Holy Cow; Who's been following the proper step ups thread?

LancelotsLover · 06-06-2009, 07:36 PM

I am humbled. I am ashamed. I am thrashed after my stage 1, workout A5 today. I owe apologies to anyone who read my posts where I commented that step ups are easy for me and I am ready to use barbells instead of DBs. Don't listen to me, I'm an idiot. I was doing them wrong, bringing working leg all the way down on every rep, and.... (blush blush)...CHEATING! yes, cheating, and thinking I wasn't. Oh, I can do them with 20 lb. DBs I said. Oh, I can do the 18" step height with said DBs I said. Now I bow my head, thoroughly ashamed.

I read all the threads on proper step up form. Oh, I'm not supposed to bring my working leg down every rep, I said. Easy, I said. How much difference can that make? I asked. Oh, I'm only supposed to brush the floor with the back leg on the way down, I said. Easy, I said. How much difference can that make? I asked. Well, today I did them with the PROPER form, and I want to cry they were so hard. I'm not pushing THAT much with the back foot, I said. So today I tried to step up without pushing at all, and guess what? Easy? HAHAHAHAHAHAHA. I couldn't even get two reps without pushing. Brush the floor? Easy? HAHAHAHAHA. When that back foot felt the floor, it was like gravity just grabbed it and wouldn't let it back up in the air without a good solid landing first.

Wahhhhh.....and then I had to do jackknives. I used to love them; I was doing pikes aplenty after the long step up sets. Today? HAHAHAHAHAHA.....I was so tired from the step ups that I could barely get the required 12, and on the second set only managed 10, and the third set only 9, had to do 3 tucks at the end and almost didn't manage those.

That's how I feel. Embarrassed. (although those emoticons don't express embarrassment as well as the yahoo animated ones do.)

Listen to the seniors on this forum, newbie women. Their wisdom is awesome, literally.

(Apologetic groveling, humility aplenty) I will do better next time, and I WILL master proper step ups!!!

sybilizedliving · 06-07-2009, 03:25 AM

yeah, the step-ups killed me too (I've only done one workout so far)....thanks for sharing your experience and humor....made my night and I no longer feel QUITE as pathetic as I felt yesterday. I'll continue to work toward proper form.

rubyam · 06-07-2009, 05:44 AM

Reading the description in the book it does not sound to me like the non-working leg is supposed to only brush the ground. It says that the non-working leg should brush the step when you step up and then "return to the starting position."

missjane · 06-07-2009, 06:19 AM

The point is that the non-working leg is NON-WORKING. Don't push off with it. For some, just brushing the ground helps accomplish this.

LancelotsLover · 06-07-2009, 08:08 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by rubyam

Reading the description in the book it does not sound to me like the non-working leg is supposed to only brush the ground. It says that the non-working leg should brush the step when you step up and then "return to the starting position."

Yes, that was my interpretation of it also; which is why I thought I was doing it right. It's not clear that the working leg stays up, either.

Amiep603 · 06-07-2009, 09:07 AM

the step ups ARE hard for me too!!! I often question if im doing them right. Any one have a link to a video showing the proper form and motion?? I the book does say "return to starting possision" which would be with your foot back on the floor ???? IDK

missjane · 06-07-2009, 09:46 AM

See the FAQ stickied at the top of forum for the step-up thread.

CaraBeth · 06-07-2009, 05:46 PM

don't feel ashamed! I realized somewhere AFTER stage 1 that I wasn't doing them right and at that point made an effort to do so, even though it meant decreasing weight. I think it's wonderful that you shared this, we are not all perfect, there's always room for improvement! There's been several exercises I've realized along the way that I wasn't doing entirely properly, and I already look forward to starting over once I finish up the program (right now I'm in stage 6) so that next time around I do them the right way and get even stronger.

LancelotsLover · 06-07-2009, 07:18 PM

I wonder, could I do them without even letting my back foot brush on the step down part? Just stop short of the floor altogether; it would eliminate any possibility of cheating, but it would be VERY hard to do. As I said, gravity seems to possess the foot. Also, I find I have to lean forward more in order to get back up without cheating. Is this because my glutes aren't firing properly, or is it just a balance problem?

LisaS · 06-07-2009, 07:27 PM

There is truly a continuum of "how to make these harder"; style, weight & height are all variables you can play with. You can even start at the top, stand sideways to the edge and squat down as far as you can, holding the foot out so it doesn't touch and then back up - that's really on the way to being a 1-legged squat.
It is probably enough to know that there are ways to make them harder without going to BB-on-the-back or exceeding your grip with DBs.
I find that concentrating on pushing thru the heel helps keep the working leg on the right track for targeting the posterior chain.

Flyingdogs · 06-08-2009, 11:55 AM

lisas - thanks, that's a good tip to keep in mind.

OldGuy · 06-08-2009, 02:12 PM

Not touching the floor turns the exercise into a single leg squat. Think about it - you need to step onto a chair to reach something off a high shelf. Your right foot on the chair, left on the floor and you step up. Your left leg assists in balance but doesn't supply that much lift. As long as you remember this when weights are added there's not reason to make it more difficult.

HarrisonR8 · 06-08-2009, 03:18 PM

I had been doing step ups then coming all the way down and taking my working leg and make a backwards lunge, is this not an effective movement or is it just another way to do step-ups?