Have you tried it?
If you practice Ashtanga, you no doubt know what a jump back is and how difficult it can be!
So today, I’m going to teach you how to do the perfect Ashtanga jump back.
So, what’s I’ve done is broken it down into multiple steps that you can add to your practice.
Like every other higher-level advanced skill I teach, you can’t just “watch and copy” your way to a jump back.
There’re multiple reasons why you can’t do one. Some are technical and some are physical.
Let’s start with the physical reasons that hold students back from jump backs:
Arms aren’t strong enough – you can’t create enough pushing power to get your feet though.
More importantly, differentiating between pushing with the shoulders and pushing with the triceps (Hint: you’ll have way more success with the latter).
Core muscles are weak – you just can’t get your hips to lift off the ground for the life of you!
Hip flexors are weak – the largest “invisible wall” for most students.
Without the strength in the hip flexors to keep your thighs as close to your chest as possible, you’ll have no luck fitting yourself though. You have to fit in order to swing.
If you’re an Ashtanga practitioner and have a hard time with Utthita Hasta Padangushthasana B (hands on your hips while extending the leg out in front of you), jump-throughs are going to feel basically impossible.
Holding the leg out in front of you is the exact same type of strength it takes to keep the thighs bent in and touching your chest. This makes you as compact as possible.
Tight chest muscles – they limit the range of motion of your shoulders. Your shoulders need to freely move in order to nail a jump back.
Tight shoulders – Same reason as above, they cause range of motion issues. However, the important thing is HAVING range of motion. It’s important for you to determine what is causing it.
Back muscles aren’t strong enough – You’ll need your back strength the second you bend your arms. They hold you in the air the second you transition from straight arms to bent arms.
A strong back is what prevents the feet skidding across the ground (more on this later). Arguably, the anatomical lynchpin of the entire movement.
Ok, so let’s move onto the technical challenges (there is a silver lining in these, they can be fixed quickly)…
Hand placement relative to the hips is wrong – A jump back isn’t what I would call a “load and go” movement. If anything, it simulates a “falling forward” movement. This might be hard to wrap your brain around, but think about this ok?
You want to go up and back (up creates the space to go back). In order to do that, you have to go forward and down. Does this make sense?
If it doesn’t, think about it like this:
In the starting position, you have some body weight in front of your hands and some body weight behind your hands. What you do with the weight in front of your hands represents itself as the opposite with the weight behind the hands.
So if you go forward and down in the front, you go back and up in the back. It’s the back and up motion that drives the movement. You have to learn to get the balance right in the front to carry you though.
Can’t fit your body through your arms – While hip flexors strength is a physical reason why this can’t happen, the cue “cross over your ankles and swing” is another.
Don’t think about crossing at the ankles. Instead, cross your shin bones and squeeze until the insides of your knees touch. This makes you far more compact.
Rejoice, it’s not the doughnuts you ate for breakfast that are stopping you from jumping though.
You do the “tap back” double jump – You know this one? You can swing, only to get halfway back, skid your feet along the floor, jump again and finish the movement. This is one of the more annoying bad habits that can easily develop!
The shoulders don’t move the right way – You want to get in the “rhythm” of the jump back. The shoulders go forward and back, forward and back, forward and back…hmmm….eerily similar to a press handstand…hmmmm….
You bend the arms too early – Again, it’s all about timing and rhythm, you can’t do the right things in the wrong order and expect it to work. You have to do the right things in the right order to make progress.
Alright, while there are some other oddball reasons why students can’t do jump-throughs, I think I’ve given you enough for now. Let’s take a look at my top two go-to exercises for fixing jump backs.
These two exercises combined with the proper strength/mobility building routine can single handedly help you get your jump back.
You can download the core strength + strength building sequences here.
Ok, so this first exercise is important because it ticks a couple of boxes, weak back, weak arms, but more importantly it will show you exactly how far forward and down you need to go to get yourself to go up and back and clear the floor.
While it’s hard to see in the video, it’s important to make sure your shin bones are squeezing together as much as you possibly can and ideally get the insides of your knees touching.
And if when you lean forward, you simply fall flat on your face, it’s a clear sign that you need to strengthen your arms and back before you get your jump through.
As you get better and better at this, move the block closer to be directly between your hands. If you can get this, your arm strength is more than enough.
It’s getting to this point that’s the challenge. We’ll call this Phase 2 and the Block Exercise.
Ok, now check out this exercise:
This swinging exercise helps you to get the proper movement in the shoulders. The shoulders have to come forward in order to create the leverage to swing back.
Right, so this is the rhythm I was talking about earlier.
Now guess what drives this part of the movement? You guessed it…core strength!
We’ll call this Phase 1 and the Core Swing Exercise.
This is a reason why a jump back is more difficult than it appears. It requires a pretty large dose of both core and arm strength. Plus, it requires you to learn to suspend your body in mid air while simultaneously switching the orientation of the arms (straight to bent).
This is what it looks like when you put it together:
As you can see, Phase 1 is the core swing and Phase 2 is the control with arms to prevent you from collapsing.
Now, if you look at this video, this is an example of the feet skidding across the floor. There’s multiple physical reasons why this is happening (arms, back, ect…) but assuming you have all the physical tools, it’s a case of bending the arms too early.
When is it right to bend the arms?
Wait for your ankles to, at the very least, get in line with your wrists. As you get stronger, hold out for longer and longer. That’s how you build the skill to eventually lift all the way up to handstand as you can see in this video here:
How to put this together into a nice little sequence?
In addition to what you’re currently doing to practice (at home or yoga class), add these in at the beginning or end of your practice.
So your full practice would look something like this:
[Your practice first]
Block Exercise 20x – Make each attempt as clean as possible
Core Swing Exercises, 5 sets – 10 swings each exercise
Or…
Block Exercise 20x – Make each attempt as clean as possible
Core Swing Exercises, 5 sets – 10 swings each exercise
[Your practice last]
So there you have it, a kickstart to get your jump back.
Now, leave a comment below and answer this question for me:
What is the most difficult part of a jump back for you?
Until next time,
-Brian
Ps. The next course that I’m putting together, I’m going to be including case studies of people who have already got their handstand and want to talk about it and share pivotal moments in their journey. I’m looking for a wide variety of body types and backgrounds. If you’d like to participate, just reply to this email and let me know.
Thanks for this. You’ve given me some stuff to work on!
Tali, great to hear! What exercises are you currently doing to work on your jump back?
The hardest part for me is to keep myself compacted, and to keep my breath flowing while jumping back. I think I’m still trying to muscle through it too much. I can get a jump back, and once I had a really nice, high one, but often times I do skit or tap my foot ?
Marina, make sure you’re exhaling on the way back! What exercises are you currently doing to work on your jump back?
Brian, another great video lesson! I love your understanding of the tic tic motion and the dynamic of the elbow flexion. This will help anyone who took the 5 min to listen!
Hi Ed! Glad you enjoyed it! I see your practice has come a long way, great work! Next time I’m in LA we’ll have to practice together. 😀
Thank you for this post. I’ve been finding my path through yoga for 2 and half years, doing most versions. I’ve NEVER managed a jump back yet. I find every bit of what you talk about difficult. I think I’d got to the point of accepting that. What utter nonsense! It’s just like anything isn’t it? Have a plan, and follow it. And now I have a plan – I shall follow it! I’ll let you know how I get on. 🙂
Saz, great attitude! I find that the reason people don’t get things is because they don’t stick to them. In my experience, students who persevere always profit! 😀
What types of exercises are you currently doing in your practice to work on your jump back?
Brian, this is fantastic. For me, I have two hardest parts. First, is the hip flexor strength to keep the knees tucked into the chest long enough to avoid the feet dragging on the mat. Second, is maintaining shoulder stability when I start bending the elbows (the shoulders collapsing forwards, rather than staying back in a stabilized position to engage the lats). Would love if you could do something similar for jump throughs. All the best, Michael.
Michael, yep working on it! What exercises are you currently doing to work on your jump back?
It’s holding my knees far enough into my chest to lift up that I’m struggling with.
Cathy, yep this is one of the most difficult parts! What exercises are you currently doing to work on your jump back?
I read somewhere you need to be able to do 30 pushups and 50 sit ups to know that you have the strength so been working here so far. Also I’ve been working on the L-sit you demo-d a while back. Any more ideas?
Another great one is to work on holding Crow with your knees resting between the arms and touching versus resting on the triceps!
Wow … hovering crow! I’ll work on it. Thanks. X
Cathy, yes! It’s a fun one! 😉
The picking up part is the hardest, bringing the knees close to my body and making myself compact. ( hip flexors too weak)
Judit, sounds about right! What exercises are you currently doing to work on your jump back?
Thanks for this Brian. The hardest part of the jumpback for me is lifting my feet and my bum off the floor. I can manage to just about get my feet off for a second or two so I know it’s weakness in my core. I am definitely progressing but it feels like it is taking ages to get to the next stage…
Jacqueline
Jacqueline, sounds like a core problem! What exercises are you currently doing in your practice to work on your jump back?
Sorry, Brian, I don’t even have my float forward!?I think that’s how I got connected with your posts in the first place. For me, I just have a lot of fear – I have recurrent knee & shoulder injuries & I’m afraid of crashing down on my landing & hurting my knees more (I hear lots of crashing from my fellow students). I know if I could manage the controlled float that wouldn’t be a problem but I can’t really wrap my brain (& body) around this & feel like I’d have to go through the crashing phase 1st so I’m too afraid to try. I did meet a very experienced teacher who trained in India with P. Jois who said that I would need a teacher who could assist me enough so I could understand that hip lifting action which is needed for the soft landing. Unfortunately I don’t know any teachers who can do that. I can do crow pretty easily & hold it for awhile – I’m not sure if that’s an indicator of a potential capacity for floating. I’m a bit older & have had recurrent injuries so I kind of gave up on the float so I never really pursued your exercise routine, but I really value & appreciate your clear & inspiring teaching. Thank you, Namaste, Amy
Amy, sure you can learn it! Just have to break it down in manageable steps and give your body a chance to adjust. Start with this exercise here, it’ll help you to start developing the “hook” to start floating but also to get the hip lifting action!
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3JEbUx1VYE4
I am struggling to compact myself enough to even lift off the ground. Is this just core strength I’m lacking or is it lacking in my hip flexes ? It’s like my arms are too short x
Holly, it could be potentially a combination of the two! Try the block exercise and let me know how it goes for you. 🙂
I’ve been struggling for a long time with the 2nd part of the jumpback- the bending the elbows and shooting the legs back. I lift and swing great but yes tap my feet on the ground before shooting back. I’m not sure if it’s fear of going down and smashing my face or need for more of that back strength. I feel like maybe it’s a need for more core too to keep the hips up in the air. thanks for the information. very interesting.
Sandra, sounds like a back strength issue, try that block exercise and let me know how it goes for you!
Hi Brian. The hardest thing about jump is :- not having anyone explain it ! And not being able to find my core strength when I need it ( I never knew about TVA until you explained it and neither does anyone I do yoga with.
Mike Rigby. Wigan GB
Mike, hope you found this post useful! What do you currently do to work on your jump back?
Thanks for all the information! My difficulty lies in the starting position. I feel like I struggle with getting my shoulders far enough forward to create the “swing.” I’ll keep working on it!
Natalie, sounds good! What exercises are you currently doing to work on your jump back?
Thank you Brian, I am pretty sure that my hip flexor strength is the biggest issue b/c I can’t seem to get my knees close enough to my chest; I have super long legs. I have been working on lots of your core strength exercises. Any exercises specifically for hip flexors?
Again, thank you so much!
Sandy, a great starting point is lifting one leg up in the air and holding it out in front of you for 30-60 seconds. Excruciating, but effective. Do each leg twice for a total of 4 sets!
Thank you. Do you mean like the L-sit but only 1 leg at a time?
Sandy, you can do it in an L-sit, but I was talking about just simply standing up!
Ooooooooh. Cool. I’ll try that and have my class work on it too! Thank you.
Sandy, sounds great!
Biggest challenge is hip flexor strength.
Mary, being compact in this movement makes the world of difference! What exercises do you currently do to work on your jump back?
Fear! I have a hypermobile SI joint and have struggled the last 4 years with it. I’m not sure I should even try moves like this with my SI issues.
Candace, you can, you just have to be careful. Developing core strength is a great thing for supporting your SI joint. Just have to take it slow!
Hi Brian!
My problem is to rise myself from the floor using my arms…
Feet are never able to untouch the floor!!!
It’s tricky right? Can you lift your hips off the floor? I’m trying to see if it’s a pushing issue or a core issue!
I can lift myself up and swing my feet back but collapse when it comes to bending the arms
Agnes, sounds like a back strength issue. That block exercise is really going to help! What exercises are you currently doing to work on your jump back?
Thanks Brian!
Was hoping chaturangas would be enough but apparently not…
Just a tiny bit more! 😀
Hey Brian,
What is holding me back is staying in a small enough ball. I can lift off the ground, but even using blocks, my feet feet scape the ground on the way through. Any thoughts?
Thanks for all that you are doing,
Kevin
Kevin, it’s all about making yourself as compact as possible. That can be caused by two things, hip flexor strength or core strength. The smaller you can make yourself, the higher the success rate of you to swing through! What kind of exercises are you currently working on to get your jump back?
Currently I am working on suspended crow on blocks, floor slides using blocks, and L- sit for core strength. I get cramps during the L-sit after 10 seconds, so I usually do sets of 3×10 sec. Anything else?
What also helps is try to do L-sit on blocks with your feet on the floor and just focus on pulling your hips back (and up) as much as you can. Good for the hip flexors and helps to create a tighter ball!
Hey Brian! Will you fo a follow up with the jump through?
My issue is a little of all of these but mainly hip flexor weakness, I can barely get my ass off the ground and when I do there is some awkward hopping action going on. Looking forward to trying these drills out!
-Steph
Steph, yep! Workin on the follow-up video and post for this!
Can’t wait! Sometimes I do it with grace but I haven’t the foggiest idea how ?
It’ll happen!
My issue is: I can do one jumpback with a quick toe tap but when I go to try again, I lose the swing strength and bending of elbows. I’m currently working on your recommended exercises.
Amy, that block exercise will help you fix just that!
Biggest problem is the leaning forward to elevate. I can do crow with a block under my face only otherwise I loose the balance I crash forward. I use the block for spotting sometimes I dont even touch it. What can I do to lean forward and not crash.
Mariebel, sounds like you need your back muscles to stabilize you a bit more. Try not to lean as far forward and hold that position with the arms slightly bent. That’ll help you start to develop the strength. As you get stronger, you can start to go lower. Baby steps!
I’m a skidder. I tried the block jump back exercise right after watching and I think it’s tricep and back strength I’m lacking. But I’ve seen progress through consistent Ashtanga yoga practice, so that’s a plus. Now trying to refine.
Ashley, sounds great! Doing those arm strengthening exercises in addition to an ashtanga practice is a great way to get your jump back and through fast. 🙂
Hi Brian, my issue is swing back and staying compact, I can lift myself off the floor no problem but the swinging back is nearly impossible( I’m 6’7 with long legs) After reading your article I see I need to do additional hip flexor strengthen exercises. Thanks for those exercise, your is the best breakdown of the jump that I’ve come across.
Clarence, glad it was helpful! Let me know how the exercises work for you! What kinds of exercises do you regularly practice to work on your jump back?
Hey Brian, thank you for your blog, it’s amazing!
I would love to participate in your handstand research! It has been quite a journey for me and I would love to share my findings.
Svi, thank you. Shoot me an email!
Hey! Thanks for this! I used to tap the feet down twice while jumping back and now I’m down to one tap. I can’t figure out if it’s bending the arms too soon or lack of activating the right muscle groups. I’ll keep working on it!!
Kristin, sounds like you’re on the right track! Keep me updated on how the exercises work for you!
Hi Brian, great break down.
My issue is elbow pain.
Thoughts?
Michele
Michele, thanks! What kind of elbow pain do you have? Is it from hyperextension?
Yes I do believe I’m hyperextending. I’ve cut out most elbow bending (when I do chaturanga my inner elbows hurt) and am focusing on proper form in plank and improving shoulder strength. I’m better but they still hurt. I am doing your jump back exercises but avoiding the elbow bend ?
Hello Brian,
This article has been a big help – and I’ve made progress.
I am struggling with the part of the movement, where you have to lean forward, sacrum going up like a fulcrum. I don’t seem to tilt – not sure if fear. Physically I should be strong enough – but maybe that still needs work. Can you suggest any other activities or exercises to practice to help develop this movement? Thanks 🙂 Carol
Hi Carol! Another exercise that’s great for this is learning to jump into crow. That set of muscles required to do that is really really similar to getting that back part. Good to hear from you hope you’re doing well. 🙂
Hi Brian!
Thanks for this, your explanations are really helpful.
I’m trying the first exercise and I’m struggling with the fact that every time I jump back the block moves and flies away with my jump and hence, don’t know if I’m doing it right.
And then the second exercise when I swing back and forward after the third time my feet start falling down 🙁
Any thoughts?
Thanks,
Ana
Ana, that’s okay if the block moves, as long as you can feel your back muscles working even for a split second to stabilize yourself! And yes, with the swinging, it just takes time to build the strength to keep going! But keep doing what you’re doing, you’re on the right track. What else do you do to work on your jump back? Do you practice Ashtanga?
I think my problem lies in a lack of hip flexor and core strength and the fact that my arms are short compared to my torso length. I can pick my bum off the ground for a while but I just can’t get my feet off the floor for any length of time. When I sit in staff pose my palms don’t touch the floor. Do you have any suggestions?
Claire, it could also be mobility. Can you lift up off the ground if you use blocks?