If you Step-up, Step-down!
Creating a regime of work for Athletic Step-up Variations.
Step up variations can be a great addition to the strength program, targeting single leg strength, stability, movement specificity and coordination to running, jumping and many sporting actions. However, they do have their limitations, namely the lack of the eccentric component of the movement. To address such shortcomings, it is important to create a regime for the Step-up or compliment the up (concentric) phase with down (eccentric) phase for optimal development.
For athletic preparation, I have always seen the value of this exercise thread and its progressions, everything from targeting the gluteus complex, developing strength, to coordination and more recently with my own scientific research in professional Rugby League players, how to target different kinetic characteristics with various Step-up exercises for sports performance, and place them in your periodized preparation plan.
Subsequently, after all this experience and research, to integrate Step-up variations in the context of a strength program and in the constraints of a full sports performance program (that incorporates conditioning, skill work, tactical and strategy training), I find myself now creating Step-up regimes to increase the work done/performed, stability and reactive demands of the movement (https://youtu.be/invmGrFPQZE) to enhance injury prevention and performance.
One piece of equipment that I find extremely useful that increases the demands on this movement that are of high value in sports preparation and is practical for majority of populations (youth, rehabilitation, elderly) is the Aqua Bag. Its ability to allow complex, coordinated and athletic movement training providing specificity to sporting actions is hard to beat. I believe that persons involved in high intensity sporting actions of decelerating and changing direction, jumping and landing should be undergoing such training and equipment usage.
Ask me how to get your Aqua Bag!