Step-up ?, finishing up Stage 1

[TessTN]

Hi all!

I've been lurking here since starting the program, and have really enjoyed the posts and learned a lot. I do have a question, though...

Last night, I was telling my husband about my routine and he expressed concern over the step-ups, saying he thinks I may damage my knees over the long haul. Now, he's not an exerciser by any means, strong from his job but not fit, y'know?

So I thought I'd run this by Those Who Know.

I'm 5' 4" tall, short-waisted with long legs for my height. Since the beginning of the program, I've done the step-ups on a Reebok Club step, with six risers under each end. (Do you say, "Six risers" for that, or 12?? I never know how to state a pair of db weights like that, either. )

I started out with body-weight, working up till yesterday's workout (A-7) where I was using 20# dbs in each hand. This was tough-- I was literally grunting out each rep, but keeping my form, so I felt the weight was about right. I felt a bit of a twinge in my left anterior tibialis towards the end, but nothing alarming.

Today, I'm fine, nothing but the vaguest of soreness in my muscles and no knee upset. Soooo.... am I in danger of wearing out my knees, or should I just smile and nod at the DH and go on doing the workouts as I have been?

Also, I'm having trouble with pushups. I can't seem to go down past the point where my upper arms are parallel to the floor, even doing them on my knees, it's tough to break parallel. It feels like something "catches" or binds in the area between my shoulder joint and my chest, right at the tops of my arm pits, if that makes any sense.

Does anyone know how to get past this problem? I feel like such a weenie, doing the cable rows and then doing half-ROM girlie pushups on my knees! LOL

(Just fyi: My other weights in that workout were: squats, 70#; cable rows, 140#)

Thanks for your advice and patience with a newb!
Tess

[missjane]

There's a bunch of threads on step-ups. Here's some:

Step-ups.... how not to cheat

and

Is this normal?

As for the push-ups, I did them on the Smith Machine bar, gradually lowering the bar until I was on the floor.

[Likes2bfit]

I would cut the number of risers down to 5 per side. That is what I have been using.

Also, the links above were quite helpful, especially if you have been doing leg presses with Cathe Frederich DVD's. NROLFW step ups are different from Cathe's.

[missjane]

I know there's no BAD way to do step-ups as far as height is concerned, but for NROL4W, I think you want to keep the step high (I use a weight bench) to maximize the glute action and get that full ROM.

[Amblus]

I feel like such a weenie, doing the cable rows and then doing half-ROM girlie pushups on my knees! LOL

Why are you doing pushups on your knees? I'd do them full-body off a low counter or bench, like the book suggests. Pushups are hard for me (especially close-elbow pushups that really hit the triceps) so all through stage one I was doing them from a bench. Eventually, I'd try to see how many I could do on the floor before moving back to the bench. It takes a while to build up to it - the chest is a big muscle but the triceps aren't! Be patient and keep at it.

[Bytsi]

I would focus on getting higher on your step-ups. I'm only 5'2" and I use a weight-bench to step up onto. Add weight after you've increased your range of motion. And no, your knees won't wear out from this - you're increasing the muscle strength that supports the joint, so unless your form is bad, you're not doing damage.

[DirtyMartini]

1. You're not in danger of ruining your knees unless you've got bad form. Weight lifting has extremely low incidence of injury, below even badminton. You'll ruin your knees from dancing before you do from weight lifting. Like Bytsi said, you're actually strengthening the muscles in your legs supporting your knee by weight lifting, reducing possibility of injury. Many athletes do weight training as an approach to prevent injuries in other sports. Sports Scientists Say Weight Lifting Is Key In Preventing Severe Injuries

2. Don't do pushups on your knees. Do them from a weights bench, bar, risers, etc with your toes on the floor not your knees.

3. Definitely agree with the higher step. I was doing my step-ups from a lower step for a while and am really glad I went to a higher step with lower weight. Highly recommended.

[TessTN]

Thank you all for your replies! It's nice to be reassured about my knees, I figured it was ok (I'm a stickler for form) but it's good to hear it from those who've been doing this longer than I. I'll keep doing them on the step though, as the weight benches at my gym are actually a good bit *lower* than the club step with all the risers.

I'll take your advice on the pushups... nobody ever uses the Smith machine anyway, so I won't have any competition for it. Maybe that will get me past that weird "catch" in my shoulders, I feel like it's some muscle weakness or structural thing in there holding me up.

Thanks again for your advice and encouragement!
Tess

[Lisa~]

Originally Posted by TessTN

I'll take your advice on the pushups... nobody ever uses the Smith machine anyway, so I won't have any competition for it. Maybe that will get me past that weird "catch" in my shoulders, I feel like it's some muscle weakness or structural thing in there holding me up.

It's probably your serratus muscles and strengthening them is one of the big benefits of doing push-ups over other pressing movements like bench press. The serratus helps stabilize the shoulder blades and it is often weak in those who tend to slouch or have internally rotated shoulders. If it's a weak link in your push-ups then moving to a slight incline will help. Do your push-ups on the lowest incline you can with full ROM--that means touching your boobs to the Smith machine bar on every rep. You'll engage your serratus and strengthen it along with your pecs and triceps.

Step-ups will improve the health of your knee joints, if they are done with a posterior-chain focus. A variation of this exercise, a step-down, is actually one of the first exercises a post-knee-injury patient will move to after rehab. But you need to be performing a glute focused step-up to get this benefit. The threads Jane linked you to explain more fully. As you add weight, make sure you're not kicking your hip to one side as you rise and that you're controlling your descent with the power of your glute/hip.