Step Ups

3-POINT SET-UP:

1. Grab the short grey cables with both hands and hop onto back platform

2. Keep the torso in an upright position

3. Fully extend secondary leg behind you and keep lifted

Body Part • Direction • Action Verb:

• Keeping your shoulders and back engaged and your arms extended, slightly HINGE at your hips. Keeping your torso in an upright position begin to BEND the knee of the primary leg. As a result, the extended leg will begin to lower towards the floor.

• Drive through the foot of your planted leg and pull the chest tall as you lift back up to starting position

Range of Motion:

• If possible, tap the toes of the extended leg on the floor

• Stop right before the knee of the primary leg fully locks out at the top and/or the extended leg hip “hikes” above planted leg

 Kinetic Checkpoints:

HEAD:

SAME AS PLANK

SHOULDERS:

❌ Elevate your shoulders and shrug them towards your ears (scapular elevation) at the top of the movement

❌ Allow the cables to depress your shoulders to slope downwards as you lower into the step up, causing a strain on your neck

✅ Pack your shoulders and anchor them into your lats and maintain a neutral position (avoiding excessive scapular elevation or depression) throughout the entire range of motion.

HIPS:

❌ Excessively Tipping your pelvis forward prior to lowering 

❌ Hinging from your hips to the point that your chest/shoulders are parallel to the floor

❌ Keeping torso fully upright and tucking hips under 

❌ Tucking your hips under by going too low or squeezing your glutes at the top 

✅ Keep your hips frozen in neutral position and level throughout the movement

KNEES:

❌ Driving your knee past your toes 

❌ Pull your knee behind your ankle and you rise to the top 

✅ Aim to keep your feet in alignment with your mid foot as you lower, stopping before tracking in front of your toes and avoid hyperextending at top

FEET:

❌ Put all of the weight into your heel

❌ Lift your toes towards the ceiling 

✅ Maintain an equal weight distribution in all three points of contact in your foot (the tripod: below the big toe, below the pinky toe, and in the heel)

✅ Keep the arch of your foot engaged and lifted  

Talking Points:

• A slight hinge of the hips is necessary in order to ensure that your knee does not track in front of your toes at the bottom of the step up, HOWEVER, your torso will remain in an upright position unlike a single leg deadlift. This is a knee dominant movement.

• The hip of the extended leg will most likely drop. Be sure to realign your hips at the top of the movement. 

• If a client complains about knee pain, add more of a hip hinge to the exercise and/or reduce range of motion

• Under heavy spring tension, this will be a lot of upper body work. This may come to the surprise of some clients, so be sure to let them know it is indeed working