What is a 3-in-1 multi plyo box and what do you do with it?

Plyometric training is designed to increase speed, power and explosiveness. Plyometric training sessions are a great supplement to regular strength training.

‘A plyometric exercise is quick, powerful movement that starts with an eccentric (muscle-lengthening) action and is immediately followed by a concentric (muscle-shortening) action. Performing plyometric movements increases muscular power, which translates to higher jumps and faster sprint times’.

Plyo Boxes have become quite popular in gyms, but many people are still not too sure what to do with them without guidance. They are highly versatile, functional pieces of equipment. You can get three jump landing heights out of one piece of equipment.

3 Exercises for plyo box newcomers

Box Jumps

Box jumps are a simple and effective movement, perfect for users of all training abilities and experiences. Simply stand with your feet shoulder width apart in front of the plyo, bend your knees and jump up onto the box. Either step or hop back down and repeat.

The beauty of combining the 3-in-1 plyo box with box jumps as an exercise, is that are there are plenty of progressions you can make to increase the intensity or difficulty i.e. gradually increasing the height of the box by flipping it onto another side.

The key training benefit of this exercise is its full body engagement of all muscle groups, including the abdominal core, arms in the upward swinging movement and of course legs. It is also great for improving leg power and fast twitch muscle movement – a versatile must-have exercise in all high intensity and functional training regimes!

Decline Press Ups

Simply place your feet on the plyo box and perform a press up, keeping your hands roughly shoulder width apart. The higher off the ground the feet are raised, the greater the resistance and activation of the upper chest/shoulder muscles.

For beginners, you can even place your knees on the box to take some additional weight off the press up movement and be safe in the knowledge your knees aren’t going to scrap or dig into a hard floor.

The decline press up is perfect for engaging and improving the strength in the upper body muscles, including chest, triceps and shoulders.

Step Ups

Step ups are another good leg movement for beginners to perform using a plyo box. Starting with legs in a shoulder width position in front of the box, simply step up on to the box making sure that it’s high enough to force a full range of motion, extending the leg fully. Then step back off the box and repeat using alternate legs.

Try to avoid jumping up using the trail leg; use the leading leg to lift your full bodyweight up onto the box. To increase difficulty, you can turn the plyo box to increase the height you’re stepping on to. Alternatively, you can use a barbell on your shoulders, a pair of dumbbells held by your sides or even wear a weighted vest and perform the same step up movement.

The benefits of this exercise include improvements in leg strength, flexibility and range of motion at the hips and knees, as well as muscle tone in both the quadriceps and hamstrings.

About The Erimus Plyo Box:

• Versatile – the advantage of the foam plyometric box over more traditional options is less chance of injury. The Erimus Plyo Box is firm enough to stay in place safely at all heights, but will not hurt your shin if you miss your jump.
• Weighted dense foam for the inside, with sturdy weight distribution in the box when used at all three of the heights (some on the market feel too light and like they’re going to fall over).
• Available in two colour options (grey & black).
• Hard wearing, grip PVC layer for the outer layer that is water resistant, won’t scuff and can be wiped clean.
• Gradual, but progressive height increments at 20 inches, 24 inches and 30 inches.
• Made in the UK.

To view the Erimus Plyo Box click here.