Exercise Tad Tips Step-ups

Step-ups are great exercise for the lower body because they build the flutes, hamstrings, and quads while placing minimal stress on the spine. A study from Marquette University showed that different types of step-ups showed different types of step-ups have different effects on the lower body muscles. Researches measured lower body muscles activation during a step-up, crossover step-ups, diagonal step-up and a lateral step-up. The crossover step-up was best for loading the gluteus medius. The standard step-up activated the flutes medius during the eccentric phase (going down) and the gluteus maximus and hamstring during the concentric phase (going up). Try doing a variety of step-ups to maximize the load on the lower body muscles (Journal of Strength and Conditioning Research, published online January 10, 2012). # Happy Training