This 1 CrossFit Move Will Tone Your Legs and Burn Major Calories

Don't be intimidated by the box jump! It may look scary, but once you try it, you'll feel so badass that you'll start to love them! It's a great exercise to tone your legs, butt, and core, and because it's a plyometric exercise, it's a great calorie-burning cardio move.

If you're new to box jumps, start off nice and easy, practising stepping onto the box at first and then moving up to jumping. At the beginning, choose a low box that's under 12 inches high. You could even stack a few plates and jump on those as you progress. As you become more comfortable, you can build up to an 18-inch box, a 20-inch box, and maybe even a 24-inch box, depending on your jumping abilities and how tall you are.

Here's how to master the box jump.

• Stand with your feet slightly wider than hips-width distance apart in front of a sturdy box.
• Bend your knees and swing your arms back.
• Jump onto the top of the box with both feet at the same time, swinging the arms forward to give you a little momentum.
• Once you land, stand up until your legs are straight and drive your hips forward.
• Step one foot at a time back to the floor or jump down softly with both feet.
• This counts as one rep.
• Complete three sets of 10 to 20 box jumps.

Once you've nailed the basic box jump, here are a few variations to make it more challenging.

• Do box jump overs: Jump on the box with both feet. Step or jump down on the opposite side. Face the box and do a box jump on that side. Step or jump over to the opposite side, and so on.
• Do box jump burpees: Do a burpee facing the box. Then jump on the box. Step or jump down, and repeat.
• Do box jumps for time: Do 100 box jumps, box jump overs, or burpee box jumps and see how fast you can do them.
• Do high box jumps: Challenge yourself to see how high you can jump. Stack plates on top of the box and go as high as you can.