Lateral Box Jump

ExtrasBoxBW

A bilateral jump performed sideways onto and off a box, training frontal-plane power that's often neglected in purely sagittal-plane training. Common in field-sport and combat-sport conditioning.

Demo: Strength & conditioning coaching channel

Sets

3

Reps

4-6

Rest

1:30

Contraindications

Avoid with knee ligament instability, ankle sprain history, or hip impingement. Keep box height conservative — lateral landings carry higher shear force than sagittal ones.

Setup

Stand sideways next to a low-to-moderate box, feet shoulder-width apart, box at your side.

Execution

  1. 1Load hips into a lateral quarter squat
  2. 2Drive laterally and upward, clearing the box with both feet
  3. 3Land softly on top of box facing the same direction
  4. 4Step down on the far side (or reverse) and reset
  5. 5Alternate direction each set for balanced frontal-plane work

Key cues

  • Push off the outside leg
  • Clear the box, don't clip it
  • Land square and stable
  • Keep the torso upright throughout

Common faults

  • Twisting the torso mid-air instead of staying square
  • Clipping the box due to insufficient lateral clearance
  • Landing with knees caving inward
  • Box height too aggressive for lateral mechanics

Tweaks

  • Progress to lateral box jump over the box (both sides) for continuous reps
  • Add a stick-and-hold for stability work
  • Combine with skater jumps in a frontal-plane plyo circuit

Regressions

Skater Jump (Lateral Bound)

Progressions

Single-Leg Box Jump

Muscles

Primary: Glutes, Hip Abductors, Quadriceps

Secondary: Calves, Core, Adductors

Notes

Primary energy system: alactic. Frontal-plane plyometric — underused relative to sagittal jumps but critical for change-of-direction athletes.

Sources

Attribution: NSCA / Juggernaut Training Systems