I must tell you, this has been one cold stretch of weather. We actually had school delays and cancellations this past week because it was so darn cold. If you live in warm weather-do you have a spare bedroom or open garage space? I might be moving in with you. I can't stand the cold any more...Brrrrrr!
Weekly Blog Tip: The Step Up
I have always been a big fan of single leg exercises. I love what they can do to increase overall strength and body awareness. The step up, along with lunging, is one of my favorites.
The step up has been performed poorly for the most part over the years though. It can be performed better. Below are two variations I like to commonly use.
The Strength Step Up:
This step up is performed by placing the right foot on the box with the heel completely on. The left foot is on the floor but only the heel is pressured into the ground. The left knee is straight and pushing off is not allowed at all with this leg. The right foot is pressured on the heel as well.
Begin by leaning the shoulders forward with a straight back. This allows you to keep your balance and not fall backward when stepping up. Plus, by leaning forward with a straight or somewhat arched back there is a stretch on the posterior chain which gives more strength to the movement. Once you lean forward press hard into the box with the right heel as you lift your body up without help from the left leg or foot. The knee of the right leg should be over the middle toes and not collapse to the inside. When nearing the top of the motion finish by squeezing the glutes and driving the hips under the body. Next, slowly lower your body under control and land on the heel of the left foot. If you lose you balance and begin to lower down quickly make sure you land on the ball of the foot and bend the knee to absorb the force (only land on the heel if in complete control).
The head and eyes should be straight forward and if you are not holding DB's or any other wt, then your arms can be out in front of the body.
Perform 4-8 reps on the right before switching to the left. Perform 2-4 sets and you will be on your way to having strong legs.
Something to look out for:
1. Don't let your hip kick out to the side when stepping up. This shows a weakness in the lateral hip muscular and needs to be corrected before steps ups continue.
2. Don't let the body rotate away from the leg you are stepping up with. This also shows a tightness in the external rotators of the hips and needs correcting.
3. Don't drop your head down because this tends to round the posture forward- the body follows the head. When rounded forward the pelvis tends to not be in a good strong position to put stretch on the posterior chain.
4. Always make sure the heel is fully on the box.
The Power Step Up:
The set up is virtually the same except the foot on the floor and leg are allowed to push off. In the power step up you will use much heavier weight. The goal is to get up onto the box and into the hip extended position quickly. It is important to have the leg on the box at a 90 degree or more angle. So the push off of the leg on the ground helps you get started but the step up leg must finish with power. When lowering it is important to control the movement and bend the supporting knee.
I have also used this exercise with advanced athletes with a higher box. The athlete was actually below parallel at the start. But with the push off of the opposite leg the athlete was able to get to or higher than parallel before the step up leg had to finish the movement on it's own. This is a great way to develop explosiveness. If the athlete starts in a parallel stance by the time the step up leg takes over they might be at a 1/4 squat. So you want to take box height into consideration.
Things to look out for:
1. Don't round the back during the push off of the foot on the floor.
2. Be sure to lock out at the top with the hip.
3. Control the body coming down- don't slam down.
4. Be sure the hip, feet, and shoulders stay facing forward.
Good luck and hope you become strong with this exercise and variation.
Yours in Speed,
Lee
PS: Join http://www.speedinsiders.com and you will be able to see exercises like the step-up and more any time you want.
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