https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rgPw3tEFZOY
The above video is me demonstrating how to properly do box jumps. Now as simple as they may come, there is a technique to them that can prevent injury. In this blog post, I will go over some key notes to take away from this workout and like all workouts, give you some informative information about the particular exercise.
I personally enjoy doing box jumps, and for more advanced athletes, they are usually using boxes higher than myself (but I had to use what resources I had) – and for the beginners, I would highly recommend a much lower height to get the hang of things. I started box jumps years ago as an athlete in high school, so this was nothing new to me, but it wasn’t until I started CrossFit that I was doing them more often & now I implement them in my regular workouts too. For those of you who do box jumps, feel free to add your own insight in the comment section and/or achievements of what heights you use for your box jumps, and for those of you who haven’t yet tried this, give it a go and let me know what you think afterwards in the comment section.
How to perform box jumps:
- Choose a box of an appropriate height (beginners lower heights, more advanced athletes, higher ones) 1-2 feet in front of you, feet should be shoulder width apart and this will be the starting position.
- perform a short squat in preparing for the jump, making sure to swing your arms behind you.
- “Rebound” out of this position, extending through the hips, knees and ankles. Make sure to jump as high as possible while swinging your arms forward and up.
- You will land on the box with the knees bent, the impact will be absorbed through the legs, the step down and start again.
Some key points I want you to keep in mind:
- You want to land as quietly as possible. There is no need to be obnoxious and loud when landing on the platform.
- make sure you are wearing appropriate footwear
- use a safe platform to jump on
- Jump high
- Do not land with the knees caved in – land with them out
- jump at a height that both feet can make it on the platform
- landing on the platform in a deep squat position usually means the height of the platform might be too high for you; you should be landing at half a squat
Now personally I land on my toes while doing box jumps and make sure my heel touches last, but I have heard of athletes saying their coaches tell them to land on their heels and toes touch last and my opinion of that is .. it is awkward and I feel as though I will injure myself doing so and I was always taught toes first then heels. I would suggest my way but if you are being taught a different way then.. I won’t argue with you.
Many athletes will have their heels half off the box when jumping because it is semi quicker than having the whole foot on the box, in my demonstration my whole foot is on the platform, not just half of it. Depending on who is coaching you and their tactics, it could be interchangeable. Some coaches care and others do not.
What muscles are effected by the BOX JUMP?
- Glutes
- Quads
- Hamstrings
- Calves
- Hip Flexors
Now this isn’t an exercise you need to implement daily, but it is always good to implement some form of plyos in your workouts, even when training as a runner. The box jump will focus on increasing your strength and muscle tone, builds upper body and lower body and when used as a form of cardio, it is beneficial to burning calories. Hopefully all of you will share your love for box jumps and be sure to leave comments, like, follow and share. Thanks for reading.
Fitness WonderWoman,
Shay-lon xo
Be the best version of you 
I have been been able to do this. I just step up and doen and i vant even do that too high
LikeLiked by 1 person
Yes, step ups are also another good one, I do those as well. I have found that one leg is weaker than the other so the step ups help me to figure this out and work on the weaker leg. Although box jumps will help build those hammies and a little bit of the quads.
LikeLiked by 1 person
My left side is my weaker
LikeLiked by 1 person
Wow! we both have the same weaker side, lol Have you always been weaker on the left side?
LikeLike
Awesome post! I have a love-hate relationship with box jumps. But yet I still keep doing them every week during workouts! lol
LikeLiked by 1 person
Haha!
Thank you. Why the love-hate relationship with box jumps? I think it is great that you still implement them, they come handy for warm ups as well.
LikeLiked by 1 person