Yikes!
I talked about the dangers of the box jump and how we at Fusion Performance Training utilize the box jump here: Box Jump.
In short I believe too many personal trainers in NYC abuse the box jump by making it more into a “how high can you lift your knees” rather than actually how high can you jump.
As a NYC personal trainer and a sports performance coach, I focus on the risk vs reward of a movement. So I thought I’d share a few other dangers of the box jump:
Plated Loaded Box Jumps
You make look at this as a badass exercise to accomplish or a an amazing feat, but as personal trainer and sports performance coach, I see this as a hazard. The risk vs reward for my athlete or even general population client is NOT worth it. I don’t care how athletic you are, there are way too many risks here for me to take.
Even if this guy makes the jump he very well could of push the plates and fell back on the box. He could clip his foot and fall forward with a stack of plates. The worst is falling back onto the box no matter what variation you chose it’s just not worth it.
The question to ask yourself before any exercise is: “Is this worth it?”. I’d hope you’d say “No” to this because there are MANY more alternatives that are safer and just as effective to build unloaded, concentric power.
Cutting Your Shins
The danger of the box jump is busting up your shins. I remember very vividly a tennis athlete fearful of the box jump because of this. Back then I didn’t clearly understand the fear but now that I take a step back I get it. Although, to be fair the box was basically knee height…never the less when programming you want to be very careful of the box height and the fatigue factor otherwise:
This is ONE reason why I’m not a big fan of using box jumps during our conditioning. People do some dumb things when they are tired, so another way to think about it is to “Take the dumb out of it” :). Remember that minimizing the risk of stupid mistakes is in your hands, don’t place it in the athletes.
Muscle Drive USA Soft Plyo Box
If you have the budget and are in market for plyo boxes, I’d recommend the “Muscle Driver Soft Impact Plyo Boxes” and avoid busting your shins. They are also great for jerk blocks too!
Train smart,
Team Fusion Trained
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