Lateral Box Jump

The Lateral Box Jump is a plyometric exercise that involves jumping sideways onto a stable box or platform to develop explosive power. It primarily targets the quadriceps, glutes, and adductors while improving athletic agility and coordination.

Exercise movement reviewed by:Cody Lockling, MS, CSCS
How Iridium Helps

Plyometric exercises place high demands on the central nervous system, so our AI analyzes your HRV and sleep data to ensure your body is ready for high-impact training. By tracking your RPE and fatigue levels in real-time, the app adjusts jump volume to ensure you train explosively without risking injury due to fatigue-induced form breakdown. If your recovery scores are low, the system can automatically swap this for a lower-impact strength variation like lateral step-ups.

Form Cues

Do
  • Stand sideways to the box with feet hip-width apart
  • Load your hips back into a quarter squat while swinging arms back
  • Drive explosively off the ground to jump up and sideways
  • Land softly on the box with both feet simultaneously
  • Step down carefully one foot at a time to reset
Don't
  • Don't use a box that is unstable or too high
  • Don't land with knees locked or legs straight
  • Don't let your knees collapse inward upon landing
  • Don't jump back down to the floor; always step down
  • Don't perform reps if you are too fatigued to maintain speed

Common Mistakes

  • Landing with stiff, straight legs
  • Jumping down from the box
  • Allowing knees to cave inward
  • Using insufficient arm swing
  • Selecting a box height that causes form breakdown

Muscles Worked

This exercise primarily builds explosive power in the quadriceps and glutes, while heavily engaging the adductors (inner thigh) to manage the lateral force vector. The calves, tibialis anterior, and core musculature are also essential for stabilizing the landing and absorbing impact to protect the joints.

Primary

QuadricepsGlutesAdductors

Secondary

CalvesGeneral CoreTibialis Anterior

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