My new favorite exercise: Box Jumps. I always see guys jumping up on ridiculously-tall boxes at the gym, and I cringe for a moment before they land it. It looks so intimidating! I have done small little box jumps before, sometimes on soft, padded “boxes.” But on Tuesday, I did a series of box jumps, forward and lateral on some pretty decent-sized platforms. I think they just might be better than squats & lunges! My quads were burning and it really got the heart rate up. I’m still sore today (in that totally great way.) :)

Trying something new at the gym pays off; once you do the same routine for a couple months, your body adapts to the exercise and becomes more efficient. You lose the “soreness” feeling and start to burn less calories. In high school, my coach would switch up my morning gym routine every 4-6 weeks. It also keeps you from getting bored! I love my crunches but my muscles are so used to them now, it’s not effective anymore.

Along with my self-imposed challenge to be able to do at least 1 chin-up (don’t laugh) by the end of the year, I want to replace my squats & lunges with box jumps for a while. I like work-outs that you have to get hyped for! Let’s just hope my klutziness doesn’t get in the way and lead to an embarrassing face-plant ;)