Ok, who you got?
Box jumps? In all of their high flying, loud stomping, power building “grace.”
-or-
Step ups? With their brute hard work, strength building, booty defining, “work”
Which one wins is honestly entirely up to you and your goals. And to be perfectly honest, there isn’t really a right or wrong answer, regardless of what your coach or the WOD tells you. Box jumps, while they may look cool and be great for building and developing your speed and your power, also come with a higher risk factor. There is a reason when you first started, when you get tired, or the box gets too high, that you slow down and get antsy. Ask anyone who has a shin scar or has taken a tumble, a mislanded box jump isn’t “all in your head.” I always remember my very first coach telling me that she always considers that she is at the gym to get healthy, not to get injured.
Step ups are the opposite, often seen as the lower level and developmental aid to get you to box jumps proficiency. And in some ways that is true. All clients can build the necessary strength up to better perform high quality, powerful box jumps, through patient development of step up training. But remember, one of the hallmarks and long term goals of CrossFit is to increase your work capacity. If work is a function that has a time element, I can assure you: For the average, everyday client (even the really strong ones) racing between fast step ups and fast box jumps is a negligible difference. So then I took my 190lb frame up the same height box in the same amount of time, with less risk of injury. It’s less sexy, but its safer, and I’ll still be training and in the gym without all the head noise and anxiety.