Step up your game...

Following on from a previous blog post where we discussed the importance of unilateral movements. I thought I should provide an exercise tutorial for one of the exercises mentioned… step-up.

Stand in front of a box (or a bench) which is approximately knee height, so your lead thigh is parallel to the ground at the starting position.

Make sure that you place the whole of your foot on the raised platform, so you can drive through your heel to perform the movement instead of your forefoot. By doing it this way you will achieve greater activation in your glutes and hamstrings.

Push your heel through the box to lift yourself up until your leg is straight. Be aware of your hip, knee and ankle alignment so your knee doesn’t drift inwards. At the top of the movement push your hips forward and squeeze your glutes.

Biggest mistake people make with this exercise is to use the rear leg for propulsion. To combat this make sure you keep your weight primarily on your front leg, and force yourself to keep the rear leg straight (up on the toes) to minimise participation. As a result you will work the right group of muscles to their full potential.

Another common tendency is to rock forward with the upper body for a mechanical advantage, so make sure you keep your chest up and do not round the upper back. Would like you to think about driving directly up towards the ceiling rather than forwards.

Keep the same foot on the box as you lower back down to the ground. Very important that you do this under control and you don't just free fall. Your rear leg is not in a good position to absorb that kind of impact

I hope this helps and if you have any questions please do get in touch.