We’ve all been there:

You stare at the box. “It’s not that high” you think. 

You mentally gear yourself up to attack this jump. 

You’re going to do it this time. 

You walk up to the box and swing your arms, ready to jump… only to have your legs not come with you and you are still standing firmly on the ground. 

Box jumps can be a source of anxiety for everyone. Watching enough fail videos on Instagram, you know it’s a higher risk movement. Instead of just jumping into the movement (pun intended), box jumps should be treated the same as any other high skill movement: with progressions. 

If you wanted to do a bar muscle-up, you probably wouldn’t skip learning how to do a pull-up, then a chest-to-bar and finally once you have that solid base built, moving to a muscle-up. So why expect box jumps to “just happen”? Most of us haven’t actually jumped like that since we were kids so it makes sense that this is out of our comfort zone.

To start building up to a box jump: 

• Start by jumping onto a small plate (could even be a 10 pound bumper plate) and getting both feet firmly planted in the center of the plate with each jump. Start to work out the kinks with balance and getting those feet off the ground 

• Once you are comfortable jumping onto that plate and feel powerful and explosive: then move to a larger plate (maybe a 25 or 45 pound bumper plate) and continue jumping regularly

• Repeat this process, now adding a plate each time you no longer feel a challenge, so that you now have started a stack of plates.

• Regularly include jumping to your plates in your training, at least once a week. Build the confidence not only that you will clear the plates but also in your ability to jump again 

Eventually, put your plate stack next to the box you’d like to jump on for reference. I’ve had a lot of clients and athletes realize that they were jumping onto a stack of plates that was the same height as the box they were super intimidated by. Once the muscle memory has been formed, and the confidence has been built, it’s an easy transition over to the box. 

Remember: small steps towards a goal add up over time. Even if you feel silly jumping to a 10 pound plate, keep the bigger goal in mind!