I threw in some box jumps after my leg workout today (squats, lunges, GM’s RDLs, glute ham bridges) and really enjoyed doing them, got some decent high too. Whats the best way to incorpate them into a strength program? My goal is improve my squat.
You definitely made a good decision.
Take a look at this:
ulol.ako.googlepages.com/Explosive_leg_strength_NOV06.pdf
I suppose you can do box jumps as first exercise for DE Lower, or maybe as independent workout, but I think the first will be better.
P.S. What’s the height, if it’s not a secret 
great article thanks brother…
P.S the box was 36 inches, I really don’t know how good this is but it was enough impressed my girlfriend.
I use straight box jumps as an indicator exercise about every 6-8 weeks. I know my strength training is right on if the box height goes up. You can use plates and deadlift mats to raise the height. I use different variations (backward, lateral, single leg, kneeling, sitting, etc) of jumps and box jumps as my first lift on DE days followed by a hamstring exercise then some sled dragging/prowler pushes. I treat jumping PR’s the same as any lift and try to hit a PR every week.
My current best is a 47 inch box jump at a weight of 270 pounds.
I would say that box jumps are one of the best movements to do post leg training. Not only do they help stimulate fast twitch muscle fiber but they also help you train your strength to be explosive.
By that I mean they help you mentally get a feel for explosivity. All muscke contractions start in the brain and therefore if you can learn to think explosively then you can begin to act as such. I have noticed huge gains in explosive speed/strength since I got a coach who gets us to do some plyo work (box jumps, hurdle hops or other hip dominant movement) after each session. Huge gains.
So stick in a 5x5 or some sets of 3 after leg training or any TBT days.
-chris
So if I’m using a 5X5, inbetween box jump repetitions should I allow any rest or just as much time as it takes to get back into position? I’m aware my rest should enable complete recovery after my set.
I think he meant 5x5 for your regular lifting.
The way I do my box jumps is I’ll do a dynamic warm up then do a jump, add height and jump again. I continue to do this up until I feel like I’m at about 95% of my max potential height for that day, which was hopefully a PR. I have complete recovery between each jump. This has worked very well for me.
I’d alternate back and forth between your main lift(s) and box jumps. Like:
-back squat
-box jump
-back squat
.
.
.
with full recovery. Or you could do something like:
-squat
-lunge
-box jump
-squat
.
.
.
This way you’re fresh for everything.
I remember CT once mentioning in his thread to do a speed-strength superset. Do a speed lift (box jump) then rest for 90 seconds and do the strength lift (squat) then rest again for 90 seconds and repeat. The speed lift is there to potentiate your strength lift.
Box jumps before squatting then doing box jumps again could actually bring your 1RM up in just one day.
[quote]duck_dodger23 wrote:
I use straight box jumps as an indicator exercise about every 6-8 weeks. I know my strength training is right on if the box height goes up. You can use plates and deadlift mats to raise the height. I use different variations (backward, lateral, single leg, kneeling, sitting, etc) of jumps and box jumps as my first lift on DE days followed by a hamstring exercise then some sled dragging/prowler pushes. I treat jumping PR’s the same as any lift and try to hit a PR every week.
My current best is a 47 inch box jump at a weight of 270 pounds.[/quote]
That’s a real nice box jump for your weight man! My best is 56" but I’m only about 215.
I use a similar system as you do, a jumping variation as my first exercise on dynamic-effort days. I like to go in three-week cycles, starting with an unweighted variation on the first week, throw on a weighted vest with 20 pounds on the second week and 40 pounds on the third week, then switch it up. If you do enough variations you can almost always hit a PR.
Plus they’re a lot of fun.
This is westside for skinny bastards III:
http://www.defrancostraining.com/articles/articles.htm
One of the templates has a Dynamic Effort Lower Body day that focuses on Box Jumps.
Wow you guys have some impressive jump numbers! Are you guys doing them form a standstill, r a run up? Im only 190 and got only 53 inches from a standstill. Its crazy that you bigger guys can jump so high. Props/
When doing box jmps i usually do them prior to my me lower body work. Ill do something like 6 x 3 and rest about 3 min betwen each set to make sure the cns is recovered.
jtrinsey: Thanks for the props, man. A 56" @ 215 is unreal, man. Do you play a sport? I’m planning to join the 50" club within the next few weeks. The possibilities really are endless with them, it’s great. I’ve actually begun to experiment with doing lateral long jumps.
mmafan: Thanks for the words, but a 53 @ 190 is def nothing to sneeze at. I do all my jumps from a standstill. I’ve done them before with a run up but wasn’t really a fan. I’m looking to get some high adjustable hurdles soon do to jumps with a run up as I think that will work better.
what about those of use still using good old fashion progressive overload?
I don’t have a dynamic day should I just use plyo’s or other explosive exercises im my warm-up to prime the nervous system?
[quote]surfninja311 wrote:
what about those of use still using good old fashion progressive overload?
I don’t have a dynamic day should I just use plyo’s or other explosive exercises im my warm-up to prime the nervous system?[/quote]
Yeah, that works. Just alternate between the plyo and the squat.
My 56" is from the standstill. To answer your question I play college volleyball. I’m 6’3" so at 215 it is not like I’m extremely heavy for my weight. A lot of it is flexibility though. My vert is 36" and I can get on a 56" box and a teammate of mine who’s vert is only 32" can get on a 55" box but he has a crazy tuck at the top.
One thing I am going to start trying is depth jumps into box jumps. Drop off an 18" box or so and then go up onto the box. Anybody tried those yet?