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Box jumps are nothing more than jumping on the box. Box jumping can be an excellent element of plyometric, strength or jumping training. For this reason, it is very often used in crossfit, which adopted box jumps as its flagship exercise. However, jumping on the box requires impeccable technique and experience in sports. Check how to do them.

Contents:

  1. Box jumping - how to do them correctly
  2. Box jumping - security
  3. Box jumping - how to choose a box?
  4. Box jumping - 5 reasons why you should do it
  5. Box jumping - what muscles does it involve

Box jumping is an extremely effective physical activity! It shapes not only strength, but also flexibility and improves the overall efficiency of the body. However, this is not an exercise intended for everyone. After all, it is worth trying to be able to perform box jumping, because box jumping certainly has more advantages than disadvantages. Learn how to properly perform box jumping.

Box jumping - how to do them correctly

To properly perform box jumping, follow the instructions below, in which we explain the box jumping technique step by step:

  1. Stand with your feet hip-width apart. Bend your knees, press your feet to the floor, and point your legs gently outward.
  2. Once your legs are tense and ready to jump, bend your torso forward and contract your abs by pulling your navel towards your spine.
  3. Bend your arms and bring them up to the level of your chest. They will help you both while jumping on the crate and jumping off the crate.
  4. Then perform a crate hit and land in the same position you started in. Remember that the angle between the knee and thigh is approximately 90 degrees.
  5. When dismounting from the crate, you can choose three variants of this exercise:
    a)Walk slowly backwards from the crate, first placing one foot on the ground and then the other.
    b)Get down from the crate in the front, squatting gently.
    c)Jump off the crate from the same position as you landed. To do this, after jumping onto the crate, straighten up for a moment and hold the squat for a few seconds. This will allow your muscles to tense again and prepare you for the jump. Nextjump in front of the crate, remembering that your toes land first, and then your heels. Be careful not to jump on straight legs! Your lower limbs must gently cushion the landing by soft bending the knee joints.

Box jumping - security

Box jumping is an extremely effective exercise, but it is not dedicated to everyone. First of all, no beginners, people returning to sports after injuries or those suffering from knee, ankle or hip injuries are excluded from doing box jumps.

Box jumping is intended for advanced athletes or people who can boast above average fitness. Box jumping requires a perfect technique, and since it is a static-dynamic exercise, it is not easy.

Before you start box jumping, check if you can land correctly on the ground, if your knees do not come down inwards, and if you can jump several dozen centimeters high. Many of us don't even realize it, but without learning jumps step by step, we won't do box jumps correctly.

Always remember to warm up before exercising. Start with jumping and landing in place, and then jump on the crate. Otherwise you could end up seriously injuring your joints or muscles.

Never take a chest that exceeds your abilities. You can skip to it and land on your spine or stumble and hurt your knees. Do not risk and choose the chest carefully, preferably under the supervision of a professional gym trainer.

Box jumping - how to choose a box?

The simplest test that helps you choose the right crate for your height and abilities is to check whether you landed in the same position when you jumped on the crate from which you started. A good jump must always start with and end with an athletic position.

It is worth knowing that any attempts to land below the angle of 100 degrees of knee flexion will not only be a technical error, but may also increase the risk of injury.

Also remember that your hips should always be above your knees at all times when you jump onto the crate. If these guidelines change during box jumps, either your chest is too high or your technique is insufficient.

Never do this during box jumps:

When you jump on the crate, never do a full squat on it. The maximum angle between the knee and the thigh should be 100 degrees. The most favorable position for your knees is one with the hipsare higher than the knees.

Why? When we jump on the elevation and press the buttocks to the heels, the ACL anterior ligament and PCL posterior ligament get overstretched and may result in tearing or, worse, tearing them off.

On the other hand, if you jump onto the crate on straight legs or you do not descend to an angle of about 90 degrees, you will not use the shock-absorbing role of the biceps and gluteal muscles and you will also be exposed to injuries, especially to the knee joint.

Box jumping - 5 reasons why you should do it

1. Box jumping strengthens the explosive power of the muscles. This translates into more power in the lower extremities and the muscles of the torso. Jumping on the chest accelerates the reaction time of fast twitch fibers, and thus - the lower parts of our body are stronger and faster. All because the jumps on the elevation stimulate the neuromuscular system, because they require not only agility and quick reaction time, but also strength and dynamics.

2. Chest jumping engages the muscles of the whole body to work! During the jump, the core muscles work very hard, keeping our body in the correct posture. Strong abdominal muscles and other corset muscles guarantee energy for the whole body, and in this case the force of the jump. Other muscles join this: the muscles of the legs, the arm muscles, and the buttock muscles. Activating all these muscle groups at the same time is an excellent exercise for the entire body. Additionally, box jumping is a very economical exercise in the sense that it saves us a lot of time. One exercise, several minutes of exercise and a full body workout is ready!

Read: Deep muscles - how to exercise deep muscles?

3. Box jumps are the perfect burning exercise! You burn more calories in 30 minutes of doing this exercise than when you run! Box jumps is an endurance, strength and endurance exercise at the same time. When jumping on the platform to work, not only the leg muscles are engaged, but also the abdominal and arm muscles.

In addition, jumping on the chest activates fast-twitch fibers, which use a lot of energy to work. In order to rise up and land on the elevation, our body must activate a number of functions and activate really large energy reserves. The fact that it is anaerobic (anaerobic) makes this exercise more effective in burning calories. At this energy level, the body reaches for fat reserves also after the end of the effort.

4. Box jumping improves the mobility of the joints. Chest jumping mimics the natural human movement patterns. They perfectly affect mobilityand joint mobility, especially of the hips and knees. Your joints work in a natural pattern when you jump and land. The muscles stretch and contract, which additionally increases their flexibility. Muscles that are long and strong at the same time are he althy muscles, and box jumping certainly has a positive effect on them.

5. Chest jumping is a universal strength exercise. Box jumps trains core muscles, improves stabilization, mobility, speeds up metabolism, shapes and slims muscles and improves overall body fitness. For this reason, it is a complete and universal exercise aimed at all those who want to be faster, stronger and simply move better.

Box jumping - what muscles does it involve

Box jumping actually engages almost all the muscles in our body! It is an extremely effective and very demanding exercise for our body. The main muscles that are involved in movement during box jumping are:

  • gluteus muscles (especially big gluteus muscles)
  • quadriceps muscles
  • adductor long muscle
  • adductor short
  • great adductor muscle
  • abdominal muscles (mainly rectus)
  • biceps muscle of the thigh
  • semitendosus
  • semimembraneous muscle
  • gastrocnemius muscle

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ABC of exercises