Need a confidence boost? Look no further than the box jump – seriously, there’s a lot more to this one, simple gym move than you thought!
It Makes You Fit
The box jump is a plyometric – in other words explosive – move, which sends your heart rate from normal to racing faster than a Formula 1 car can get off the line. Research has shown that spiking your heart rate in this way strengthens your heart muscle and increases cardio fitness much faster than a regime of light treadmill jogging would.
It Blasts Fat
Another perk of plyos? They increase your metabolism and prompt your body to start burning its energy reserves – also known as your wobbly bits. Hooray! So if weight loss is one of your goals, adding them to your workout two or three times a week can help you start seeing results sooner.
It Makes You Faster
Runners rejoice – box jumps activate fast-twitch muscle fibres, the larger muscles fibres that that you use for short bursts of intense activity like sprinting.
It Boost Confidence
Now here’s the kicker – box jumps can actually boost confidence. Why? Because a big component of them is psychological. It takes courage to jump from the floor onto a high step and you need to believe in yourself and your ability to do it. Once you’ve done it once or twice and proved to yourself that you can, you’ll soon be jumping higher. And strutting around like a baller. You’ll be amazed how achieving success in the gym can spill over positively into other areas of your life.
Do It
Stand in front of a sturdy box. Start low – about knee or even shin height. Squat bend your knees and jump explosively upwards, landing softly with both feet simultaneously, knees bent to absorb impact. Step back down (don’t hop), reset your stance, then go again. As you get more comfortable with the movement, try higher boxes.
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Make It Easier
> Swing your arms for momentum as you jump.
> Use a solid, sturdy box – your brain will feel better about it.
> If you’re afraid of going over the other side, put the box against the wall and put your hands out as you land.
> Do a little booster jump on the floor to get you going before you attempt the real jump – but consider this your training wheels. You’ll need to ditch it eventually.
Workout Wednesday Challenge: Add this move to your workout today. You did it, but you’re wobbly? See if you can manage 10. You did it easily? See how many jumps you can do with good form in a minute.
Want to take on more workout challenges? Try the cup stack challenge or see of you can do the cha cha plank challenge. Remember to let us know how it went! Tweet us or tag is in your videos on Instagram.
