Ski plyometrics: jump exercises for skiers and how to start

Plyometrics are short, fast jumps and hops that train your legs to produce and absorb force quickly. For recreational skiers they are a useful add-on once basic strength is in place. Start with fast squats and low jumps, land softly with knees over toes, and keep volume small, about two sessions a week for six weeks.

Updated: 2026-11-04

Jump training sounds like something for racers. In fact, a few short jump blocks can help any skier who wants quicker reactions on rough snow and better landing control. They are also the exercises most likely to go wrong if you rush them. This guide covers what plyometrics are, why they can help, the progression to follow, and who should wait.

What plyometrics means here

Plyometric exercises are quick movements where you load a muscle, then use it right away: squat jumps, skater hops, line hops, box steps. They train speed and the ability to absorb force. For skiing, the absorbing part is the useful part, since a landing from a small bump is the same task as landing from a jump drill.

Do jumps help skiers?

There is evidence, mostly in young, trained skiers. In a pilot study of 10 young alpine skiers, eight weeks of twice-weekly training that combined core stability, plyometric, balance and stretching exercises improved left-leg jump height and flight time, and reduced the difference in sway between legs^[1]. The study had no control group, so it cannot say that jumps alone caused the gain, and it was small. In another study of junior skiers, a group that added eccentric cycling to a reduced amount of weight training gained thigh lean mass and a 6.5 percent better countermovement jump, compared with a group that did standard leg training^[2]. Neither study is about recreational adults, so read both as signals that jump height and leg power can be trained in skiers, not as a plan to copy.

There is also the injury angle. A meta-analysis of knee injury prevention programmes found that neuromuscular and proprioceptive training, which commonly includes jump and landing drills, was linked to fewer knee injuries and ACL injuries overall. The authors point out that athletes who jump, pivot or cut, such as skiers, face higher risk, and that the quality of the underlying studies was generally low^[3]. That is not a promise that jumping protects your knees. It does suggest that learning to land well belongs in a pre-season plan. For more on knees, see ski knee injury prevention.

Build strength first

Jumps put several times your body weight through your legs on landing. If you cannot do 10 to 12 controlled bodyweight squats and a few split squats per side, work on those first. Squats for skiing and lunges for skiing cover that base. Add jumps after two to three weeks of regular strength sessions, not before.

A simple progression

Level 1: fast squat

Lower normally, then stand up quickly without leaving the floor. This trains speed with no landing. Use this as a beginner swap for squat jumps.

Level 2: low squat jump

Jump a few centimetres, land softly in a quarter-squat position with knees over toes, and pause for a moment before the next one. Quiet landings are the target. If you hear a thud, jump lower.

Level 3: skater step and skater hop

Step or hop side to side, landing on one leg and holding the landing for a beat. Start with a step where one foot stays near the floor, then progress to the hop when the step is steady.

Level 4: lateral line hops

Hop sideways over a line on the floor, quick and small. This trains the fast side-to-side contacts that skiing on uneven snow asks for.

Move up a level only when you can do the current one for the full round with quiet, stable landings. There is no prize for jumping higher; the prize is a clean landing.

Landing technique

• Land on the whole foot, then let the heel settle.
• Bend hips, knees and ankles together as you land. Stiff legs transmit the shock straight to your joints.
• Keep knees pointing over your toes. Knees caving in is the signal to stop the set.
• Keep your chest up and look ahead.

How much and how often

Plyometrics are demanding, so keep them short. Twelve to twenty total contacts per session in the first two weeks, building to 30 to 50 total over six weeks, with full rest between sets. Do them early in a session when you are fresh, not as a finisher when your legs are fried. Two sessions a week with at least one rest day between is enough. Suva, a Swiss accident insurer, recommends two to three sessions a week matched to fitness level and stopping any exercise that causes pain^[4]. Its own sample programme includes a jump added to a thigh exercise to make it harder^[4]. The overall weekly layout is in the ski fitness plan.

Warm up first

Cold tendons and muscles are not ready for jumps. Spend two minutes marching in place and swinging your legs forward and sideways before the first set. A longer routine is in the ski warm-up guide.

Who should skip or delay jumping

• Anyone with knee, ankle or Achilles pain, swelling or a recent injury. See a doctor or physiotherapist first.
• People with a past ACL or other ligament injury, unless a clinician has cleared jump training.
• Anyone who cannot land quietly on a fast squat. Build strength and balance first.
• If your neighbours live below you, use a mat or do hops on grass.

Muscle soreness for a day or two is normal after your first jump session. Joint pain is not. When in doubt, drop a level.

Honest expectations

Plyometrics will not turn a beginner into a racer. What they can do is make landings and quick weight shifts feel less alarming, and add some power to a plan built mostly on strength and endurance. Treat them as the fourth ingredient, after strength, balance and cardio.

Plyometrics on a ski trip

Stop jump training about three days before you leave. Your legs should arrive fresh, not sore from a hard hop session. During the trip, jumps are not needed: skiing itself provides plenty of landing practice. After the trip, wait until the ache from the slope has gone before adding them back.

If you only do one thing from this page, make it the quiet landing. A soft, controlled landing on both feet, knees over toes, is a skill that shows up well beyond skiing, and it costs you nothing to practise a few minutes at the start of each session.

SnowStreak, an iPhone app, puts squat jumps, skater hops and lateral line hops in its power-and-endurance session, with fast squat and skater step swaps for beginners. Free to start, bodyweight only. See it on the App Store.