Step height question

[dianet]

I saw previous posts that most people use a 6 inch step height. However, I just purchases The Classics and in all of these workouts Cathe and crew use an 8 inch step. Should I just use the height that the crew is using in the videos? Or just stick with 6 inches since I am just starting out with step? I also noticed that one crew member was using an 8 inch step in Step Blast - is that because she is taller? I am 5'8.

Thanks in advance for your help!

- Diane

 

[kathryn]

Rhonda, who uses the taller step, is about 5' 6" , I believe, whereas the rest of the "crew" is around 5'2".

Use the height of step that works for you, whether that be 6" or 8" or even 4." Since you are just starting out with step (a real beginner?) I'd suggest even starting with just the platform (4") for your first workout or so, then moving on to 6" when you feel comfortable doing that (YMMV).

 

[dianet]

Thanks for your response. I tried several of the Classics workouts with a 6 inch height this past weekend and it worked fine for me, though I thought I wasn't really working at full capacity. I will try 8 inch for the Classics once I get the moves down better. This was my first step video experience and it was fun! I can't believe I waited this long to try her step videos, though I have been doing her weight training videos and kickboxing videos for a few years now. I just thought I would be too uncoordinated to do it, but I was able to get through them fine after previewing. I think I will try out each video on one height below what everyone is using (6 inch on the Classics and Low Max, 4 inch on Imax 2 etc.) and then move the height up once I get used to the steps.

How much does using a higher step height affect the calories burn with the workouts?

Thanks,
Diane

 

[red_mct]

I have heard that step height in general doesn't have a huge impact on calories burned, but some of the folks with HRMs might be better placed to comment on specific experiences.

What I wanted to add, though, is that it's important to remember that there was a time in fitness when bigger was considered better, and that's probably a factor in the height of the step in some of those older workouts. (You might recall that when step was new, they used a 10-inch step! My knees cringe at the thought.)

Research has shown that the higher step height often leads to injury with little in the way of increased benefit.

I also think I read somewhere on here that Cathe went to six inches because the extra height makes her tendons flair.

Marie