Paralympic Snowboarder Mike Schultz Loves to Hate Box Jumps. Use This Version to Build Your Power.

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MIKE SCHULTZ HAS a love-hate relationship with box jumps. The three-time Paralympic medalist uses the exercise to help hone his explosiveness and power for his Para snowboard events and calls it a favorite—but it’s not always the most intuitive move for him to actually perform.

“It’s really awkward for me as an amputee, but it’s probably one of the most valuable moves that we do,” he says. “In snowboard cross, we’re trying to generate speed by accelerating through roller sections. So it’s a lot of lifting and pressing your legs through the race course, and the quicker and stronger you can do that, the more speed you generate.”

Along with the box jumps, Schultz says his workouts also include other lower body power movements, Smith machine squats—and a good number of pulling exercises that target his back muscles, too. “Pulling out of the start gate is key to getting a good, quick start,” he says.

Schultz will be competing in his third Paralympics in 2026, but his impact for Team USA goes even beyond his status as a contender to medal in the banked slalom and snowboard cross events. After an accident in 2008 that resulted in his left leg being amputated above the knee, Schultz worked to design the prosthetic legs he would eventually use to compete. He started a company, BioDapt, and now the prosthetics his brand makes are used by the entire US Paralympic snowboard team.

Even though they’re a challenge, Schultz uses a variety of box jumps in training, including jumps that emphasize landing and his prosthetic has a hydraulic shock absorber. Try the depth jump to explosive leap: Step off a low box and immediately jump as high as you can and land as softly as you can. Do 4 sets of 3 per leg.

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Photographs: Justin Steele, Getty Images
Styling: Ted Stafford
Hair: Alexandra Diroma using Oribe
Makeup: Mark Eddie using Kett Cosmetics
Set Design: Jared Lawton
Executive Visual Director: Fabienne Le Roux
Video Executive Producer: Dorenna Newton
Video DP/Editor: Cory VanderPloeg
Video Camera: Derrick Saint Pierre
Video Swing: Romy Kirchauer
Video AP: Janie Booth

This article originally appears in the Winter 2026 issue of Men’s Health.

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