EVERYTHING YOU NEED TO KNOW ABOUT BOX JUMPING

THE BOX JUMP
‘A jumping exercise in which an athlete projects themselves from the ground and lands with two feet on an elevated box.’

WHY?
Partly so we can look majestic as hell effortlessly floating through the air as other gym goers clap in admiration. But mainly we coach plyometric exercises to make use of the Stretch Shortening cycle (SSC). This is where elastic energy is stored during the eccentric phase (lengthening) and used during the concentric phase (shortening) of a muscular contraction – in this case the lowering in the jump (eccentric) and the coming up (concentric).
The aim is to increase an individual’s overall force production and rate of force production (the amount of force produced + the speed in which it’s produced). They’re also great for looking at jumping and landing mechanics while reducing forces upon impact. Training these qualities can make an athlete faster, stronger and more powerful on the field with direct carryover to skills such as sprinting, cutting and jumping.
Usually the point of the box is to reduce a significant amount of the impact while learning to jump and land effectively. If you’re hammering up and down off the box this defeats the point of the exercise, explosively up, gently down.

HOW?

Jumping
We want to start and land in the same position – the athletic stance. The athletic stance is the most effective position for us to be reactive to what’s going on around us within the game. Start with feet around shoulder width, this allows us to effectively push off in any direction. Chest should be over toes, hips pushed slightly back and weight sitting in the front 2/3rds of the feet allowing for quicker reaction times (Don’t get caught on your heels).
From here we want to drop into a shallow squat swinging the arms back, before swinging them forward and exploding up as powerfully as possible.

Landing
Landing should be in the athletic stance we started in and should be soft, we want to be absorbing forces effectively.

Programming
Box jumps are not a conditioning tool that you should be hammering hundreds of reps of. Try 3 sets of 5 reps at the beginning of your next workout and let me know how you get on.

DISCLAIMER
The height of the box is not important, put your ego to the side. The height of your jump depends on your ability to apply force against the ground to move your centre of mass off the floor against gravity. If you can’t land in the same position you started in, it’s too high.