Box Sprints

Dryland

Box sprints can be a simple but high-result addition to any off-ice workout routine. Combining high intesity bursts with dynamic exercises and/or explosive directional changes allows you to gain muscle and balance while improving cardio.

Don’t have cones? That’s okay! Chalk, paint, shoes, gloves, whatever you have on hand is fine! As long as you can mark where your box points are, you’re good to go!

Below are some easy-to-implement box sprints. You can also use these to guide or inspire and build your own.

DIAGRAM KEY:

Box size is approximately 8×8
Adjust as needed for athlete age, skill, size and/or conditioning

FORWARD – SHUFFLE – FORWARD – SHUFFLE

Spring forward to the cone
Shuffle sideways to the next
Pivot and sprint down to the 3rd cone
Shuffle sideways to the 4th cone

BACKWARD – FORWARD – BACKWARD – FORWARD

Sprint backward to the first cone
Forward to second cone
Backward to third cone
Forward to the last cone

SHUFFLE – CROSSOVERS – SHUFFLE – CROSSOVERS

Shuffle to first cone
Single side crossovers to second
Shuffle to third
Single side crossovers to the last

BROAD JUMP – SHUFFLE – BROAD JUMP – SHUFFLE

Broad jump to the first cone
Shuffle to second cone
Broad jump to third cone
Shuffle to the last cone

FORWARDS WITH TRANSITIONS

Sprint forwards to the inside of the first cone, make a small forward to backward transition, opening up toward the cone to head to the second cone
Continue this sprint-transition pattern at cones two and three
Finish by sprinting through the last cone, or continuing the pattern for the your set number of reps

NOTE: In this drill we are trying to mimic edge work – getting knees bent, forward on feet, opening hips, and driving in the new direction. So, for example, if you start to the right of the cone you’d take one step to the right, one step backwards, then open to the left and proceed to the next cone. Not make a 360 degree right hand turn.

BACKWARDS WITH TRANSITIONS

Sprint backwards to the inside of the first cone, make a small backward to forward transition, driving to then pivoting away from the cone to head to the second cone
Continue this sprint-transition pattern at cones two and three
Finish by sprinting backwards through the last cone, or continuing the pattern for your set number of reps

NOTE: In this drill we are trying to mimic edge work – getting knees bent, forward on feet, opening hips, and driving in the new direction. So, for example, if you start to the right of the cone, you’d take one step to the left, one step forward, then pivot on your inside (left) foot and proceed backward to the next cone. Do not make a 360-degree turn.