A skip and B skip: how to do them and what they're for

An A skip is a rhythmic skipping drill where you drive one knee up to about hip height, then bring that foot down quickly under your body, alternating legs. A B skip starts the same way, then extends the lower leg forward and pulls it back down underneath you, like a paw scraping the ground.

They're the two drills every running coach seems to know, and the two drills most people do wrong: leaning back, flailing their arms, and turning a skip into a sprint. This guide covers what an A skip drill is for, how to do the A skip and B skip properly, where they go in a session, and what they honestly do for your running. If you'd rather not plan your warm-ups yourself, that's part of what a running app built for hybrid athletes handles.

What is an A skip?

The A skip is a running drill that exaggerates two parts of the stride: lifting the knee, and putting the foot down quickly under your hips. You skip rather than run, so there's a little hop on the standing leg each time, which gives the drill its rhythm.

It's one of the classic running form drills, and it's usually the first one coaches teach because it's simple to learn and easy to see when it's wrong.

If you're new to running and following a beginner run + lift plan, A skips are a good first drill to learn. Two sets of 20 meters before your faster sessions is plenty.

How to do an A skip

Learn it in two steps: march first, then skip.

Step 1: the A-march.

1. ›Stand tall, slight forward lean from the ankles, not the waist.
2. ›Lift one knee to about hip height. Keep the foot under the knee, toes pulled up toward the shin.
3. ›Bring the foot down under your hips, landing on the ball of the foot.
4. ›Swap legs and walk forward like that, with the opposite arm swinging forward.

Step 2: the A skip.

1. ›Do the same movement, but add a small skip on the standing leg each time.
2. ›Keep the rhythm quick and light: up, down, skip, swap.
3. ›The foot strikes the ground under your body, then the next knee comes up.
4. ›Cover 20 meters, walk back, repeat.

Cues that help:

• ›"Step over the opposite ankle." It keeps the foot tucked under you instead of swinging out in front.
• ›"Hit the ground, don't reach for it." The foot comes down actively.
• ›"Tall and quiet." If you hear slapping, slow down.

What is a B skip?

The B skip is the A skip with an extra piece. After the knee comes up, the lower leg swings forward until the leg is nearly straight, then you pull it back down and under your body so the foot lands under your hips. That pulling-back motion is the "paw".

It drills the part of the stride where the leg comes down and back before ground contact. It's harder to coordinate than the A skip, so learn the A skip first.

How to do a B skip

1. ›Start with a good A skip rhythm for a few steps.
2. ›At the top of the knee lift, let the lower leg swing forward.
3. ›Pull the leg back down and under you, landing on the ball of the foot under your hips.
4. ›Skip on the standing leg, swap, repeat for 20 meters.

A simpler stepping stone is the B-march: the same leg motion, walking instead of skipping. Do a few weeks of that if the B skip feels like you're falling over.

A skip vs B skip

Do them as a pair: A skip first, then B skip. That's how most coaches program "a skip b skip", and it's how they appear in most warm-up routines.

What A skips and B skips actually do

The honest version.

They're good warm-up tools. A systematic review and meta-analysis found warming up improved performance in 79% of the criteria examined, with little evidence that it causes harm (Fradkin, Zazryn and Smoliga, 2010). That covered warm-ups in general, not skips specifically, but drills are a practical way to turn an easy jog into a proper warm-up before a hard session.

They're not the same as running. A 2025 study had long-distance runners perform A skips, B skips and other drills alongside normal running. The A skip and B skip produced a smaller dorsiflexion peak at the ankle and midfoot than running did (Abran et al., 2025). Drills resemble parts of the stride. They aren't copies of it.

They won't make you faster on their own. In a 15-week study of recreational runners doing interval training, adding running drills didn't produce performance improvements over the same training without them (Azevedo et al., 2015). One study, one group of runners, but it matches the coaching view: drills support the training, they don't replace it.

So the case for skips is modest and reasonable: they warm you up, they rehearse rhythm and coordination, and they take five minutes.

Where A skips and B skips fit

Skips go after an easy jog and before anything fast. A good running warmup for a hard session looks like this:

1. ›10–15 minutes easy jogging.
2. ›A skips and B skips, 2 × 20 m each, plus one or two other drills.
3. ›Three or four longer strides of 80–100 m, building to fast but relaxed.
4. ›The session.

Good times to use them:

• ›Before intervals, tempo runs, races and hill sessions. Whether it's a structured interval set or a fartlek run, skips help you start sharp.
• ›Before a lower-body lifting session. A few skips and bounds beat five minutes on a bike as a warm-up for squats.
• ›After an easy run, with strides, once or twice a week to keep coordination sharp.

Bad times: when you're exhausted, the day after a very hard leg session, or when you're rushing. Sloppy skips practice sloppy skips.

A skips, hills and sprints

Skips are the low-intensity end of a family of speed and power work. The next step up is short hill sprints, which force a strong knee drive and push-off without much pounding. If you're wondering do hill sprints make you faster, they're a good tool for exactly the kind of power that skips only rehearse.

Hill running benefits overlap with what skips train too: knee lift, a strong push-off, posture. Running uphill naturally rewards the same movements the A skip exaggerates.

Skips at different times of day

Early sessions need a longer jog before drills. Nobody's coordinated five minutes after getting out of bed, so a morning run that ends in skips and strides should start slower than an afternoon one.

If you drill before breakfast, you've probably wondered is it bad to run on an empty stomach. For a short, easy session it's mostly a personal call. Before a hard workout, most people do better with something small first.

Common A skip and B skip mistakes

• ›Leaning back. Stand tall with a slight forward lean from the ankles.
• ›Landing in front of your body. The foot comes down under your hips, not ahead of them.
• ›Going too fast. It's a rhythm drill, not a race. Speed comes after the shape is right.
• ›Floppy arms. Opposite arm, opposite leg, elbows bent, relaxed shoulders.
• ›Doing too many. Two sets of 20 m is enough. If you're breathing hard, you're overdoing it.

A skips for runners who lift

If you lift, skips are a natural bridge between the gym and the road. They're short, they're coordinated, and they wake up the calves and hips before either a run or a squat session. Keep them before the hard work and keep the volume low. You're priming movement, not adding another workout.

How exrsz handles drills

exrsz builds a periodized plan from your goal, schedule, level and equipment, with running and lifting balanced in one plan. It adapts each week to how you actually trained and reshuffles missed sessions, so the hard runs your skips warm you up for land on days you can actually run them hard.

FAQ

What is a skip in running?

A skip is a running drill that combines a small hop on the standing leg with an exaggerated part of the running stride. The A skip focuses on knee lift and quick foot contact; the B skip adds a leg extension and pull back.

How do you do an A skip drill?

Stand tall, drive one knee up to about hip height with the foot under the knee, bring the foot down quickly under your hips, and add a small skip on the standing leg. Alternate legs for about 20 meters.

What is a B skip?

A B skip is an A skip with an extra step: the lower leg extends forward at the top of the knee lift, then pulls back down so the foot lands under your body. Learn the A skip first.

Do A skips and B skips make you faster?

Not on their own. They make a solid warm-up, and warming up improved performance in most criteria in one meta-analysis (Fradkin, Zazryn and Smoliga, 2010), but one study found adding drills to interval training didn't improve performance (Azevedo et al., 2015).

When should I do A skips and B skips?

After an easy jog and before a workout, race or strides. Two sets of 20 meters of each is enough for most runners.