Sometimes, the heaviest lifts in the gym (and outside of it) do not actually involve lifting weights.
Take the box jump, a CrossFit staple that serves a lot of fitness goals but also induces fear.
In a recent post on the CrossFit sub-Reddit, a person asked for tips to get over her fear of box jumps. She shared that she felt “physically sick” when trying to do a box jump, even thought she knew she could do it. Before her pregnancy, she could string three together at her best, before reverting to step-ups.
I could relate.
My body knows well the fear that the Reddit poster was talking about. I’ve waged many battles with the box — or, more accurately, with my mind while trying to jump on the box. I’ve also found strategies to overcome those fears.
In this piece I’m going to cover:
- What’s a box jump?
- Why are box jumps useful?
- Why do box jumps induce fear and movement paralysis?
- How to overcome your fear of box jumps.
What is a Box Jump?
The box jump appears in various forms in CrossFit WODS:
- a straight up box jump, in which you jump onto a box and step down backward to where you started
- a box jump over, where you jump on and come off on the other side (although some people actually do jump over)
- a burpee box jump over: a torturous combo with the ever-dreaded burpee
Benefits of Box Jumps
Box jumps are popular because they check a lot of boxes in terms of what they can facilitate in terms of fitness:
- they are a plyometric exercise that builds lower body strength and power by engaging the glutes, quads, hamstrings, and calves.
- they elevate the heart rate, improving cardiovascular fitness.
- they also help condition agility, coordination, and balance.
- they require mental focus
- they build mental toughness in overcoming the fear factor
The Freeze Response to Fear
It’s that final factor that makes them one of the heaviest lifts in a CrossFit WOD, even though they generally don’t involve any dumbbells or barbells. Your fear is the heaviest weight in any lift or movement.
In my experience of over two decades in the sport of flying trapeze, I’ve observed how the body freezes in fear. Fear of movement is very real — even when the fear isn’t conscious.
Fear of movement is a real thing, and we don’t address it, it can lead to movement avoidance, creating a vicious cycle: the more we avoid a movement, the more we fear it, and the more we avoid it.
So let’s look at why box jumps induce fear and how to overcome the fear.
3 Reasons You Fear Box Jumps
The Reddit poster’s subject line posed the crucial first step to addressing box jumps:
“Why am I so afraid of box jumps?”
In order to navigate the fear, we must make it conscious. Here are 3 possible fears you might be feeling as you stare down the box:
(1) Fear of Injury from Failure
Many responded to the Reddit user’s question with their own tales of shin injuries incurred from missing the box. Most boxes are hard wooden boxes, and if you miss the box, it could hurt.
(2) Fear of Impact on Success
Assuming you do manage to land on the box, box jumps are a high-impact movement. You might fear hurting knees, twisting an ankle, injuring your feet, or falling off the other side.
(3) Fear of Pelvic Floor Leakage
Any high-impact jumping activity is likely to invoke a fear of pelvic floor leakage — aka peeing your pants. This is not just relevant to the Reddit poster and others who have had children. Women of all ages and stages of life experience pelvic floor leakage. And so do men.
Fun fact: pelvic floor strength is connected with breathing habits and with foot strength.
4 Tips to Overcome the Fear of Box Jumps
When I first started CrossFit a few years ago I couldn’t jump on a box at all. Eventually I managed to work my way up to and 18-inch box. I thought that was where I’d be forever.
In my large collection of training reels that I’ve ~~never~~ yet to publish on Instagram is a very funny one of me balking at every attempt to increase from 18 to 21 inches — and that was using a soft box.
I’d do several box jumps in a row on an 18-inch box with no problem. Then my coach would add a 3-inch box on top of the 18 inches and I’d freeze. Take off the 3 inches, I was fine. Put it back, I’d freeze again.
Eventually, I did get that 21 inches. And then I faced the same obstacle working up to 24-inches, until one day I got that.
Since sustaining a knee injury several months ago I haven’t been cleared yet for box jumps again. I know when I do resume training them, I’ll have to work my way up again.
Here are the strategies I’ve used in the past to work my way up with box jumps. I also used a version of this strategy to retrain myself to walk down steps after having my knee immobilized for 3 weeks in March.
(1) Start Small
The best way to overcome fear is not to push through, but to acclimate. This means starting small.
Start with jumping over a line. Work your way up to plate hops, where you jump onto a barbell plate. Then go to a 3-inch box. Gradually increase the height of the box — only when you’re very comfortable.
(2) Use a Soft Box
When you fear a movement, you want to eliminate or mitigate the obvious risks.
If you have a soft box, use it. Even as I had built confidence in box jumps, I continued to use the soft box. In fact, when a coach encouraged me to up-level to a 20-inch box in workouts, I chose to keep my 18-inch soft box with a 3-inch add on, jumping 21-inches instead of 20-inches.
(3) Look Out, Not Down.
This is a strategy I learned from flying trapeze.
Many people will tell you to spot where you want to land, but this means you’re looking down. Your body follows the direction of your vision. It’s important to know where you’ll land, so spot there first, but then look ahead. Direct your gaze upward and outward.
(4) Pee Before You Start
This is a strategy I employ in any jumping workout, whether I’m jumping rope, doing box jumps, or doing trampoline practice. It helps remove that subconscious worry that you might pee your pants.
If you’ve been avoiding box jumps because of fear, I hope this helps you find some courage to tackle them, even if you’re starting with a small plate jump. Good luck!
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