Box jumps offer tons of benefits-so many that I incorporate
them into my training regularly. However, I often see people either performing
them incorrectly or attempting to use them as something that they are physiologically
not.
Starting with the good, box jumps can be incorporated into a
program with many different variations. They’re a great way to develop
explosive power and to get triple extension. Triple extension is simultaneous
extension of your hip and knee as well as plantarflexion at your ankle. Another
benefit is that landing on a box, after jumping, takes out the impact landing
force (eccentric loading) from falling back down to the ground after the jump.
Simply put, the box is just a safe landing place to shorten the distance
between you and the floor after you’ve reached the peak height of your jump.
The box height is irrelevant because the INTENT
to jump as high as possible is what matters the most. The intent to jump as
high as possible will create a neural response to activate as much muscle as
possible to jump as high as possible. When performing the box jump, you are
attempting to adapt a neural response within your body’s system to jump higher.
Now that that’s been explained, let’s get into the other stuff.
First, let’s take a look at a properly performed box jump to
have a reference point.
The fact that jumps are an expression of explosive power
means that they are not to be used as a “cardio or conditioning” tool. You can
see this rule being broken when someone is bouncing up and down on a box like
in the video shown below.
The above action completely defeats the purpose of a box
jump. The landing mechanics of these cardio box jumps are normally not great,
either. Taking energy systems into consideration, explosive and powerful jumps
use the creatine phosphate system, which is in charge of supplying
instantaneous energy to the muscles when performing the jump. Also considering
the neural factors, in order to adapt the nervous system to stimulate high
amount of muscle fibers rapidly in a short period of time synergistically, box
jumps need to be performed one at a time. Bouncing up and down on the box does
not cause a maximal voluntary neural drive for every single jump, nor does it
tap into the correct energy system to produce powerful jumps for each rep. If
you are attempting to perform multiple jumps, you are better off performing
them on level surface standing in place (i.e. squat jumps) or jumping forward
for 1-5 reps.
The height of the box is yet another thing to take into
consideration. If the box is too high, often people will not triple extend
completely. They cut their triple extension short in order to flex their hips
and tuck their knees in order to get their feet on top of the box.
Below is an example of full triple extension.
A major contributor to this problem is ego. Everyone wants
to jump on the highest box possible, right? Check the ego and use a box height
that is appropriate for you. Remember, the box is only a safe place to land
following your maximal effort jump. Now, if you are competing in a box jump
competition, of which I don’t know any, then by all means jump on the highest
box possible.
With all this being said, what does a normal set or pace for
box jumps look like?
Box jumps are a great tool to use in your programming, just
use them correctly. Train smart, my friends.
Hope you enjoyed this article,
Ryan Goodell, CSCS
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