Don't be intimidated by the box jump [1]! 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 [2] 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.