Box jumps are one of the most useful exercises out there. Multiple components of fitness can be trained with jumps, including power, cardiovascular conditioning and speed, to say nothing of the obvious demands on coordination, balance and agility. Nailing a tall box jump can take a certain amount of mental commitment- obviously if you don't give it your all you can't get on top of a really tall box, but at the same time if you DO give it your all and then realize in midair you're not going to make it... it's too late.

One of the most important things in nailing a tall jump is to aggressively close the hip (i.e, bring your knees up to your chest). This will give you the clearance necessary to get your feet on the box. If you watch someone hit a big box jump most of the time they land in the full squat position, and then stand up. A 44 inch box jump is NOT the same thing as having a 44 inch vertical, because with the box jump you don't actually need to get your whole body THAT high in the air- just high enough to then bring your legs up to clear the box. That being said, a big box jump is still really impressive to watch.

The next time you come in and do box jumps try aggressively swinging your arms to assist with vertical momentum, use ABSOLUTE EXPLOSION on the jump, and bring those legs up! You'll be hitting a PR in no time. As bonus material, check out the videos below of the coaches doing squat box jumps- basically jumps from a dead stop, squat position, which forces maximal acceleration (they're hard). Thanks to Karla for shooting and sharing these!

1. Coach Leon and a 40 inch jump.

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2. FAIL number one- Coach Paul doesn't commit to the jump, with predictable results.

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3. "FAIL" number two- Coach Leon's glasses fly off in midair, but he catches them and still nails the jump.

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