The box jump is one of the simplest jumping exercises and is a good way to benefit from jumping while also being able to minimize impact. Adding a pause increases the effect on rate of force development by removing the stretch-shortening reflex.
 
Bend the knees and hips to gather for a jump as you would normally, but pause and hold for 2-3 seconds. After the pause, drive directly up into the jump without any further bending down.
 
Use a box well under what you can actually jump onto so you can focus on jumping as high as possible and coming down onto the box rather than focusing on reaching the feet up as much as possible.
 
Demand on leg and hip power can be increased further by removing the swinging of the arms—hold the hands loosely at the chest.
 
Purpose
The pause box jump is a basic exercise to develop explosive leg and hip extension that eliminates elastic contribution to the effort to emphases greater rate of force development.
 
Programming
Pause box jumps should generally be done for 3-5 reps per set, with 3-10 sets. In weightlifting, they are usually done at the end of a training session. This prevents their fatiguing the lifter for the performance of more sport-specific speed-dependent lifts, and also helps improve explosiveness by forcing the body to recruit more and higher-threshold motor units when partially fatigued. However, a few sets of jumps can be performed at the start of a training session as a neurological primer, or supersetted with squats to encourage great motor unit recruitment and aggression.
 
Variations
This jump can be performed without an arm swing to focus maximally on leg and hip power—hold the hands loosely at the chest.