If you can step up this much even after the age of 60, your leg strength is elite.

Test your leg strength with this simple yet powerful exercise.

Are you doing step-ups in your workout routine? This is a highly functional unilateral exercise that increases balance, protects your squat, and increases lower body strength. Focus on your glutes, quadriceps, calves, and hamstrings. Step-ups get their name from stepping onto a bench or platform and then returning to the floor.

Unilateral means using one leg at a time and lifting all of your weight on each leg. This helps correct potential strength imbalances while recruiting the muscles that make up your core. There are a lot of good things about Step Up. This number may surprise you.

Why step-ups are a surefire way to test your lower body strength

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Step-ups are a productive test of lower body strength and function, as one leg is required to complete all tasks.

To find out where we stand, we chatted with: Gerald WashakWe partnered with Strong Republic Personal Training, which has over 20 years of experience owning and operating personal training studios throughout the Coachella Valley. Washak designed Strong Republic with one belief system: adults over 40 deserve a workout program designed specifically for them and their needs.

“Think of your balance and core strength to stay upright during the movement,” explains Washak. “Step-ups reveal your leg strength and balance.”

manner

1. Start by standing tall facing a sturdy training bench or plyometric box at knee height. Hold the optional dumbbells in both hands.
2. Plant your left foot firmly on the ground, tighten your core, and keep your chest high.
3. Push through your left heel to lift your body so that your left leg is straight and above the water.
4. Use the controls to return to the starting position.
5. Repeat on the other side.

What is actually being evaluated?

Four things happen at the same time during a step-up: strength, balance, endurance, and coordination.

“Strength, because the lead leg moves all of your weight upwards against gravity; balance, endurance, because your legs are the largest muscles in your body and require the most oxygen, so they fatigue quickly; and lastly, coordination, because you need real motor control to ascend smoothly without rocking or pushing off your lower leg,” Washack says.

Which muscles are doing this work?

The quadriceps initiate the exercise and once you reach the top, the glutes drive the hips to extend. Your calves and glutes stabilize your ankles and knees, and your core helps keep your torso from leaning forward. Finally, a small hip stabilizer works globally to prevent your standing leg from sinking inwards.

Washak said the enhancements are “really the perfect move.”

How to prepare for real action with step-ups

An important part of your fitness routine as you get older is choosing exercises that prepare you for real-life movement. Step Up does just that.

“Every staircase you climb is a step up, [in addition to] “When you get up from a low chair without using your hands, when you get up from the floor, when you hike down a trail, when you step onto a grocery-laden curb, and even when you get into a truck,” Washack explains.

What are the benchmarks for a strong step up after age 60?

According to Washak, If you are over 60 and in decent shape, you should be able to complete 5-8 step-ups on each side-Step onto a knee-height training bench without stopping. “Elite” status means to run wildly 20 steps up on each side With correct form and controls. Now you have a number to track.

Alexa Meraldo