Step and high-step workouts have a variety of fitness benefits. They offer a good cardiovascular workout that’s not repetitious like jogging on a treadmill or using an elliptical machine can be. Plus, there’s a certain “fun” factor to doing a step workout – the music and the constantly changing movements are never dull. It almost makes you forget you’re exercising! Plus, step workouts tone your buttocks and thighs by targeting your hamstrings, quadriceps, and glutes better than most forms of cardiovascular exercise.
High-Step Workouts for Greater Intensity
There are so many variations on step workouts, but almost any step workout can be effective if you do it with intensity. How can you up the intensity? One way is to increase the height of your platform and do a high-step workout. That’s the beauty and simplicity of stepping. You can make a step workout more challenging by simply adding some height.
High-step workouts with a taller platform take stepping to a whole new level. By increasing how high you’re stepping you boost the intensity of your workout and work out your body in a different way. Raising the height also makes a step workout considerably more challenging. You’ll burn more calories, sweat more and get more of a metabolic burn when you step higher. Also, when you raise the step height you’ll get more buttock and thigh-shaping benefits. Doing high-step regularly is a good way to firm and lift your buttocks. It also shocks your body so you can avoid those dreaded plateaus.
You can increase the intensity of any of my step workouts by raising your step height, but there are limits to how high you can safely raise your step height based on your height and the choreography complexity of the workout. I also have made several true “High Step” workouts that feature a smaller sized step that uses more risers for a greater vertical challenge.
There’s even another way to get the benefits of a higher step platform. Integrate it into your strength and conditioning exercises. For example, do squat and lunge variations where you place one foot on the platform. With an adjustable step platform, you can adjust the height of your step to add or reduce the intensity of your workout as needed. You can even sit on it when you do some upper body exercises like isolation curls, lateral raises or overhead presses.
Other Benefits of Step Workouts
Did you know high-impact step workouts help to build bone density? In one study carried out in Finland in healthy young women, step aerobics lead to greater improvements in bone density than lower body strength training. In fact, women that did high-impact step aerobics experienced significant increases in bone density in their hips, lumbar spine and legs. Some research even shows step aerobics is better than running for maximizing bone density. So, you don’t have to run or jump to maintain healthy bones. High-impact step will help you preserve bone density too, especially if you also do heavy resistance training.
Another 1997 study showed high-intensity stepping had mood-elevating benefits and helped to reduce fatigue, anger, and depression. Step workouts also exercise your brain by forcing you to learn and execute new movements. Step movements also boost agility and help improve coordination.
Getting More Out of a High Step Workout
Be sure you’ve mastered stepping on a lower platform before increasing the height. You don’t want to start out with an eight-inch height! Make sure you can comfortably place your entire foot on the platform with each step. Leaving your heel hanging off increases your risk for injury and can strain your Achilles tendon. Lean into the movements as much as possible, keeping your abdominals tight and core engaged throughout the workout. Once you’re comfortable with a standard step height, increase the height of the platform for more challenge but be sure to use good form.
Get more mileage out of your step platform. Use it to add a new dimension to lower body conditioning exercises like lunges and squats with a foot on the platform. You can even place your hands on it for triceps dips and variations of push-ups and some core exercises. An adjustable High-Step platform is a versatile piece of equipment that doesn’t take up much space.
The Bottom Line?
Step workouts have been around since the 1970s so they’re nothing new but that doesn’t mean they don’t offer benefits. Start with standard step workouts and then challenge yourself by raising the height of your step platform and enjoy the benefits of a high-step workout.
References:
Int J Sports Med. 2011 Feb;32(2):100-8.
J Sports Med Phys Fitness. 1997 Sep;37(3):200-4.
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Why You Should Add Step Training to Your Routine and Tips for Getting the Most Out of Stepping
How Effective Is Step Training for Improving Bone Density?
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