Intermediate

Plyometric Box Push-Up

This is a friendly entry into upper-body plyometrics, using a target height to demand real push-off without the harsh landing of a depth drop. It builds pressing power through the chest and triceps and teaches you to project the body upward on cue. A great first explosive push-up once regular push-ups feel strong and controlled.

Equipment
Box, Plate
Body part
Chest, Triceps
Type
Plyometric
Browse by movement
Horizontal Press
Muscles worked
Target
Pectoralis Major Sternocostal
Secondary
Pectoralis Major Clavicular, Deltoid Anterior, Triceps Brachii Long Head, Triceps Brachii Lateral Head, Triceps Brachii Medial Head
Tertiary
Abdominal External Oblique

How to do it

  1. 1

    Place a low, stable box or stacked plates just in front of your hands.

  2. 2

    Set up in a push-up on the floor with a rigid plank and hands under the shoulders.

  3. 3

    Lower to the floor with elbows tucked at a comfortable angle.

  4. 4

    Press up explosively so both hands leave the ground and land on top of the box.

  5. 5

    Absorb the landing with soft elbows, then step or lower the hands back to the floor.

  6. 6

    Reset and repeat for quality reps.

Tips

  • Start with a low box; height should follow clean landings, not the other way around.
  • Keep the core braced so the hips do not pike as the hands travel up.
  • Land with the fingers spread and elbows giving slightly to cushion the wrists.

Variations

Common mistakes

  • The box sits too far in front of the hands, so the press has to travel forward as well as up and the hands arrive on the front lip instead of the top.
  • Coming back down turns into a jump off the box, which adds an unplanned depth drop to a drill meant to have none. Step or lower the hands one at a time.
  • One hand makes the box and the other stays on the floor, which twists the shoulder that did get up. If it happens twice, the box is too high or too far away.
  • A light plastic step or an upturned crate slides or tips as soon as a hand lands off-center; pick something heavy and flat, and push it hard before you trust it.
  • Only half the descent gets used before the press, and a shallow dip gives the chest almost nothing to push out of. Touch the chest down to the floor on every rep.
  • Fingers hook over the far edge on landing instead of the palm meeting the top, which loads the wrist at an angle with your whole bodyweight behind it.

Frequently asked

How many reps of the plyometric box push-up should you do when you are new to the exercise?
Four sets of 4 to 6 reps with two minutes of rest, resetting the plank between reps rather than cycling them. A low box, two or three inches, is where to start; the number that matters is how cleanly the hands land, not the height. Add reps to six, then add a set, then raise the box by an inch. If a rep ends with one hand short, that rep was the last useful one of the set.
What can I use instead of a box for the plyometric box push-up?
A pair of stacked bumper plates, a low aerobic step, a thick hardcover book, or a short stack of firm mats all work if they stay put under a hand. One wide surface is easier to land on than two separate blocks, so start there. With nothing to press onto, a clap push-up or a plyo push-up landing on a taped line trains the same explosive press, and an incline push-up off a bench lets you rehearse the push-off with less load.
What is the plyometric box push-up good for, and when is it a poor choice?
It gives you a target height to press toward, which is a clearer way to build upper-body explosiveness than chasing a clap, and it is the sensible first step into plyometric pressing for anyone with solid push-ups. It is a poor choice if you cannot do 15 clean push-ups, since there is no power to express yet, and a poor choice with wrist pain, because every landing goes through the heel of the hand. It will not add chest size either.

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