by Mitch Hauschildt, MA, ATC, CSCS
Recently, I invested in some new equipment for my workout facility, so over the coming weeks, I will take the opportunity to review a few things in an effort to equip people with new ideas and knowledge to help you make decisions when purchasing new products.
This week, we’re going to look at the Stamina X Adjustable Height Plyo Box. For full disclosure, I do have a personal connection to the Stamina brand, as I have trained members of the owner’s family for years as high school and college athletes. As important as I think it is to disclose that information, I should also say that my knowledge of the company has typically steered me away from purchasing many of their products. The reason that I say that is because historically, most Stamina branded products are carried by a very large discount mega store, which, for a self described exercises equipment snob such as myself, I have been very hesitant to invest in.
Recently, however, I was exposed to their “X” line of equipment, which was designed specifically for the needs of a higher end, higher use customer. I now have 2 products from this line and I have to say that for the most part, I am impressed.
The adjustable plyo box peaked my interest because I have been looking for a high quality plyo box product that is stable, versatile and doesn’t take up a lot of space. My home facility doesn’t have a lot of floor space, so every square inch counts. As much as I would love to be able to line up a series of different sized boxes at my place, I just can’t give up the space. As excited as I have been to explore this product, I have also been a bit skeptical because usually products that promise to be able to do a lot of things at the same time, rarely do anything well.
Right out of the box, the adjustable plyo box has a really nice weight to it, which immediately excited me. The heavy weight tells me that they understand how durable this product needs to be. Further, a heavy weight, though somewhat difficult to move around, is imperative t0 ensure that a plyo box like this is stability because it doesn’t have a huge footprint.
The platform isn’t huge, but it is a good size, even for a guy like me who is 6’5″ tall. It is covered by a durable, nonslip rubber surface that is set into metal frame. My only concern with the platform is the same as pretty much all other non-foam style plyo boxes…if you miss the box and hit your shins on the edge of the platform, you will know it (and will likely cause some pretty good damage).
The adjustment occurs with a scissor-type mechanism that changes the height by fitting one end of the mechanism into a fixed slot located on the bottom of the platform. Depending on the angle of the legs, the platform adjusts from 12″ tall to 24″ tall in 4″ increments. Again, this is a good fit for most of the general population and young athletes that I train out of my home facility.
The adjustment system is a bit complicated, however, which I guess is a tradeoff when you try check a lot of boxes (adjustable, weight, size, cost, etc). The only way that you can adjust the height is to physically flip the box over, pull the locking pin, rotate the bar out of the way, and then move the legs to a different pin position before reversing that process. And, if you don’t ensure that the bar is returned to it’s locked position, then you run the risk of the box changing heights unexpectedly on it’s own. It isn’t that complicated, but it is cumbersome.
The price of the box directly from Stamina is $199 (and can be found from other outlets cheaper). While that may seem a bit high for a single plyo box, if you were to price 4 plyo boxes of different heights, the price is a steal.
Positives:
- Heavy, durable design
- Adjustability
- Overall size of the unit is big enough for most people, but small enough that it doesn’t take up too much space
- Weight makes the box very stable
- Affordable price
Negatives:
- Adjustable mechanism is a bit cumbersome and because of the heavy weight, some might find it difficult to adjust
- The edge of the platform is not forgiving if someone fails to reach the proper height of the jump
Overall, I’m very happy with this product. If I were to use it for plyometrics with my DI collegiate athletes every day, it may not go high enough to meet their needs and the adjustment mechanism might prove cumbersome. But, for someone who trains the general population, youth athletes, and/or looking for a great quality box for movements such as step ups, it is a great unit. It is affordable, durable and saves a lot of space. You can see more about the product on the Stamina website here.
Leave a Reply