Help me design a leg workout for definition

[onehandbh]

I do box jumps for time often. I just step down instead of jumping down. Jumping down is what kills your achilles. I am not going for warp speed here, just a solid, steady pace to keep my heart rate up.

Agree that jumping down is a bad idea.

I'm confused. I thought box jumps were a plyo exercise where you jump down from the box and "bounce" up as quickly as possible and as high as possible off the ground.

For you version of box jumps, do you mean jumping onto the box and then stepping down? It seems like this can be more of an exercise to bring your knees/legs up than jumping.

 

[Power Player]

I'm confused. I thought box jumps were a plyo exercise where you jump down from the box and "bounce" up as quickly as possible and as high as possible off the ground.

For you version of box jumps, do you mean jumping onto the box and then stepping down? It seems like this can be more of an exercise to bring your knees/legs up than jumping.

The first paragraph is the achilles killer. The second is what i do. Jumping onto a high box is an awesome exercise for your legs. Its the jump you want to focus on. Between that and jump rope, you will notice a difference on the court and in leg definition.

 

[Sirius Black]

I'm confused. I thought box jumps were a plyo exercise where you jump down from the box and "bounce" up as quickly as possible and as high as possible off the ground.

For you version of box jumps, do you mean jumping onto the box and then stepping down? It seems like this can be more of an exercise to bring your knees/legs up than jumping.

I think that first one is called a depth jump

My friend tried those out one time while training his vertical and cerifiably wrecked himself

 

[Noveson]

I think that first one is called a depth jump

My friend tried those out one time while training his vertical and cerifiably wrecked himself

I'm confused. I thought box jumps were a plyo exercise where you jump down from the box and "bounce" up as quickly as possible and as high as possible off the ground.

For you version of box jumps, do you mean jumping onto the box and then stepping down? It seems like this can be more of an exercise to bring your knees/legs up than jumping.

First one is a depth jump. Not sure why people are talking like they are super hazardous. They are a mainstay of NBA athletes' training.

 

[Sirius Black]

First one is a depth jump. Not sure why people are talking like they are super hazardous. They are a mainstay of NBA athletes' training.

Your everyday joe is not an NBA athlete though

 

[Power Player]

First one is a depth jump. Not sure why people are talking like they are super hazardous. They are a mainstay of NBA athletes' training.

Yeah, they just seem to have popped enough people's achilles on box jumps to where it is something to be cautious about.

 

[Ramon]

First one is a depth jump. Not sure why people are talking like they are super hazardous. They are a mainstay of NBA athletes' training.

I wish I could do depth jumps, but at 52 I'm more concerned about my joints. That's probably fine for NBA athletes.

If I'm at a place that has a 30" box jump, I'll use that and step off. Unfortunately, the gym I regularly go to only has an 18" box jump so I usually add dumbbells to make it harder. I don't do it for speed and high reps because I'm too scared of scraping my shins! Call me a wuss, but that would hurt!

 

[Sirius Black]

I wish I could do depth jumps, but at 52 I'm more concerned about my joints. That's probably fine for NBA athletes.

If I'm at a place that has a 30" box jump, I'll use that and step off. Unfortunately, the gym I regularly go to only has an 18" box jump so I usually add dumbbells to make it harder. I don't do it for speed and high reps because I'm too scared of scraping my shins! Call me a wuss, but that would hurt!

You could use a weighted vest instead of dumbells. I feel like having weight in your hands would hinder your ability to swing your arms or do something weird

 

[Ramon]

You could use a weighted vest instead of dumbells. I feel like having weight in your hands would hinder your ability to swing your arms or do something weird

I know, I've looked at weighted vests on Amazon, but I really don't have any other use for them because my gym has weighted belts for pull ups or dips, and it would be a hassle to bring one to my workouts anyway. There's guys on YouTube doing 30"+ box jumps with 100 pound dumbbells, so I don't see it as a problem.

 

[onehandbh]

First one is a depth jump. Not sure why people are talking like they are super hazardous. They are a mainstay of NBA athletes' training.

Ah. Thank for the clarification, guys.

I used to do some plyos years ago (depth jumps, etc.) but I was always under the impression that
a) You should have a decent strength to weight ratio before even thinking of attempting this.
b) They are hard on your joints, muscles, tendons, ligaments and riskier than many other gym exercises when it comes to injuries.
c) always do depth jumps on a soft surface. I used to do them on a grass area outside.

I do remember them increasing my vertical by a few inches after like 6 months. (e.g. going from maybe 4-5 inches from the basketball rim to being able to just grab it)

Nowadays, after years of not playing basketball or little exercise? I might not even be able to touch the bottom of the backboard!

 

[Sirius Black]

Ah. Thank for the clarification, guys.

I used to do some plyos years ago (depth jumps, etc.) but I was always under the impression that
a) You should have a decent strength to weight ratio before even thinking of attempting this.
b) They are hard on your joints, muscles, tendons, ligaments and riskier than many other gym exercises when it comes to injuries.
c) always do depth jumps on a soft surface. I used to do them on a grass area outside.

I do remember them increasing my vertical by a few inches after like 6 months. (e.g. going from maybe 4-5 inches from the basketball rim to being able to just grab it)

Nowadays, after years of not playing basketball or little exercise? I might not even be able to touch the bottom of the backboard!

You're 6 ft tall, right? You can get the backboard no problem

 

[onehandbh]

You're 6 ft tall, right? You can get the backboard no problem

I was being a bit facetious. Yes I can still easily touch the backboard, but I have most likely lost quite a bit of vertical from lack of use.