Jumps up on to boxes

[-Ross Hunt]

Are these really of any value?

I'm incorporating jumps into my training from time to time. I've been doing simple jumps from standing to touch a height, resting between reps, and the same thing with a drop of an 18" box. My vert has gone up a couple an inch or two just from all the practice, which is nice.

Does jumping over things or onto things actually provide any effect above and beyond this kind of training besides looking me look fly and beating up my knees?

[Greg Everett]

This is something I've considered more than a few times myself. I don't see any real benefit of jumping onto something over just jumping--getting onto an object trains your ability to tuck your knees and lift your feet higher, not necessarily to move your center of mass higher. So unless your chosen sportt or discipline demands this kind of jumping (e.g. parkour, tricking), I don't see much of a need. In other instances, such as for a weightlifter, I see it as possibly detrimental because it both trains the excessive lifting of the feet as wwell as a forward jump.

[Mike ODonnell]

I remember reading that some of the people who had the highest verticals were highly ranked Oly lifters....and they do not train to jump...

Other than metabolic or sport specific reasons......It's just maybe something fun to do in a routine...if you are looking for leg explosiveness then I think something like squat/lunge jumps would be more appropriate....

[-Ross Hunt]

Sounds right to me.


Jumping on to boxes also trains to lean forward and round your back to make the jump--not exactly squat snatch technique.

[Robb Wolf]

I think there might be some benefit for rate of force production/rate coding. Along this vein clap push-ups and med ball throws can be useful.

[Rick Deckart]

Mike Burgener told me once that it is a good start to do jumps on boxes for three or four weeks before switching to jump squats. Leg bend and roundbacking certainly helps but you don't jump up on a 40" box with leg bend alone...