Jump-Start your Metabolism

This simple piece of equipment can take your fat burning through the roof and your muscle carving to the next level. 

- Carly Graf

So many people are catching air at gyms everywhere these days for good reason. Explosive jumping moves, a.k.a. plyometrics, burn calories to the tune of nine or more a minute—the equivalent of jogging. And they work to supersculpt muscles too.

You can reap even more body benefits by doing your reps with a plyo box—a mini platform, typically made of wood, steel, or foam and available in heights from 10cm to 1 meter, that you jump on or over. Research from the American Council on Exercise shows that you’ll burn an average of 15 calories per minute during a HIIT workout that includes the box.

The spike in calorie burn probably comes from the added challenge of sticking your landing on a specific target, says Kenny Santucci, the creator of Body, a HIIT class at Solace studio in New York City. Take, for instance, the basic box jump, shown here. “It revs up your heart rate because you’re hoisting your body weight up against gravity; it works major muscles, especially the abs, glutes, and quads, to propel you; and it builds smaller stability muscles as you land,” Santucci explains.