<p>Add this plyometric move and its complementary exercises to your training regimen to reap all the benefits of a vertical leap.</p>

- Cat Perry

EVER WATCH A SLOW-MO VIDEO of someone doing a vertical jump onto plyo boxes? At first you’re thinking, They can’t get all the way up there! And then, in a full-body wave of intensity, they do. But what good is that kind of training for anyone besides basketball players? Turns out, plyo box jump training can push all the rest of your training into overdrive.

Here are tips from exercise scientists and performance coaches on how to go from a baby step to the big leagues to build strength and improve your overall conditioning with a single jump.

BENEFITS OF PLYOMETRIC BOX JUMPS:

Plyometric movements “can increase power, reactive ability, jumping ability, and decrease injuries”, says Kim Goss, MS, a former strength coach for the US Air Force Academy. That’s exactly why this do-it-all training modality has become so popular and why the plyo box jump, executed well, is a great move to advance your training.

1. GET THE RIGHT AMOUNT OF JOINT IMPACT.

Box jumps, due to the on the joints, according to vertical jumping.com founder and pro vertical jump and speed coach Jack Woodrup.

2. BOOST YOUR EXPLOSIVENESS.

You’ll train your body to become more impact they apply to joints, can help boost much-needed bonemineral content and collagen, both very important factors as women age. Yet in comparison with other jumping exercises, box jumps actually create a relatively

This story is from the July - August 2017 edition of Muscle and Fitness Hers South Africa .

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