What about when I need to pull a box/mattress, desk, etc. out of the back of a truck? Lean over and grab that same box after I put it down? Pull the piano while the other guy pushes? Reach out and pull the car door shut? Extend my hand and pull up my girlfriend when we're hiking? Sure, I can engage glutes/hams for these, but if I don't have some decent back/pulling strength, it's not going to work.
Why not a deadlift or row of some kind instead of the step-up? Seems to me that the step-up is a redunancy of the squat and lunge, taking up a valuable spot that could/should be filled by a pull.
What do you all think?
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