If you spend any time in a CrossFit gym, you will workout using plyometric boxes. Since I am incorporating more plyo work into my sprint training, I decided to add a pair to my home garage.
I found a pair of boxes at Rogue Fitness – however each 20 inch box costs $85. No THANKS! I can build them myself.
After a quick search, I found a solid set of well written plans from the CrossFit Journal.
However you can build two boxes with a SINGLE sheet of plywood (not the suggested 1.5 sheets) using exactly the dimensions specified simply by laying out the pieces more intelligently.
Here’s what I mean. The picture below show the 8 side pieces (for 2 plyometric boxes) laid out on a 4×8 foot piece of plywood. What you don’t see is the 10”x8’ section of the plywood that is wasted material. In their layout, you have to cut a second piece of plywood for the 17.5”x 17.5” tops.
A better layout is shown below. This lets you build both boxes using a single sheet of hardwood plywood.
So for $40 and about an hour of work, I now have two solid plyometric boxes.
A few points to emphasize:
- Definitely use hardwood ¾ inch plywood – don’t buy the cheap stuff
- Pre-drill holes, use screws and not nails
- Glue for greater strength.
For additional reading, check out High-Powered Plyometrics 2nd Edition (Amazon link).