I work in a big commercial gym. Because of that, I often see what can only be classified as dumb shit pretty often. From weird shit on the smith machine to people using cable pulleys for all sorts of purposes.
But nothing tops when people do box jumps. It’s one of the most horrific things a trainer could witness. Because it’s so awful, and because I’ve seen my fair share of busted shins, I’m here to set the record straight.
Box jumps are one of the greatest movements you can do in the gym to develop explosive power, which translates into lifting more weight, more athleticism, and might even come in handy if you become a vigilante one day.
The great thing is that most guys inherently get this. We see other dudes jumping up onto high platforms in videos on the Internet or in the gym. The competitive juices in us get flowing, and we immediately want to start trying. So we start jumping on any box we can find, and do it over and over again, all in hopes that we’ll be able to leap like Mike one day.
Unfortunately this is the worst possible way you could start doing box jumps.
Working out, lifting weights, running, and any other form of exercise is inherently dangerous. You can act like your hardcore and only scrubs get hurt, but the truth is that for every single exercise there is risk/reward factor that you’ve got to think about.
This is one of the cornerstones to building any great program. If said program isn’t designed properly, you run the risk of getting injured, and therefore limiting the amount of training you can do in the future. Which means also limiting your gains.
Box jumps are one of those exercises that involves a very high reward, but at the same time a very high risk. If you’re looking to get as much out of them as possible, then you need to mitigate that risk as much as possible. And in order to do so, you need to understand the real purpose that box jumps serve.
Box jumps are for power development, not conditioning.
The entire point of a box jump is to tap into your nervous system, fire as many muscle fibers at once, and jump as high as possible. It’s a quick movement, but you can’t do it repeatedly time after time. You have to take a break in order to recover.
Most bros completely disregard this and instead opt for repeatedly jumping onto the same height box, jumping right back down, and repeating until they’re dripping sweat; a great way to get tired, but not a great way to become more powerful, or even more shredded.
Just think, how often have you been in the gym and seen guys setting up a box and jumping on it for reps? That accomplishes virtually nothing. Sure, it may get you out of breath, but when you’re doing that in a fatigued state you’re just asking to bust your shin or snap your Achilles due to poor landing technique.
The better way to do box jumps is place a smaller step beside the box you’re jumping on, perform your box jump, step down, rest 5-10 seconds, and repeat no more than 3-4 times.
That’s it. Simple, safe, and brutally effective.
Remember, box jumps aren’t there to serve as a conditioning tool. That’s what jump ropes, running, rowing machines, and a whole host of other movements are for. Box jumps are for power development, and power development alone.