How To Do Box Jumps: Types, Benefits & Precaution

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January 31, 2022

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We’ve all seen people do the box jumps in the gym or while they workout at home on Instagram and Youtube. Any fitness fanatic will tell you that box jumps are one of the most badass moves you can include in your weight loss exercise routine. Mastering the box jumps offers major payoffs in the gym as well off it.

Box jumps exercise is a great way to train your lower body without putting much impact on your joints. Box jumps are a great exercise to include in your power or strength-focused workouts.

Form and technique make the backbone for box jumps exercise. Please note that box jumps are a more advanced exercise that should be undertaken with some caution. Do not try box jumps at home on your own. If at all, perform box jumps at home only under the guidance of a trainer or an expert.

What is Box Jumps?

Box jumps is advanced plyometrics, or jump training exercise. Box jump workout involves jumping onto a box from the floor and landing with both feet. Jump box gym equipment is the only equipment one would need to perform this exercise.

Like any other jumping exercise, a box jump workout targets your lower body. This plyometric jump box move targets your big lower body extensor or joint-straightening muscles such as your glutes, quads, hamstrings, and calves. Additionally, your core, lower back, and stabilizer muscles assist in the plyometric jump box move.

When performing the quintessential plyometric move where you jump from the floor up onto an elevated surface, such as a jump box gym equipment, it pushes your muscle to the max and helps in increasing your power, speed, and strength.

Box jumps aren’t for everybody. The key to doing box jumps for beginners and pros is in the form. When you do different types of box jumps with proper form and focus and listen to your body, you’ll be able to do them right.

How to do a Box Jump

For the starting position, stand facing the box with your feet roughly six inches from its sides. Your feet should be about hip-distance apart, with your knees and hip slightly bent in an athletic stance.
Now bend your knees and press your hips back as you swing your arms behind you in a smooth motion.
Now, drive through the balls of your feet, jumping straight up into the air, swinging your arms up and forward as you completely extend your hips and knees to get as much height as you can with your jump.
At the top of your jump, bend your knees and hips and draw them forward to land on top of the box.
Land with both your feet at the same on top of the box, leading with balls of your feet and following with the heels. Try to land softly by allowing your hips and knees to bend naturally to absorb the shock of the landing.
When on top of the box, check your foot position. Your feet should be roughly hip-distance apart.
To reset for the next repetition, do not jump off the box. Step off the box carefully.

Types of Box Jumps

There are various types of box jumps that one can try. Incorporating different types of box jumps can help in keeping your workout routine interesting. The different types of box jumps may include:

Squat box jump: Squat box jump is a basic exercise to develop explosive hip and leg extension through the full squat range of motion to enhance speed and acceleration out of the squat. A squat box jump is simply a box jump with a full squatting countermovement or a static starting position.

Burpee Box Jump: A burpee box jump is an advanced bodyweight exercise that combines the movement patterns of a burpee and a box jump. When done with proper form, a burpee box jump can add cardio into your strength workout routine and prepare you for other total-body exercises.

Seated box jump: A seated box jump is a variation of the box jump which eliminates the assistance of a countermovement. A seated box jump is a way to train jumping with concentric-only motion.

Lateral box jumps: Lateral box jumps is a plyometric exercise targeting lateral agility and lower-body strength. Lateral box jumps are a great move for athletes in several sports including skiing, tennis, and basketball. One of the major lateral box jumps benefits is that it helps in building more balanced strength in the lower body muscles including the hip abductors and adductors. Other lateral box jumps benefits include improved strength, stability, and coordination.

Weighted box jumps: Weighted box jumps are a free-weights and plyometrics exercise that primarily targets the glutes while also targeting the calves, hamstrings, and quads to a lesser degree. Performed with the added weight of dumbbells, weighted box jumps are an exercise for those with an intermediate level of fitness.

Benefits of Box Jumps

Box jumps benefits the lower body in myriad ways. One of the major box jumps benefits is their ready application to enhanced sports performance. Other box jumps exercise benefits include:

Improved lower-body strength
Increase in power and explosiveness
Improved balance and coordination
Helps in avoiding pain and injury in high-impact exercises.
Increase in output and calorie burn.

Another notable box jumps exercise benefits is the increase in your vertical jump range. Box jump crossfit is an integral part of Crossfit workouts. Box jump crossfit is considered to be of great use to your workout, improving overall performance and results.

Precautions to be taken

When looking to add box jumps to your workout routine, begin with box jumps for beginners. Some precautions to take/ things to keep in mind when doing box jumps include:

Don’t choose a box that is too high as that can potentially cause injury.
Do not jump off the box but step down carefully.
Focus on landing correctly. A soft landing on the whole foot, in a slight squat with your knees slightly out is the key to proper landing in box jump.

If box jump isn’t fit for your body, one should try a box jumps alternative. A box jumps alternative exercise will give you almost the same benefits. There are various box jumps alternative exercises that you can try. Some box jumps alternative exercise include: