
Not theory. These are the faults you correct on a gym floor, and the correction that actually works.
Landing hard and stiff.
The landing is the part that hurts people. Land quietly, absorb through the hips and knees.
Chasing height with a deep, slow dip.
The dip should be quick and shallow. A long descent leaks the elastic energy you were trying to use.
High reps to exhaustion.
Power work is ruined by fatigue. Low reps, full rest.
Regress it, or progress it
Regress — earn it first
Progress — the next demand
Prescription: load, reps, rest
Read off the goal, then hold the technique constant as the load climbs. Derived from the movement's mechanics, not invented for this page: a explosive movement is destroyed by fatigue, so reps stay low and rest stays long.
| Goal | Sets | Reps | Rest | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Power | 4–6 | 2–5 | 2–3 నిమి | Every rep is fast or the set is over. Fatigue kills the quality this trains. |
| Athleticism | 3–5 | 3–6 | 90–120 sec | Quality of landing matters as much as height or distance. |
| Conditioning | 4–8 | 8–12 | 45–60 sec | Used this way it is cardio, not power work — pick one intent per session. |
| Beginner | 2–3 | 3–5 | 2 min | Learn to land softly before you try to go higher or heavier. |
Time under load, in kilocalories
Read these as minutes of work, not minutes in the building. A set of eight takes about twenty-five seconds; the rest of the hour is rest, chalk and queueing.
Mapped category: Calisthenics (e.g. push-ups, sit-ups, pull-ups), vigorous effort — 8.0 MET. That is the published category this movement is filed under, not a measurement of this specific lift.
Worked at 8.0 MET × 3.5 × 70 kg ÷ 200 = 9.80 kcal per working minute for a 70 kg adult. Scale it by your own bodyweight; the equation is linear. The full activity dataset lives at BurnLab.
మూలం·2024 Adult Compendium of Physical Activities·CATEGORY VALUE, NOT A PER-EXERCISE MEASUREMENT·జూలై 2026న సమీక్షించాం
If the rack is taken
Substitutes train the same prime mover through the same pattern with different kit. Computed from the muscle and pattern data on this card, not hand-picked to fill a grid.
This one needs no equipment at all, which is why it belongs in every travel and home programme. Every no-equipment movement is listed together.
Where it sits in a week
One movement is not a programme. The twelve templates put these in order, including 6 that need no gym at all.
The questions that come up on the floor
What muscles does the tuck jump work?
Tuck Jump is an explosive movement in which the quadriceps is the prime mover, assisted by the abs, hip flexors, calves. Straightens the knee. Rectus femoris also crosses the hip and flexes it, so it is loaded differently in a squat than in a leg extension.
Is the tuck jump good for beginners?
Not on day one, but it is reachable within a few weeks. It rates 3 out of 5 for technical demand. Work up through the easier versions listed on this page first, starting with the squat jump.
What can I do instead of the tuck jump at home?
Nothing is needed — the tuck jump already requires no equipment at all, which is why it belongs in any home programme.
How many sets and reps of the tuck jump should I do?
కండరాల పరిమాణం కోసం, 3–6 రెప్లతో 3–5 సెట్లు, 90–120 సెకన్ల విశ్రాంతి. బలం కోసం, 2–5 రెప్లతో 4–6 సెట్లు, 2–3 నిమిషాల విశ్రాంతి. మీ మొదటి నెలలో, 3–5 రెప్లతో 2–3 సెట్లు, ఫెయిల్యూర్కు చాలా ముందే ఆపేయాలి. ఈ పరిధుల్లో ఏదైనా సరే, కచ్చితమైన రెప్ సంఖ్య కంటే ఒక్కో కండర సమూహానికి వారానికి మొత్తం హార్డ్ సెట్ల సంఖ్యే ఎక్కువ ముఖ్యం.
Does the tuck jump burn fat from the quadriceps?
లేదు. ఏ వ్యాయామమూ అది పనిచేయించే ప్రాంతం నుండి కొవ్వును తొలగించదు — స్పాట్ రిడక్షన్ను పలుమార్లు పరీక్షించారు, అది జరగదు. క్వాడ్రిసెప్స్ను శిక్షణ ఇవ్వడం వల్ల కింద ఉన్న కండరం పెరుగుతుంది; శరీర కొవ్వు ఎక్కడి నుండి తగ్గుతుందో మీరు ఎంచుకున్న వ్యాయామం కాదు, మొత్తం క్యాలరీ లోటు మరియు మీ జన్యువులు నిర్ణయిస్తాయి.
Muscle roles follow standard kinesiology references and are described by joint action rather than by gym convention — see how this site is built. Energy figures are derived from the 2024 Adult Compendium of Physical Activities. Every reference is named and dated on the sources page. General information only — not medical or coaching advice. Load, form and progression should be adjusted to your own experience and any injury history. When in doubt, get coached in person.
మూలం·Published exercise references·MUSCLE ROLES ASSIGNED BY JOINT ACTION·జూలై 2026న సమీక్షించాం
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