Step-ups are, in my opinion, one of the most underutilized exercises by competitive and everyday athletes. But what is worse is that when they are performed, they are almost always done incorrectly. Here are some tips to help you improve your unilateral leg strength through step-ups.
Tip 1: Choose a proper box height
One of the most common errors I see is that people randomly choose the height of their box or bench they step up onto. The problem here is two-fold. First, if the box height is too low for them based on their active range of motion (ROM)--more on this later--then they are essentially performing partial range of motion reps (partials). This is ABSOLUTELY fine, given that you understand WHY you are moving in the range that you are. I equate this to doing half-squats, rack pulls, floor presses, and other highly valuable, highly effective exercises. BUT, these are almost always used to supplement the movement performed in a full ROM (full being defined here as how far each individual joint can ACTIVELY move during the movement) as well as performed with a higher weight (with floor presses being a possible exception) than the full ROM movement.
Problem 1: A low box height is predominantly used in addition to a low weight. Remember, in both of these instances, low is relative to what the person is actually capable of safely doing.
Solution: Strategically choose a box height based on your goals and your active ROM of the involved joints in addition to an appropriate weight for said box. The smaller the box you use relative to your active ROM, the greater the weight you can use.
Next time I will discuss the problem(s) with choosing a box height that is too high followed by technical issues of the movement.
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Charlie Cates, CSCS
Self Made®, Owner and Founder
Charlie Cates is a strength and conditioning specialist and the owner and founder of Self Made® (http://selfmadefitness.com/) in Chicago, IL. He has worked with competitive and everyday athletes of all ages and ability levels, from 9-year-old kids to NFL MVP’s. He can be reached via e-mail at charlie@selfmadefitness.com.
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