The power skip in running drills: take off alternately, drive the swing leg up, extend the body. Rhythm, height and distance variants, mistakes and safety.
The honest answer up front: in the power skip you take off alternately with the right and left foot, drive the other leg up as a swing leg and land first on the same foot, then slightly delayed on the other. That is how BASPO with Swiss Athletics describes it as "Hopserhüpfen": extension of the body is the focus, the arms stay bent like in running, and the rhythm "tam-da-tam" helps [1]. In plain words: it is an exaggerated, springy step in which you consciously feel the push-off.
What does it give you? The source names balance, coordination and single-leg strength as the goal [1]. There is no study on this exercise itself. Research offers two classifications, with caution. First: in a meta-analysis of 21 studies and 511 endurance runners, jump training improved running economy and time over 2 to 5 kilometers [4] (TRANSFER: that was jump training as a program, not the power skip as a warm-up drill). Second: in a simulation with five adults, skipping as a gait had lower knee loading but higher metabolic cost than running [3]. In plain words: it is an exercise that challenges you but does not wreck your knee at once. That is no more than a small observation, though.
When do you use the power skip? In the warm-up before speed sessions or as a relaxed block after skipping. It is not a conditioning exercise but a technique and coordination exercise. Keep it short and fresh, never to exhaustion.
How hard is it? You see the principle in a minute. In experience terms you need a few sessions until rhythm and extension come together loosely.
Walk slowly and say "tam-da-tam": one long step, one short hop. Alternately right and left. Milestone: 10 repetitions while walking without tripping.
Take off with one foot and drive the other leg up as a swing leg [1]. The take-off comes powerfully from leg and hip [1].
You land on the same foot and slightly delayed with the other [1]. The foot sets down actively toward the center of mass [1]. Then you switch the jumping leg.
Emphasize the extension of leg and hip. The arms stay bent like in running and swing along [1]. Anchor: at push-off you feel a centimeter taller.
Vary: jump for height by driving the swing leg up, or for distance by pushing off more forward. Repeat over 20 to 30 meters, 2 to 3 passes [2]. Milestone: 3 clean passes with an even rhythm.
Film yourself from the side and watch the moment the swing leg is up. Is the stance leg nearly fully extended at that moment? Then you have the principle: first extend, then lift off. If you lift off first and extend afterward, you lose power. As a test, do two passes with only the rhythm and two with a focus on extension. Your feeling after each pass is the feedback.
An exercise in which you take off alternately, drive the other leg up and land on the same foot before the other follows [1].
That has not been studied for the exercise itself. Jump training as a program moderately improved running economy in endurance runners [4].
Yes, if you can hop without pain, start on a soft surface and do only 2 to 3 passes [2].
In skipping you keep high frequency with small steps. In the power skip you jump farther and emphasize the strong push-off [1].
Crossover Run (Carioca): Running Sideways With Alternating Leg Crosses