4 Plyo Box Workouts For Power, Muscle, And Cardio

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It comes as a surprise to some people but a sturdy box can be used for a variety of movements. In turn, you can create workouts that target a variety of muscles and train different fitness components.

The recommended height of a plyo box varies from exercise to exercise and individual to individual. If you plan to do multiple of these workouts, an adjustable plyo box, a 3-in-1 plyo box, stackable blocks, or a set will be helpful.

Additionally, make sure you use external weights when needed. Especially for stronger lifters, this may be needed to actually see progress.

Next, an important part of many workouts is the rest in between. A general rule is to give the muscles you worked 24 to 48 hours of rest before training them again.

Lastly, the movements in the workouts will be explained quickly but for more in depth walkthroughs and demonstration videos, you want to check out the list of plyo box exercises.

1. Plyo box workout for explosive power

One of the most popular ways to use plyo boxes is in the box jump exercise. In this movement, you simply jump on and step off a plyo box of the right height.

Even though the sets consist of fewer repetitions, you want to use a box where you can do 10 box jumps in a row. This offers a safety margin but keeps things challenging enough.

The workout below is not the most varied but it is helpful for improving leg muscle power and explosiveness.

When using it this way, a plyo box works in the sense that it can help you improve running speed and vertical jump performance.

This next point applies to all workouts but especially before more explosive training, you want to make sure you warm up. That being said, here is the plyo box workout for explosive power:

  • 20 medium-pace bodyweight squats to warm up
  • 5 box jumps
  • 2 minutes of active rest (walking around)
  • Repeat 3 to 6 sets of these box jumps with rest

You can also consider adding weights to the box jumps. In that case, you want to use about 40% to 70% of your squat 1 rep max. The most convenient way to add this weight will be with a weighted vest.

Make sure you have a quality plyo box that is sturdy enough to deal with this extra pressure.

Lastly, keep in mind that power = strength x speed. Adding muscle strength and growth sessions on top of your plyometric workouts can help improve muscle power too.

2. Plyo box HIIT workout

One of the positive aspects of plyo boxes is that they can be used to train a variety of fitness components. This includes training cardiovascular health with HIIT workouts.

HIIT (high-intensity interval training) workouts involve alternating between periods of intense cardiovascular movements and rest periods.

Exactly what exercises you should do during these intense periods is mostly a case of personal preference. As long as you get your heart beating fast a movement can be a good choice.

Some examples of movements you can do include box overs, box toe taps, box side shuffles, decline mountain climbers, speed step-ups, etc.

For cardiovascular-focused exercises like these, your plyo box should typically be somewhat lower. If you feel your muscles fatiguing before you are out of breath this may be a sign you have to choose a lower box.

  1. 2 minutes of jogging in place, high knees, or medium-pace bodyweight squats to warm up
  2. 30 seconds of an intense plyo box exercise
  3. 90 seconds of jogging in place or walking
  4. Keep alternating between these 30-second and 90-second intervals about 8-14 times. You can switch up what intense plyo box exercises you do to keep things interesting.

You can definitely do HIIT workouts without a box too. However, being able to use one for this type of training does make plyo boxes more worth it for individuals who like HIIT.

Something else to note is that the guidelines for cardiovascular workouts are not as strict as resistance training. You can switch up the durations for your personal preferences and capacity.

3. Plyo box leg muscle strength and growth workout

The way you engage your muscles influences what fitness component you focus on.

Most people think about explosive workouts when they hear the words plyo box but this tool can be helpful to grow and strengthen muscles too.

The plyo box workout below will mostly focus on training these things in leg muscles like your quadriceps, glutes, hamstrings, calves, hip abductors (outer thighs), and hip adductors (inner thighs).

Keep in mind that individuals somewhat experienced with resistance training likely need extra weights to make the exercises challenging enough to see progress.

A general recommendation is that you should use a weight where you can barely complete 6 to 12 repetitions per set.

Lastly, step-ups involve stepping forward onto the plyo box, lateral step-ups the same but sideways, and Bulgarian split squats are one-legged squats where the foot of one leg rests on the plyo box.

  • 15 slow pace butt kicks to warm up
  • 15 high knees to warm up
  • 10 (weighted) plyo box step-ups with one leg at a controlled pace
  • 10 (weighted) plyo box step-ups with the other leg at a controlled pace
  • 1 minute of active rest by walking around
  • Repeat 1 to 3 sets of plyo box step-ups with each leg (including the minute rest)
  • 10 (weighted) lateral/side plyo box step-ups with one leg at a controlled pace
  • 10 (weighted) lateral/side plyo box step-ups with the other leg at a controlled pace
  • 1 minute of active rest by walking around
  • Repeat 1 to 3 sets of lateral/side plyo box step-ups with each leg (including the minute rest)
  • 10 (weighted) plyo box Bulgarian split squats with one leg at a controlled pace
  • 10 (weighted) plyo box Bulgarian split squats with the other leg at a controlled pace
  • 1 minute of active rest by walking around
  • Repeat 1 to 3 sets of plyo box Bulgarian split squats with each leg (including the minute rest)

If you are more of a resistance training beginner, one to two sets of each exercise should be more than enough to see a nice amount of progress.

More experienced lifters may need to go up to the more challenging 3 sets per exercise.

Keep in mind that as you get stronger, you will have to increase the weights you use to keep seeing progress. Additionally, give your body enough nutrients and rest in between workouts.

4. Full body muscle strength plyo box workout

Up until now, the workouts mostly trained and made use of the leg muscles. On the other hand, there are plenty of plyo box movements you can do to work other areas of your body.

The sequence below again focuses on growing and strengthening muscles. This involves the same guidelines as the previous workout in terms of how much extra resistance you should use.

Plyo box pike pushups are basically upside-down shoulder presses with your feet elevated to make the movement harder. Something like pushup bars can be helpful to increase your range of motion.

Regular plyo box pushups are similar but you keep your body horizontal and push forward similar to a bench press movement.

Next, feet-elevated inverted rows are more challenging than the version without a plyo box. You will still need something like dips bars or a barbell with a rack to pull yourself up.

Lastly, Bulgarian split squats already made an appearance in the previous plyo box workout.

  • 15 forward arm circles that start small and gradually become bigger as you do bodyweight squats to warm up
  • 15 backward arm circles with squats in a similar way to warm up
  • 12 (weighted) feet-elevated pike pushups with a plyo box at a controlled pace
  • 2 minutes of rest
  • Repeat 2 to 5 sets of feet-elevated pike pushups with a plyo box
  • 10 (weighted) plyo box Bulgarian split squats with one leg at a controlled pace
  • 10 (weighted) plyo box Bulgarian split squats with the other leg at a controlled pace
  • 1 minute of rest
  • Repeat 2 to 5 sets of plyo box Bulgarian split squats with each leg
  • 12 (weighted) feet-elevated inverted rows with a plyo box at a controlled pace
  • 2 minutes of rest
  • Repeat 2 to 5 sets of feet-elevated inverted rows with a plyo box
  • 12 (weighted) decline pushups with a plyo box at a controlled pace
  • 2 minutes of rest
  • Repeat 2 to 5 sets of decline pushups with a plyo box

In some of these exercises, for example pike pushups, the bodyweight version without a plyo box may already be more than challenging enough. You can start with the bodyweight version and work up from there.

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Matt Claes founded Weight Loss Made Practical to help people get in shape and stay there after losing 37 pounds and learning the best of the best about weight loss, health, and longevity for over 4 years. Over these years he has become an expert in nutrition, exercise, and other physical health aspects.