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Exercise library · Calves

Pogo hops

Calf raise for the calves with your bodyweight.

How to do it

1 of 3

Hip-width, knees slightly bent

  1. Starting position

    Stand with your feet hip-width apart, knees slightly bent and arms by your sides.

  2. The movement

    Make small quick jumps from your ankles, land softly on the balls of your feet and rebound right away.

Most common mistake

Don't bend your knees deeply like a squat, keep the jumps small and drive the movement from your ankles.

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Muscle group
Calves
Equipment
Bodyweight
Where
Home or gym
Logged as
Reps

Muscles worked

Pogo hops are a quick, bouncing exercise in which your calves and Achilles tendon act like a spring. The calf muscles tense before your foot even touches down and keep your ankle stiff, while the Achilles tendon absorbs the landing and returns some of that energy into the next hop. Your thighs and hips keep your legs steady. The aim is short ground contact, not height, which is why the exercise trains something different from slow calf raises.

Common mistakes

  • Your sets run too long. As your legs tire, the rebounds slow and the landings get heavier. Keep sets short and stop when the rhythm starts to fade.
  • Your knees cave in. On every landing your knees should point the same way as your toes. If they drift inwards, make the hops lower until you can hold the line.
  • You jump on concrete or tarmac. A hard surface means more impact on every landing. Choose a gym floor, a running track or grass to begin with.

Variations and alternatives

  • The jump rope gives the same quick ankle work in a rhythm you can keep up for longer, and doubles as cardio.
  • Bodyweight calf raises build basic calf strength at a slow pace, worth having in place before you do a lot of jumping.
  • Box jumps move the work to your hips and thighs and are about jumping high, not fast.

Sets and reps

Jumps are best done fresh. Three to five sets of 10 to 20 hops, or 10 to 15 seconds, with one to two minutes' rest is usually plenty. Put them early in the session after a warm-up. How rest and sets work together is described in the guide to sets and reps.

Learn the rhythm on both feet on the spot before you hop forwards and backwards, side to side and finally on one leg. For jumps, progressive overload means harder variations and more contacts, not higher hops. Hop a couple of times a week rather than every day, more on that in how often to train. If you feel pain in your Achilles tendon or along your shins, rather than just fatigue, stop jumping and have it looked at by a doctor or physiotherapist.

Swap for

Taken, or missing the equipment? The same movement with something else.

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