Wondering about muscles worked..

[simach3]

I was just wondering what main muscles are worked doing step? Quad, lower butt,..? What would you use for upper butt/hip area? What about upper portion of thighs and inner? Can you tell what parts I have issues with . I don't just mean weights but cardio also. Just wondering...

 

[Snazzy]

Straight legged dead lifts are the king daddy for working the hamstrings where they tie into the glutes. As I like to call it, the "do-lap" area. LOL You have to do them with impeccable form, and use your hips, not your back, to lift the bar. You can see them demonstrated on bb.com, if you're unfamiliar with them. Make sure you're looking at the straight legged variety. That's the hamstring exercise. The "conventional" or bent leg deadlift works the upper back.

In doing step, you are working more quads. You do work glutes when you do extension moves during step (lifting the leg behind you, like in Step Blast combo #1, step kick, step extend), and lunges off the step, etc.

The whole thigh - quads and hamstrings - are best developed with squats and lunges. I hate lunges, but nothing will shape your thighs like squats and lunges. Step ups are a close second. You can change the emphasis from quad to hams, by changing where you are pushing from with your foot. Pushing from your toe (still keeping your knee behind your toe)works the quads more. Pushing from your heel works the hamstrings more.

People have great success with the eliptical for leaning out the legs for cardio. But those with major issues benefit from sprints. Nobody likes to hear that, including me!!!!!! LOL Basically, any cardio is burning fat, and it just takes time. The place where you store the most fat will always have more fat than the rest of you. There are "tricks" to work those areas more, like the sprints. But if you can't stomach the thought of sprints, then just keep plugging along with your cardio and watching your diet, and your bodyfat will drop, even in the tough places.

Really shape the muscle with squats and lunges. If you don't want to build that area up, do those more often than once a week. Freestyle advocates really hit squats and lunges frequently and at high reps to keep the muscle from bulking. I think there are some freestyle gurus on this forum, so I'll leave that discussion to them.

Don't be afraid to try to build some muscle in that area. Muscle takes up so much less space than fat!

 

[DebbieH]

GREAT thoughtout answer Snazzy! Thanks for sharing!
Your-Friend-In-Fitness, DebbieH (AKA "Den Mother Debbie")http://www.handykult.de/plaudersmilies.de/wavey.gif[/img] If You Get The Choice To Sit It Out Or Dance...I Hope You DANCE!!!

 

[simach3]

Thanks Snazzy! You are obviously very knowlegable about this so I will of course listen to your advice. So do you think step leans your legs/glutes or does it increase muscle size at all? I was thinking that maybe I should not do so much stepping (favorite so I do it pretty much exclusively lately), and should do more kickboxing to lean out legs/glutes/hips. I'm not afraid to build muscle in that area but don't want to be bigger because I have muscle + fat. Will doing plenty of squats and lunges do that? With or without weights?

 

[Snazzy]

Here's a link to a similar question asked on this forum.

http://69.0.137.118/dc/dcboard.php?...ic_id=49643&mesg_id=49643&listing_type=search

I know there was one asking your specific question about step bulking legs, but I can't find it right away. It seems it bulks some people, and others it doesn't. Maybe try switching up your training, and see what your body responds best to. It will be trial and error til you figure it out.

I'm sorry I don't have better advice, but it really is individual.

Squats and lunges will shape the muscle, under the fat. The more you progress with your total program (cardio, weights, diet) the more the fat will come off, and you can see what's going on under there. Begin with no weights, or very light weights and work your way up. In the beginning, you'll get plenty sore without weights.

I'm waiting for someone more versed in Freestyle to help answer this, because that may be the program that's got what you want. Maybe do a search on Freestyle, and see what you get. I hope this helps!