Sure, getting hench may be your goal, but power is just as important as building that almighty strength. Having more power in your workout sessions means you’ll be able to lift even more weight, more quickly.
Building power is often underrated. When in fact, it’s a crucial element of smashing your workouts and therefore reaching your goals even faster.
So, how does it happen? Well, it’s all about adding a jump to your workout. Here’s how.
How to do the box jump
Nailing the box jump is all about being nimble on your feet. Much like lifting weights, you gotta start off slow. No jumping to the highest right away!
Step one: Start your takeoff position strong
To kick things off, find a box and stand facing it around six inches away. Keep your feet hip-width apart, with your ankles, knees and hips stacked above one another. Get ready to swing those arms up!
Step two: Loads the hips and jump
Keeping your feet planted, swing your arms towards your heels and drive your hips back. This will load up your hamstrings and glutes nicely! Once you feel this stretch, extend your ankles, knees and hips while throwing your arms up to increase momentum and jump.
Step three: Land smoothly
The way you land is crucial to absorbing your own bodyweight and the force of the jump. Be sure to keep your ankles, knees and hips flexed to take on this force, landing in a squat position. From there, stand up smoothly.
How to conquer box jump sets and reps
Box jumps might seem obvious… Simply grab a box and jump, right? But there’s definitely more to it than that.
Much like lifting weights, you need to work out how box jumps can maximize your training sessions.
For technique: Use a relatively low box to begin with, performing 3 to 4 sets of 3 to 5 reps, resting for 2 minutes between sets.
For power: Kick off with 3 to 5 sets of 1 to 3 reps, resting for around 2 to 3 minutes between sets. Use a higher box than you would for endurance training.
For endurance: Do 2 to 3 sets of 10 to 20 reps, resting for 60 to 90 seconds in between.
Mistakes to avoid when doing box jumps
As a pretty common workout move, it’s to jump right in (quite literally) into doing box jumps, with the assumption of correct form.
But in order to get the most out of them, you gotta perfect your form! So, what should you avoid doing?
Landing too hard
When it comes to the box jump, landing is everything. Landing correctly will allow your body to absorb the shock of your bodyweight as you land, rather than putting the force all on your feet for example.
As you land, allow your knees to bend generously. It’s also important to let your ankles and hips flex as you land, to avoid your feet from taking all the force. If you feel a real sudden shock reverberating in your body – starting at your feet – the chance are you’re landing too hard.
Also Read: The upper body blaster you can do anywhere
Be sure to keep on top of joint health to avoid any injuries.
Not choosing the right box size
It’s easy to think the bigger the better, right? Well, it’s not always the case… Just because you can hop up onto a massive great 40” box, doesn’t mean you should necessarily.
If you’re training for power, you’ll need to work with a higher box than training for endurance.
Doing too many
Yep, too many box jumps are a thing! Since there are no weights involved, it can be tempting to do a shed load of box jumps in your workout sessions. But more importantly, pay attention to your form, intention (endurance, power etc) and joint health.
Keep your volume relatively low – at around 20 reps per set and 60 reps total at the higher end of your workload.
Trying out box jump variations
To add a little variety to your workouts, there are three great box jump variations you can look to do!
Seated box jump
Designed to increase concentric power output, start from a seated position and then explore into a box jump. Remember, you’ll need to perfect the regular box jump first!
One step box jump
The one step box jump can help those looking to increase jumping ability for sport-specific reasons. Once you’ve mastered the regular box jump, taking a step can help you to level up your box jump abilities.
Plus, taking a step beforehand helps you to gain some momentum, helping you to increase jump height too.
Single leg box jump
Now, this variation is not to be taken lightly, since it requires a lot of balance! Start off small, and work your way up in box height. The results over time will increase unilateral strength, power and balance.
Muscles worked during the box jump
Adding box jumps into your workout might not seem like much, but there’s no denying it – they’re kickass. Yep, the box jump works out more muscles than you may think.
Also Read: The ultimate exercises for bigger traps
Sure, they may not increase muscle hypertrophy or strength necessarily, but they can increase your lower body’s power output for certain.
But what muscles does the box jump work?
- Hamstrings
- Quadriceps
- Glutes
- Calves
What are the benefits of the box jump?
Aside from increasing your lower body’s explosiveness and power, is there more to the box jump than we first think?
There definitely is.
Increase rate of force production
Typically, increasing force production is usually done via several methods, including building stronger legs via:
- Squats
- Deadlifts
- Other forms of resistance training
Box jumps can be used to increase athletic potential, increase lower body explosiveness, and positively impact other forms of jumping, squatting, deadlifting, sprinting, and weightlifting.
Improved proprioception
Proprioception is one’s ability to control one’s body in space without even seeing your limbs. This requires agility, finesse and physical awareness.
Adding the box jump into your workout can help to establish better body awareness and control.
Powerful hip and knee extension
To get from the floor to the box, your hips and knees need to extend forcefully to drive the body’s mass. What better way to improve that power, than with the box jump!
Ready to get jumping?
There we have it! There’s no denying that the box jump is worth incorporating into your workout sessions. If you’re looking to level up your power, make the box jump your new best friend in the gym (or even at home, if you’ve got something stable enough!).
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