Srikanth Kidambi has been at the top of men’s badminton in India for a while.
He climbed to the top of the world rankings a few years ago because of his emphasis on fitness as a major aspect of his game. Even while he was spending time with his family, his dedication to fitness was unwavering and he performed bodyweight exercises as part of his home workout routine to maintain his fitness.
One of his favourite exercises is the box jump, which he has been practicing for many years. We got him to tell us more about the exercise and how it should be practiced.
Name of the exercise: Box jumps
As a badminton player, Srikanth is always on his toes and his body needs to be ready to leap from one spot to the other very quickly. Since the box jump helps to train for this movement, Srikanth’s coaches added the exercise to his training routine.
“My coaches taught me this drill, how to jump and land safely. It was added to my routine when we designed different workouts to target different areas of fitness in my training,” says Srikanth.
What are box jumps?
The box jump is a plyometric exercise that requires you to start from a standing position and leap into the air, landing simultaneously with both feet onto a raise platform.
Targeted muscle groups
Box jumps work primarily on the muscles in your lower body, ie, the glutes, hamstrings, quads and calves. The core muscles are also engaged during a box jump, making them secondary beneficiaries of the exercise.
“(Box jumps work on) the posterior chain, including the hamstrings, glutes, and spinal erectors. Upon landing it can be a full-body exercise to land under control,” says Srikanth.
Benefits of the box jump
The biggest benefit of practicing box jumps is the explosive power and strength it develops in your lower body. Explosive power is your body’s ability to jump into action immediately from a resting position – an immediate burst of energy and not a slow build-up – and box jumps are one of the best exercises for this. The exercise also helps improve your vertical jump and can be a cardio workout since a few repetitions gets your heart pumping faster.
How to perform the exercise
Srikanth explains a detailed step-by-step guide to practicing the box jump:
- Stand at a comfortable distance within one meter from the box with your feet directly under your hips.
- Begin the jump by bending your knees slightly and pushing your hips back, allowing your arms to swing back behind you while keeping your chest and head facing forward.
- Aggressively extend your hips and explode off the balls of your feet, swinging your arms upward to aid in building momentum.
- While in the air, bring your knees up as high as necessary to land on the box fully with both feet simultaneously.
- Upon landing, allow yourself to bend at the knees and drop into at least a partial squat to land softly so you don’t load your joints. Extend to full standing position on the box.
- You could either step or jump down from the box. If jumping down, do a small jump backwards off the box and land in a braced partial squat before standing upright. Repeat for desired number of repetitions.
How box jumps help Srikanth in badminton
While Srikanth is on the badminton court, he is mostly on the toes and balls of his feet. The constant, springy movement in badminton needs a lot of energy and explosive power. Box jumps help him train to be ready for these situations.
Below Srikanth lists out some detailed benefits of the exercise:
- Helps to develop strength and power
- Helps develop eccentric control (ability to slow down and change direction)
- Helps develop the athletic position and coordination of the hip, which is crucial for the sport
- Helps develop conditioning
- Helps train different energy systems when changing the work and rest time
What to avoid when doing box jumps
Never use a box that is too high for you when doing box jumps; this can lead to injuries. Also focus on the impact the exercise has on your joints; if you feel pain in the joints, your form may be wrong. When it comes to correct form, also make sure that your feet are landing on the box at the same time, they are about hip-width apart, and your knees are never bending inwards. Box jumps should also be performed at the start of a workout before your legs are tired.
Variations that can help you further
For a beginner, it would be advisable to start with a low box and gradual progress in height once the exercise becomes easier.
There are many variations to the box jump. Srikanth suggests some that he has practiced.
“You could try rebounding box jumps, box jump overs, step up jumps, single leg box jumps, or depth jumps,” says Srikanth.