Part X · Running drills
Single-Leg Pogo Hops
Hop on the spot on the ball of one foot, knee nearly straight, a few centimetres off the ground, with your hips level and body tall. All your weight lands on one calf and Achilles, so it is the same bounce as two-leg pogo hops, made harder and one-sided.
The one cue
Low, quick, hips level
The lesson
- 01
Stand on one leg
On grass or a flat path, stand on one foot with the knee soft but nearly straight. Lift the other foot just off the ground, knee bent and relaxed. Stand tall, hips level, arms bent and ready, as when you run.
- 02
Bounce from the ankle
Hop straight up and down on the ball of the foot using only the ankle, like skipping rope on one foot, without the rope. The knee barely bends. Land and go straight into the next hop, heel hovering just off the ground.
- 03
Low and fast
A few centimetres high is plenty, quicker rather than higher. The free leg and arms can move a little for balance, but stay quiet. Ten seconds goes fast: keep the rhythm even until the end.
- 04
Hips level, body still
Don't let the hip on the free side drop or your body sway over the foot. If it does, hop lower and slower until it holds, or touch the free foot down for a moment and carry on.
- 05
The test
Both legs give the same quick, quiet rhythm, and you feel it in the calf, not the thigh. Notice which side is less springy.
Watch for
- Bending the knee to soak up the landing. The thigh takes the load and the spring in the calf goes unused.
- The free-side hip dropping or the body swaying. The landing goes off line and you stop training the steady, stiff contact.
- Hopping too high. Contact gets longer and slower, and the load on one leg climbs for nothing.
- Easing off on the weaker leg. Give it the same full 10 seconds at the same rhythm; it is the side that needs it most.
What muscles do single-leg pogo hops work? Mainly the calf and the Achilles tendon, which stretch on each landing and spring you back up. The muscles around the hip of the standing leg work too, holding your pelvis level.
Are single-leg pogo hops harder than two-leg? Much harder. All your body weight lands on one leg, so each landing loads that calf and Achilles far more, and you have to balance as well.
What are the benefits of single-leg pogo hops? Running lands on one leg at a time, and these train that one-legged bounce with the hip held steady. They also show you plainly which side is less springy, which two-leg pogo hops can hide.
How many, and when? 2 × 10 seconds, one leg per bout, with 35 seconds of walking between, on grass or a flat path. They come fourth in the drills at the start of a run, after ankling, carioca and single-leg balance to run, so the drills themselves are your warm-up. If they are new to you, keep them very low for the first few weeks and touch the free foot down whenever you need to, and leave them out on a day a calf or Achilles is sore.
Next drill
Power Skips→From small, quick hops on one leg to big, driving skips. Power skips add height and a strong push off the ground.
From the book
14Strong feet. Strong everything.→