Make Life Easier with Step-Ups
Most of us are doing some variation of a step up every day when we walk upstairs in our house or walk up a step to get into work. If we break a step-up down further it's just a single leg movement. As kids or athletes we are constantly doing single leg exercises when we run, jump, climb and play. If you’ve gone to run or step up on something high after years of not doing those activities you’ve likely noticed that you either don’t have the same balance as you once did and/or you don’t have the strength to step up onto something high. Play this out over 10, 20 or 30 years and you’ll eventually not be able to walk up steps. Most people chalk this up as inevitable with aging. While there is some truth to aging and losing strength and balance, we can fight against this trend through simple exercises like a step up.
It’s easier than you think to fight against this aspect of aging. Everyone is familiar with the phrase “If you don’t use it you lose it.” That’s essentially the same here. We lose some of these physical functions not because you get a year older but because we stop performing the functions. Aside from needing to be able to walk up and down steps for the rest of our lives, single leg exercises like step-ups can increase muscle size, increase strength, reduce injury risk in ankles, knees and hips, decrease joint pain in those same areas and dramatically improve balance. Now you know you should be doing step-ups and other forms of single leg exercise, let's get into how to perform them.
The best place to start is on a small step around 6 inches high. If that's too hard, start lower, you’ll progress quickly. Here is a video to help you get started, ignore the dumbbells if you're just starting off.
A couple of things to build off of the video;
-Don’t get caught up in the height of your step when first starting. Just pick a manageable height.
-As you progress, I recommend progressing to a higher step before going heavier. Until you can no longer reach your leg up to step.
-Before progressing, get to a point where you don’t need your back leg to help you up. Step up without bending the bottom knee.
-A good set and rep scheme to use for these is 3 sets of 6 per side.
Good luck in your step-up endeavor!
If you’d like help improving your single leg strength contact me here to find out how we can help!