Ah, the wonderful world of plyometrics. They take any athlete up a notch in performance and can give them a huge jump (pun intended) on the competition. Today’s form fix is on the box jump. A very powerful plyometric exercise and if done correctly will take any athlete to new heights (more puns!).
When choosing the right box height, one should select a box that can be 1.) landed on with both feet firmly on the box and 2.) landed on in a standard squat position (a.k.a. an “athletic” position), NOT a deep squat. If you find yourself landing in a deep squat it means the box is too high. In relation to sports performance, you won’t find yourself very useful in this position as you will always need to be in the “ready” position to react quickly for your next move. Like you would with any other exercise, be patient and build up to the different heights as you would with weight in your resistance training. The stronger you become, the higher you will be able to jump.
Also, a good rule of thumb for plyometrics is that you are using power and explosiveness for the way up, not down. If you are jumping down with the same force, you are at risk for placing unnecessary force on your achilles tendon and causing serious injury. So when you are performing your box jumps, it is better to use the jump up-step down method.
Now, jump to it! (Last pun, I swear.)