Box Hop over Squat – Your Ultimate full-body exercise
Doing box hop over squats is a great way to strengthen your legs, and get some cardio in an enclosed space. You can use a box to work out a lot of different parts of your body, and it’s nice if you need to increase difficulty, or you are just getting bored of your existing exercise routine. People these days need workout activities that require minimal space, and plyometric done with a box fits that bill nicely.
First of all, let me say that you can use pretty much anything sturdy and can support your weight, but be sure that whatever you find is sturdy (a cardboard box is not a good choice.) This is ideal because it minimizes the risk of the box falling over when you’re quickly shifting your weight on it. Remember, safety first. Let’s get down to business.
Full body exercise
Box hop over squats are a good alternative to just doing high-intensity squats. They strengthen your hamstrings, glutes, and calves. When doing them at a high intensity, box hop over squats become an aerobic workout. Before attempting this exercise, you should be familiar with doing regular squats, and be confident that you have good form. If you aren’t confident you have good form, look at The Bodyweight Squat: Guide to perfect form.
This exercise is dynamic and high impact, targeting your:
- quads
- glutes
- hamstrings
- calves
Easy to perform and practice
Box hop over squats are pretty straightforward. They’re just like normal squats, but you alternate your legs on an elevated surface.
Place your right foot on the box, make sure your feet are slightly more than shoulder-width apart, squat down, on your way up, do a small hop, and move your right foot off the box, and your left foot onto the box, then repeat. Make sure your toes are pointed straight ahead of you, your feet aren’t slipping, and the box isn’t moving around. Watch the video below to see a demonstration.
Box Hop increase your overall power
Since Box Hop requires a lot of energy to perform, it also in return increases your overall body power which you won’t get from doing Squats. When you first start doing box hop over squats, start slow, gradually increase your speed as you get accustomed to the movements. Be sure that your feet are firmly planted on the ground with each movement, make sure your toes are pointed forward and your feet aren’t slipping.
Burn more calories faster
Box hop demand dynamic body movement and a lot of energy to be done perfectly, that is the reason why most athletes and sportspersons are suggested to do this exercise as one of the basics. Since this is a high-intensity exercise, it burns more calories faster than any other exercises in the same category.
Safety Measures
Now that you have an idea of what box hop over squats should look like, let’s get some safety measures in place. Before starting, I suggest using tape to mark where your feet should be landing. The reason being, once you start to get tired, your form will start to slip and you may start to place your feet too close or too far from where they should be.
Because you are moving around when doing box hop over squats, you’ll be putting more strain on your ankles and if your foot placement is wrong, you could get hurt. Having one foot elevated may make you feel like you’re off balance. If you feel off-balance, adjust the tape marks on the floor to comfortable positions.
Final Words
If while doing this exercise you find the box you’re using is moving around, stop immediately. This could mean one of two things, either your form is slipping (or maybe it was bad, to begin with), in which case you should take a short break, then start over, or, the box isn’t stable enough to be using.
If the box isn’t stable, you either need to move the box to a new surface (such as a basketball court) or find a new box. Do not do this exercise on the carpet, because you’ll be hard-pressed to find a box that won’t move around on something like carpet.
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11/27/2020