Lateral Hurdle Hop: A Complete Guide

Quick Intro

Lateral Hurdle Hop, also called the Side Hurdle Hop, is a sideways hopping drill performed by hopping with both feet sideways over a low hurdle, repeated back and forth across a short series. It needs Mini Hurdles. This takes the same low-obstacle clearance as a forward hurdle jump and turns it sideways, training the hips to control repeated frontal-plane force rather than straight-ahead force.

Equipment Needed

Lateral Hurdle Hop needs a set of Mini Hurdles, positioned so a sideways clearance and landing are both possible without obstruction.

Why Lateral Hurdle Hop Matters

Clearing the hurdle sideways asks the side of the hip (gluteus medius) and the inner thigh (adductors) to produce and control force in a direction most jumps never ask for, while the outer thigh (vastus lateralis, plus the IT band and tensor fasciae latae) and calves (gastrocnemius and soleus) drive the push-off and absorb the repeated landings. Power and agility are asked for in equal measure, since clearing the hurdle sideways takes as much change-of-direction control as raw force. Speed and endurance come into it too, as the clearances are repeated without a pause.

When to Do It

Because repeated lateral hurdle clearances depend on fresh legs and consistent side-to-side control, this exercise fits early in a session, right after a general warm-up or later as a conditioning-style finisher once the goal shifts toward sustained repeated output.

Anyone with a current hip, knee or ankle condition should approach this carefully, since the entire series repeats a sideways landing. Skater Jump should already feel controlled before adding a hurdle to clear on every hop.

Getting Ready

A general warm-up followed by a set of Skater Jumps confirms the side-to-side landing pattern is solid before adding a hurdle. Starting with a very low hurdle height, low enough that clearance feels easy in both directions, and only raising it once every landing is controlled, keeps this exercise safe.

Step-by-Step Instructions

Setup. Stand beside the hurdle, feet hip-width apart, facing perpendicular to it.

Load. Sink into a quarter squat, loading toward the direction of the hop.

Hop. Push off sideways and clear the hurdle with both feet, landing on the far side under control.

Reverse. Immediately load and hop back over the hurdle in the opposite direction.

Repeat. Continue the side-to-side clearances for the full set, keeping the movement strictly lateral.

How Many, How Often

Lateral Hurdle Hop is dosed by a moderate number of clearances split evenly between both directions, since jumping only one way leaves the other direction’s hip control undertrained.

Keeping the movement strictly side to side matters more here than clearing extra height, since drifting forward or backward during the series is the clearest sign the pattern has broken down.

Modifications and Variations

One easier step and one harder step frame Lateral Hurdle Hop.

Skater Jump removes the hurdle entirely, landing directly on the ground with each side-to-side jump instead, a gentler place to build the frontal-plane pattern first. Single Leg Lateral Hop keeps the same sideways demand but removes the second leg, asking one leg alone to clear and control the same lateral distance.

Progression path: Skater Jump as the ground-level foundation, then this exercise once a hurdle can be cleared cleanly and repeatedly in both directions, then Single Leg Lateral Hop for the next step up.

Common Mistakes to Avoid

Drifting forward or backward during the series. Letting the body creep in any direction other than side to side means the movement has stopped being lateral. Keeping every hop strictly sideways, landing in the same forward-backward position each time, keeps the pattern clean.

Favoring one direction over the other. Practicing the more comfortable side more often leaves the other direction’s hip control noticeably weaker. Splitting clearances evenly between both directions closes that gap before it shows up elsewhere.

Letting ground contact time creep up between hops. Spending too long on the ground after each landing trades the reactive, springy quality of this drill for a slower, more deliberate one. Keeping each contact as short as safely possible is the skill being trained here.

After Your Set

A full set of side-to-side clearances piles up load on the hips and outer thighs in both directions. Crossing one ankle over the opposite knee while seated and gently leaning forward at the hips releases the outer hip on the crossed side. Kneeling in a wide straddle and shifting the hips toward one side, feeling the stretch on the opposite inner thigh, releases the adductors that helped control every clearance.

Going Deeper

A short warm-up set of Skater Jumps makes the natural lead-in to this exercise, since both share the same side-to-side landing pattern before a hurdle adds the clearance demand on top of it. Once the hurdle-clearance pattern feels solid, it also works well as a conditioning-style finisher, given how its endurance-leaning demands support sustained repeated output.

Progress here tends to stall when one direction’s landing quietly gets less controlled than the other, even as total clearances climb on both sides. That’s usually a sign one side’s hip control hasn’t caught up, and giving that direction extra dedicated practice typically restores even progress faster than adding more total clearances to both.

Someone new to this exercise typically needs a comfortable two-footed Skater Jump before adding a hurdle to clear on every hop becomes the safe next step.

How to Know You’re Improving

1. Both directions clear the hurdle with equally clean, controlled landings
2. The movement stays strictly lateral, with no forward or backward drift
3. Ground contact time stays short and consistent across a full series
4. Hurdle height can increase while landing control stays the same in both directions

Comparing landing control between the two directions, not just how many clearances get completed, is the more useful way to judge progress here.

Muscles Worked

• Gluteus Medius (a smaller glute muscle at the side of the hip, pushing the body over the hurdle and catching it on the other side)
• Adductors (the inner thigh muscles, reversing the direction for the hop back)
• Vastus Lateralis (a quadriceps muscle on the outer thigh, extending the knee enough to clear the marker)
• Gastrocnemius (the larger calf muscle nearer the surface, supplying the quick ankle push between hops)
• Soleus (a deeper calf muscle beneath the gastrocnemius, keeping ground contact short and springy)
• IT Band and Tensor Fasciae Latae (the connective band running down the outside of the thigh and the hip muscle that tensions it, bracing the hip against each sideways landing)

FAQ

Why practice both directions rather than the stronger side only? Because each direction builds its own hip control independently, and only practicing one side leaves the other direction underprepared for the same demand.

How is this different from Hurdle Jump? Hurdle Jump clears the hurdle moving straight ahead. This exercise clears the same hurdle moving side to side, asking the hip abductors to do the controlling work instead of the hip flexors.

Can this be used for conditioning? Yes. A repeated series of lateral clearances asks the body to sustain output over many reps, which is a different demand from a single maximal jump.

Is this the same as Single Leg Lateral Hop? They share the same sideways direction, but this exercise uses both feet for every clearance, while Single Leg Lateral Hop asks one leg alone to do the same job.

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This is part of the jump-and-land family, the hurdle-clearance step up from Skater Jump and the two-footed foundation for the harder Single Leg Lateral Hop.