Plyo box exercises are great tools for elevating your training. Plyo boxes are not only used by CrossFitters or high-level athletes. Everybody can gain total body strength by using them, and there are progressions to build up to once you have mastered an exercise.
Here are my top 20 plyo box exercises to add to your next plyo box workout:
- Box step-up
- High box squat
- Box glute bridge
- Low box jump
- High box push-up
- Low box plank
- Rear foot-elevated split squat
- Burpee box jump
- Crossover box step-up
- TKE box step-down
- Weighted glute bridge
- Feet-elevated box push-ups
- Depth drop holds
- Depth drop to box jump
- Plyometric push-up
- Rotational box jump
- Handstand walk
- Dumbbell release box jump
- Reverse lunge to box step-up with dumbbell overhead press
- Single-leg ski jump
A good plyo box will transform your training with new exercise variations, so you can reinvent your workouts with research-backed movements. Otherwise, your training may become stagnant.
Because everyone is at different stages, I included beginner, intermediate, and advanced exercise variations in this list.
In this article, you’ll learn:
- Six beginner plyo box exercises
- Six intermediate plyo box exercises
- Eight advanced plyo box exercises
- Benefits of training with plyo boxes
- How to program plyo box exercises
- My personal recommendation on the best plyo box
20 Best Plyo Box Exercises
Below you will find the 20 best plyo box exercises. These exercises with a box are broken down into three categories: beginner, intermediate, and advanced.
Beginner Plyo Box Exercises
1. Box Step-Up
This exercise targets your quads, hamstrings, and glutes. It requires a low skill level, so it is suitable for beginners.
The higher the box is, the more demand there is on the muscles. Start low and work your way up. I recommend starting with a box around 12 inches. Once you have mastered that height, increase the height of the box.
How To Do Box Step-Ups
- While standing behind the box, place one foot on the box while keeping the other foot on the floor.
- Drive through the heel on the box to completely extend your leg and stand tall at the top. Place the other foot on the box, so you finish with both feet on the box.
- Slowly descend one foot back down to the floor. You can either complete all reps on one side or descend your other foot back down to the floor and alternate which leg starts each new rep.
2. High Box Squat
The high box squat works your glutes, hamstrings, and quads. The purpose of the box is to have an external cue of how low to squat down.
A box between 18 and 24 inches would be a good height for beginners. It should be low enough that when you get to the bottom, your hip crease is just below your knee crease.
How To Do the High Box Squat
- Stand in front of the box with your feet shoulder-width apart. Screw your feet into the floor and keep your knees pushed out to the side.
- Push your hips backward as you descend down to the box.
- Once you touch the box with your hips, extend your hips to stand tall and return to the starting position.
3. Box Glute Bridge
The box glute bridge will primarily work your glute muscles. This exercise requires you to elevate your feet on the box to isolate your glutes more than if you laid flat on the floor.
A 12-inch box would be a good height for this exercise. With anything higher than that, you may begin to compensate and use your lower back, which you want to avoid.
How To Do the Box Glute Bridge
- Lay flat on the floor with your knees bent to 90 degrees and your heels on the box.
- While keeping your legs shoulder-width apart, raise your hips in the air so your body becomes one straight line from your knees, hips, and shoulders.
- Keep your chin tucked down during the entire movement.
- Lower your hips back down to the starting position.
4. Low Box Jump
This is the first variation of plyometrics box exercises. Plyometrics are exercises in which your muscles exert high amounts of force and power in a short amount of time.
Try a 6 to 12-inch box to start with. Make sure you can safely and correctly do this jump variation before increasing the height of the box.
How To Do the Low Box Jump
- Stand behind the box with your feet shoulder-width apart.
- Lower into a partial squat to load through your hips.
- Extend your hips as you jump up to the top of the box. Swing your arms with your body to use momentum.
- Land with both feet on the box at the same time. Imagine the box is a glass floor. You want to softly land at the top and not break the glass.
- Step off the box with one foot at a time and repeat for the desired number of reps.
If you’re too nervous about jumping onto a box, try one of these box jump alternatives.
5. High Box Push-Up
This is a beginner push-up variation. It’s also called an incline push-up. With your hands elevated on the box, it will be easier because you are fighting less gravity to push yourself back up to the top.
I recommend a box height of 18 inches if you are a beginner. It’s okay if you need to start with something even higher than that. As you become stronger, lower the height to make it more difficult.
How To Do the High Box Push-Up
- Place your hands on the edge of the box just outside shoulder width with your legs extended straight out behind you.
- Keep your elbows close to your body as you lower your chest to the box.
- Press hard into the box to push your torso to the starting position.
6. Feet-Elevated High Plank
The feet-elevated high plank is a good core plyo box exercise. With your feet elevated, you will have to focus more on stabilizing your core.
A good box height to start with is 9 to 12 inches. The higher the box, the more difficult this exercise becomes.
How To Do the Feet-Elevated High Plank
- Stand in front of a box and place the toes of one foot on it.
- Bend down to put your hands on the floor, then carefully put your other foot on the box.
- Walk your hands out until your body is in a plank position with your hands underneath your shoulders and your body in a straight line.
- Aim to hold this position for at least 60 seconds. You can shorten or extend the time based on your experience level.
Intermediate Plyo Box Exercises
1. Rear Foot-Elevated Split Squat
This variation requires some stability through your core and lower body. This box exercise for legs will work your quads, glutes, and hamstrings.
Twelve to 16 inches is a good height for this exercise. Anything higher than that could alter your form.
How To Do the Rear Foot-Elevated Split Squat
- Stand in a lunge position with your rear foot on the box.
- Descend by bending both knees. Your back knee should hover just above the floor. Make sure not to tap off the floor.
- Keep your front knee behind your toes, so you are not leaning too far forward.
- Drive your front heel into the ground to extend your hips back to the starting position.
2. Burpee Box Jump
This is one of the most popular plyo box workouts in the CrossFit community. It is a high-intensity movement that will really get you sweating! The entire sequence of this movement is meant to be fast and explosive.
Whatever height box you would use for a low box jump is my recommended height for this exercise. If you’re more advanced or want to compete in CrossFit someday, I recommend at least a 20-inch box for women and a 24-inch box for men.
How To Do the Burpee Box Jump
- Stand upright behind a box.
- Bend down to put your hands on the floor.
- Kick both feet back behind you at the same time while lowering your torso to the floor. Make sure your chest touches the floor.
- Push your upper body back up, then jump both feet in at the same time. Extend your torso until you’re standing upright.
- Immediately jump onto the box, using your arms for momentum if desired.
- Step off the box with one foot at a time, then immediately begin your next rep.
3. Cross-Over Box Step-Up
This step-up variation requires more stability and strength through your legs than the beginner box step-up. The primary focus of this exercise is your glutes.
A 12-inch box is sufficient for this exercise.
How To Do the Cross-Over Box Step-Up
- Stand to the side of a box.
- With the leg further away from the box, cross over in front of your body to place your foot on the box.
- Drive through the heel of the foot on the box to extend your hips and stand tall on the box.
- On the descent, use the other leg to cross behind your body and place your foot close to the box.
4. TKE Box Step-Down
The TKE box step-down is a quad-focused exercise. It is used in many lower body rehab programs, but it is a great way to strengthen your lower body and protect your knees.
I recommend starting with a 9 to 12-inch box.
How To Do the TKE Box Step-Down
- Stand on the edge of the box with one foot hanging off the side.
- Slowly bend through the knee on the box into a single-leg squat. Your goal is to go as slow as possible and tap the opposite foot to the ground.
- Keep your heel flat on the box for the duration of the exercise.
- Push your heel hard into the box to stand tall and return to the starting position.
This exercise is great pistol squat regression for those struggling to get their first pistol squat.
5. Weighted Glute Bridge
This is a more advanced variation of the box glute bridge that will isolate your glutes. By using the box, you can get more range of motion. More range of motion means more muscle recruitment.
Use a 12 to 18-inch box for this. If you use a barbell, you may also want to use a hip thrust pad to make the exercise more comfortable.
How To Do the Weighted Glute Bridge
- Sit on the floor and place a weight (barbell, dumbbell, sandbag, etc.) onto your hips.
- Make sure your shoulder blades are resting on the box and you are holding onto the weight. Keep your feet extended out with your knees bent to 90 degrees.
- Drop your hips to the ground. Your chest will face forward.
- Drive through your heels to push your hips to the top position.
If you don’t feel your glutes working when doing hip thrusts or glute bridges, check out Don’t Feel Your Glutes Hip Thrusting? Try These 9 Tips.
6. Feet Elevated Push-Up
Feet-elevated push-ups are a more challenging variation. You will have more range of motion and gravity to push against for this exercise.
How To Do the Feet Elevated Push-Up
- Stand in front of a box and place the toes of one foot on it.
- Bend down to put your hands on the floor, then carefully put your other foot on the box.
- Walk your hands out until your body is in a plank position with your hands underneath your shoulders and your body in a straight line.
- Bend through your elbows so your chest becomes close to the ground.
- Push hard into the floor to return to the starting position.
Advanced Plyo Box Exercises
1. Depth Drop Holds
This is the first progression to repeated effort jumps. Depth drop holds can help you learn how to absorb deceleration forces and work on landing mechanics.
Eighteen to 24 inches is an appropriate height for this exercise. Do not exceed 42 inches. Doing this from too high can lead to a tendon injury.
How To Do Depth Drop Holds
- Stand on the top of a box.
- Step off the box and land with both feet on the ground.
- Your weight should be in your midfoot, with your hip crease close to your knee crease in a low squat. Hold the bottom position for two seconds.
2. Depth Drop to Box Jump
Progress from the previous exercise to a jump onto a second box. The ground contact time should be very quick.
For this exercise, you’ll need two boxes of different heights. Start on the shorter box and jump onto the taller one. For example, step off a 12-inch box and jump onto an 18-inch box.
How To Do the Depth Drop to Box Jump
- Stand tall on a 12 to 18-inch box.
- Step off the box and land with both feet on the ground.
- As soon as both feet hit the ground, quickly jump onto the next box.
3. Plyometric Push-Up
This push-up variation is great for working on upper body explosiveness and power. It is one of my go-to exercises I program for my athletes in their power phase of workouts.
The lower the box, the better for this variation. A 6 to 12-inch box is a good height for this.
How To Do the Plyometric Push-Up
- Place your hands on the edge of the box with your legs extended straight out behind you.
- Keep your elbows close to your body as you lower your chest to the box.
- Press hard into the box to push your torso to the starting position. Release your hands as you press up to the top.
- Catch your hands on the box.
4. Rotational Box Jump
Core rotation is key for sports like baseball, softball, and golf. I program this explosive plyo box variation for many of my golf athletes.
How To Do the Rotational Box Jump
- Stand to the side of a 12-inch box.
- Load up through your hips and jump onto the box. As you leave the ground, rotate through your hips and core so your body will turn 90 degrees before landing.
- Step off the box and either rotate to the original side or switch sides.
- Make sure you do an even number of reps on both sides.
5. Handstand Walk
This is another common plyo box workout in CrossFit. This exercise is for experts only. You need a lot of shoulder stability, core strength, and balance.
How To Do the Handstand Walk
- Align a pyramid of boxes in a row. I recommend using 6-inch, 12-inch, and 18-inch boxes, but the heights can be adjusted.
- Kick up into a handstand position.
- While maintaining that handstand, walk with your hands onto the first box, then the middle boxes, then down the last box.
6. Dumbbell Release Box Jump
This is one of the best plyometrics box exercises to work on quickness. Use 10-15% of your body weight for the dumbbells.
A 12 to 24-inch box is good, as you are weighed down with the dumbbells.
How To Do the Dumbbell Release Box Jump
- Stand in front of the plyo box while holding two dumbbells at your sides.
- Squat down to load up through your hips with the added weight of the dumbbells.
- RIght before you jump onto the box, release the dumbbells onto the ground. You will not hold any weight as you land on the box.
7. Reverse Lunge to Box Step-Up with Dumbbell Overhead Press
This plyo box exercise is a good way to combine training for strength in your legs and shoulders by adding in the overhead press.
How To Do the Reverse Lunge to Box Step-Up With Dumbbell Overhead Press
- Start by standing behind a 12-inch box.
- Lunge backward for the first movement.
- With the leg that is behind you, step forward onto the box. Bring your other foot onto the box.
- As you reach the top of the box with both feet, press the dumbbells overhead.
8. Single Leg Ski Jump
This plyo box jump variation works on single-leg power. This is a great exercise for athletes who need to be explosive while running.
How To Do the Single-Leg Ski Jump
- Start with one foot on a 12-inch box.
- Press hard into the box to jump with both legs.
- Land in the same position as how you started.
Benefits of Training With Plyo Boxes
1. Improved Strength
Research shows plyometric training leads to improved strength. In one study, plyometric training led to increased leg power, rate of force development, and maximal strength.
This review looked at eight articles to test the effects of plyometric training on muscle growth. Plyometrics box exercises may have similar effects on muscle hypertrophy compared to traditional strength training in untrained individuals.
2. Strengthen Your Fast-Twitch Muscle Fibers
“Train like an athlete” is a saying that I fully support and encourage, and plyo boxes are tools that can help you train like an athlete.
Plyometric training recruits your fast-twitch muscle fibers, the ones responsible for force and power. You use these muscle fibers every day. If you train like an athlete, you can keep them functional and strong for everyday activities.
Furthermore, you lose a higher rate of fast-twitch muscle fibers as you age. This means that you will lose strength and power as you age. Training these muscle fibers with plyo box variations will slow down that process.
3. Added Variety
Plyo box exercises also add variation to your workouts. Whether you are new to exercise or an expert, plyo boxes will always add something different to your training.
For somebody completely new to this exercise tool, it is fun and exciting! There are always more advanced movement patterns with these boxes. As you saw above, you can easily keep progressing to add new variations to your workouts.
How to Program Plyo Box Workouts
Complete your step box exercises at the beginning of a workout. Jumping and bounding will cause stress in your joints. It is better to do these exercises at the beginning of your session before your body gets fatigued. Fatigue can cause you to lose form, leading to injury.
The total volume of plyo box exercises should be low. A method to keep track of your volume is to count the number of times your feet hit the surface of a box and the ground.
The recommended number of foot contacts is 80-100 for beginners, 100-120 for intermediate athletes, and 120-140 for advanced athletes. Doing 3-6 sets of 3-8 reps is a good amount of volume for a plyo box workout.
Give your body 42-78 hours of rest between plyo box workouts to recover from the demands of the stretch-shortening cycle (SSC). The SSC is a rapid cycle of eccentric muscle action followed by a transitional period to the explosive concentric action. In box exercises, the SSC occurs when you squat down before performing a jump, for example.
The SSC requires high muscle and tendon demand. Forty-eight to 72 hours of rest will allow your muscles to recover and reduce the risk of injury from too much impact.
My favorite way to program plyo box exercises is with a compound set. A compound set includes two or more exercises in a row targeting the same muscle group. This significantly stimulates the muscle and can lead to more power development.
An example would be to do barbell back squats and then immediately do standing plyo box jumps. Your leg muscles are stimulated and ready for an explosive jump after doing squats.
Plyo Box Recommendation
The number one box I recommend is the 3-in-1 Soft Plyo Box from REP Fitness. This has everything you need in a plyo box at a cost-efficient price.
The box comes in three sizes, so it is suitable for different fitness levels. The small size has dimensions of 16, 18, and 20 inches. The medium box has dimensions of 16, 20, and 24 inches. The large box has dimensions of 20 inches, 24 inches, and 30 inches. You can adjust the height by a couple of inches without having to purchase multiple boxes.
The boxes are built with a solid wood center to provide stability. Foam padding surrounds the inner wood core to allow for a soft outer edge. The foam absorbs the impact, whether you land on the box or miss it. That will help save your shins in the long run if you miss the jump. The wooden core allows for up to 400 lbs of weight capacity.
Read our full REP Fitness plyo box review or check out more of our top plyo box recommendations for CrossFit and high-intensity workouts.
Final Thoughts
Whether you are a beginner or an elite athlete, a plyo box workout can help you build strength, power, and explosiveness in the lower body. You now know 20 exercises you can use to help with your goals.
Plyo boxes are durable, cost-efficient, and can be used in so many ways. If you want a new and challenging way to go through your workouts, add any of the exercises above to your next training session.
About the Author
Jake Woodruff has an MS in Sports Medicine from the University of Pittsburgh. His research area explored how an exercise intervention affected runners with knee pain measured by a movement screening. He is currently a strength and conditioning sports performance coach at a private Pittsburgh facility. He is a former college athlete and currently plays semi-pro soccer.
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