Strength is ever-important in the weight room. The pursuit of strength is number one on your quest to hoist a heavily loaded barbell, after all. But power — defined as how quickly you can move weight — is the silent show. The more powerful your legs, the bigger your capacity to lift bigger loads. Here’s how to do the box jump to leap into a more explosive form of strength.
Editor’s Note: The content on BarBend is meant to be informative in nature, but it should not be taken as medical advice. When starting a new training regimen and/or diet, it is always a good idea to consult with a trusted medical professional. We are not a medical resource. The opinions and articles on this site are not intended for use as diagnosis, prevention, and/or treatment of health problems. They are not substitutes for consulting a qualified medical professional.
How to Do the Box Jump
Avoid jumping right into this move without knowing how to land. Remember, you want to be nimble and light on your feet. Don’t try and force a jump to a box height you’re not yet ready for. Start low and build height from there.
Equipment Needed: All you’ll need here is a plyometric box, and maybe your favorite pair of cross-training shoes.
- Step 1 — Stand facing your box, about six inches away. Start with your feet about hip-width so that your ankles, knees, and hips are nearly stacked above one another. A good rule of thumb is to set your feet a couple of inches closer together than you’d stand for a back squat. Swing your arms up.
- Step 2 — With your feet planted, swing your arms back and drive your hips back to load your hamstrings and glutes. Once you feel a big stretch in your hamstrings and glutes, extend your ankles, knees, and hips while throwing your hands up to increase momentum further and leave the ground.
- Step 3 — To land softly, flex your ankles, knees, and hips upon landing so your muscles can absorb your body weight and the impact force. Land in a squat position and stand up.
- Step 4 — Step back down from the box one foot at a time. Reset your position and repeat for reps.
Coach’s Tip: Flow your movements together when you’re loading your body for the jump. Try not to segment this part. Otherwise, you’ll lose power, and your jump may fall flat.
Box Jump Variations
There’s more than one way to leap onto a box. Here are the best box jump variations to add to your repertoire.
One-Step Box Jump
[Read More: 10 Box Jump Variations to Boost Strength, Explosiveness, and Athleticism]
Why Do It: The one-step approach to a box jump (rather than starting from a standing position) can help athletes who may need to increase their jumping ability for sport-specific purposes.
This also allows you to gain momentum as you go into the jump, often increasing the height you can reach.
Equipment Needed: Plyo box
- Set up facing a plyo box about a full stride in front of the box.
- Take one step forward toward the box.
- Take a brief pause to load your hips — no full loading in this variation — and jump onto the box as normal.
- Step down, step back, and repeat for reps.
Single-Leg Box Jump
Why Do It: As the name implies, this is a box jump off of one leg. This variation is hard to do and requires a lot of balance and proprioception. However, the payoff is increased unilateral strength, power, and balance.
Equipment Needed: Plyo box
- Set up as normal for a box jump. You might want to be slightly closer to the box, and certainly use a much shorter box when you’re first attempting this one.
- Balance on one leg as you load your hamstrings and glutes.
- Immediately transfer the momentum from loading into your jump, landing softly on top of the box.
- Step down and repeat. Keep reps even on both sides.
Seated Box Jump
[Read More: 5 Plyometric Exercises to Develop More Power]
Why Do It: Here, you’ll start from a seated position and then explode up to a box jump. This variation increases concentric power output since you jumping can’t load up ahead of time. This is a tough variation, so make sure you’ve mastered the art of the regular box jump before attempting this one.
Equipment Needed: Weight bench, plyo box
- Sit perched on a weight bench or small in front of the box you’ll jump on.
- Place your feet in the same stance you would use to jump if you were standing. Make any micro-adjustments you need to accommodate your mobility and current strength levels.
- Without using excessive body English, explode up from your seat into a regular box jump.
- Step down carefully, sit back down, and repeat for reps.
Box Jump Alternatives
No box? No problem. You can improve lower body power without access to a plyo box with some box jump alternatives.
Step Up
[Read More: Split Squat vs Lunge vs Step Up — What Are the Differences?]
Why Do It: Whether you don’t have access to a box or you’re not able to jump, you can do step-ups to give yourself some of the benefits of box jumps. Your legs will get stronger and more balanced. You’ll be working unilaterally, too, which means that you’ll fight imbalances between sides. That’s always a good recipe for lower body stability and strength.
Equipment Needed: Step-up platform OR plyo box; free weights (optional)
- Stand in front of a step-up platform or box. Raise your working leg and plant it on top of the box firmly. Shift your body weight into that working foot and brace your core.
- Drive your working foot down into the box, raising your body upward. Step up until your other leg comes to standing on top of the box.
- Step down gently. Reset and repeat. Keep reps even on both sides.
Jump Squat
[Read More: Plyometric Vs. Resistance Training: Which Is Best for Short-Term Results?]
Why Do It: The jump squat is a plyometric movement that can increase the load used (often light loads) to induce greater muscle activation and power output. This is common in most Olympic weightlifting and formal sports programs during power and explosive phases of training.
Equipment Needed: No equipment!
- Set up in your normal squat stance. Brace your core.
- Sink down into a squat position, sweeping your arms behind your body.
- Explode upward, swinging your arms out and up to help give your momentum direction. Finish your squat with a powerful jump upward, squeezing your quads, glutes, and even your calves on the way up.
- Land softly with bent knees and go directly into your next rep.
Broad Jump
[Read More: I Know You Can Jump, But Can You Land?]
Why Do It: The broad jump is a plyometric movement that has the athlete jump in a more horizontal trajectory. So the hip flexion is increased (to drive the body forward), and the knee extension is decreased (since less height is needed). Therefore, your hamstrings and hips are slightly more involved, directly applying to running and sprinting.
Equipment Needed: No equipment!
- Stand tall with your feet in roughly your squat stance.
- Push your hips back as you bend your knees. Swing your arms back behind you as your thighs reach parallel. Push through both of your feet to send yourself into a strong forward jump. Aim for horizontal difference rather than height.
- Land softly with bent knees and return to your squatting position. Leap again or turn around to repeat your rep in the same location.
Who Should Do the Box Jump
For athletes who can safely perform the box jump, it can be used in a wide range of programs. Here’s why and how this movement affects different populations.
Strength and Power Athletes
- Powerlifters and Strongman Athletes: While maximal power output may not be the highest priority for more strength-based athletes, the ability to increase power output and muscle recruitment via box jumps can aid (even a little) overall force production. This can help to increase pulling power off the floor in a heavy deadlift, produce greater hip extension in a push press, and bolster a person’s ability to accelerate through a sticking point in a squat.
- Weightlifters: Box jumps for Olympic weightlifters can increase eccentric strength, elasticity, and power output for movements like snatches and cleans & jerks. The neurological adaptations that take place from performing box jumps can be applied directly to most of the weightlifting movements.
CrossFitters
The box jump is an extremely popular move to program in CrossFit workouts and competitions. If you’re aiming to compete in a division that programs these, you’ll likely want to get familiar with box jumps. This move also jacks up your heart rate to enhance conditioning, which is a huge part of functional, day-to-day fitness.
Average Gymgoers
Any gymgoer who can safely perform them can benefit from box jumps. That said, if you haven’t tried these before, make sure you’re starting with a low box to nail your mechanics and gradually get your body used to the demand.
Box Jump Sets and Reps
There’s more to box jumps than grabbing a box and hopping aboard. Just like barbell work, you have to program them to suit your needs and how they fit into your training session. You won’t be using this move to build max strength — though the power you develop will help with carryover into your barbell lifts. Instead, program box jumps according to power, endurance, and skills training.
- For Technique: Perform three to four sets of three to five repetitions, resting two minutes between sets. Use a relatively low box to start.
- For Power: Start with three to five sets of one to three repetitions, resting two to three minutes between sets. Use a higher box than you would for endurance training.
- For Endurance: Do two to three sets of 10 to 20 repetitions, resting 60 to 90 seconds between.
When you’re training for endurance, find a literal middle ground with your box height. You’ll want it to be taller than what you use while focusing strictly on technique. It’ll also be lower than what you’ll use when you’re focusing on power.
Benefits of the Box Jump
Even if you’re primarily interested in brute strength, training for power in the offseason can be a huge boon for your performance.
Increase Rate of Force Production
Increased force production can come from various methods, such as building stronger legs with squats, deadlifts, and other forms of resistance training. However, in most sports, such as weightlifting, strongman, CrossFit, and more traditional athletics, the ability to promote force at increasing rates is a key indicator of athletic potential — and competition readiness.
[Read More: 3 Explosive Squat Variations to Build Lower Body Power]
Box jumps can help increase lower body explosiveness and have a lot of carry-over potential to other improving forms of jumping, as well as squatting, deadlifting, sprinting, and weightlifting.
Improved Proprioception
Proprioception is one’s ability to control one’s body in space without even seeing your limbs. Think about an Olympic wrestler defending a takedown — their legs are sprawled out, their arms are hooked over their opponents, and their head is placed on the attacker’s mid-back. It’s an involuntary reaction that requires agility, finesse, and physical awareness.
Like other plyometric movements, box jumps can help lifters establish better body awareness and control as they explode from one position to another.
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. Ultimately, this builds more power in these specific areas. This added knee and hip power will help other movements that require it — such as lunges, hip thrusts, and sprints.
Muscles Worked by the Box Jump
These are certainly a powerhouse for your lower body. Here’s what muscles you might expect to get sore after a session full of jumping boxes.
- Hamstrings: Your hamstrings are one of the primary muscles involved in the box jump, as they flex your knees. Make sure they’re thoroughly warmed up before your session.
- Quadriceps: Like your hamstrings, your quadriceps are involved in the force output necessary for the box jump, as they promote knee extension that propels your body upwards away from the floor.
- Glutes: Your glutes are responsible for powerful hip extension and supporting your hamstrings and quadriceps in forceful lower body joint extension.
- Calves: Your calves are responsible for ankle plantarflexion. Strong, stable, and powerful calves can increase stability and help lifters reach a more forceful triple extension in most explosive movements.
Common Box Jump Mistakes
With an exercise as common as the box jump, it’s easy to hop onto the bandwagon and assume you’re doing it right. But even with exercises that you see people perform all the time, you’ve got to make sure your form is locked in. Here are the most common mistakes to avoid when you’re training for the box jump.
Landing Too Hard
The first thing you need to master with box jumps is the art of landing. Allow your knees to bend generously, and let your ankles and hips also flex as you land. That way, your feet won’t be absorbing all the shock of your body weight. If you feel the shock of landing reverberating in your body — starting with your feet — or feel pain in your heels during or after performing this move, you’re likely landing too hard. You’ll likely want to reassess your joint health first, then refine your form before attempting this exercise again.
Box Size
Just because you can hop onto a 40-inch box doesn’t mean you always should. When you’re training for power, you’ll use a higher box than you will when you’re training for endurance. That said, you’ll keep your reps low. If you need to psych yourself up significantly between each rep to achieve the height you need, you’re probably jumping too high for endurance training.
[Read More: The 8 Best Plyo Box Exercises for Conditioning and Strength Gains]
To spare your joints, instead of upping the intensity by going even higher, try adding a bodyweight move in between jumps. A common way to do this in CrossFit is to add a burpee between reps. That way, you’ll be keeping your intensity high without tearing up your knees and feet.
Doing Too Many
Yes, there is such a thing as doing too many box jumps. It might be tempting to pile on the volume since this is an unweighted move. And sure, sometimes you have to perform a solid amount of reps to complete your WOD (workout of the day). First and foremost with box jumps, you want to make sure you’re taking care of your joints.
Keep your volume relatively low — at less than 20 reps per set and 60 reps total at the higher end of your workload. This will help your knees and feet have adequate recovery time and relief from the repetitive stress of this exercise. The higher you get in terms of volume, the harder it will be to keep the perfect form that helps you land softly. And the harder you land, the tougher this is on your joints.
Get the Jump on Power Training
Hefting a heavy barbell isn’t the only way to get more powerful in the gym. You can build yourself a powerful lower body — and a strong pair of lungs — with nothing but a plyo box and a lot of grit. Box jumps might not be the easiest exercise in the gym, but they’re well worth the effort. As long as you’re landing softly, you can go as hard as you want.
FAQs
Box jumps can look both simple and very difficult all at the same time — because they are. You might be grappling with figuring out how they can get you where you want to be. Check out some of the most frequently asked questions about this classic plyometric exercise.
You should jump to as high of a box as possible while still maintaining solid box jump mechanics. That is an extension of your ankles, knees, and hips, and a soft landing. If you find yourself overextending or your feet sliding on the box upon landing, then lower the height.
For max power output, stick with three to five sets of one to three reps to a high box. For endurance-focused workouts, do two to three sets of 20-plus reps to a lower box. To work on technique, choose a moderate-height box, and then perform three sets of five reps.
It depends. If you are jumping for peak power output, then you could step down to minimize wear and tear on the body, and allow yourself to recover between reps. If you are looking for endurance (or if you need to do multiple jumps in a row for time), then maybe jumping down is an option. Note that jumping down does increase the loading and stress on your body. So if you are doing high-volume box jumps, stepping down may be a better option for most people.
