Great advice. As a 70-year-old in the fitness industry, I think stepups are one of the most underutilized longevity exercises.
The eccentric “braking” you describe is great for preventing falls, but stepups also have another benefit: the repeated stepping impact can help stimulate bone density, which matters for people dealing with osteopenia and osteoporosis. The single-leg nature also builds balance and symmetry—both key for staying mobile later in life.
I do jump ups and downs. More impact and osteopenia, osteoporosis benefit - IF approved by your doctor. Use a low height and have a spotter.
For older folks, the trick is exactly what you suggest: lower step heights and slow, controlled descents. Simple movement, big payoff.
Edit: I should have mentioned how this elevates heart rate and has cardio benefits too.
Amazing. I have a friend who lived in NYC during the pandemic when all gyms were closed. He'd throw on a pack and climb up and down the stairs of his 10-story building. Got into the best shape of his life.
A couple of years ago, after decades of being overweight, high cholesterol, I got on Tirzepatide, did a hard 75, in preparation of my 60th birthday, and a trip to Milan to attend the Italian Grand Prix at Monza, followed by a week in Paris for our thirtieth anniversary, and the magic sauce for me is the 15,000 steps a day mark.
I just recently saw you on Rich Roll, got on here, even subscribed, which I never do btw, and have started to take that pack on my 3-4 mile daily walks.
Had to drop the weight though, as 5 floors is one thing with weight on your back, 90 min outside with a couple hundred feet of elevation is quite another. It is rough getting old..lol.
I am loving the content here, definitely my favorite Substack, and started reading Comfort Crisis as reading for another 75 Hard I am a couple weeks into.
Now to be fair, I am avid Ferrari fan, and Leclerc won the race for them, and the place went nuts. The after race podium presentation there is crazy, over 100k take to the track.
Great new feature! You added the ability to hit the audio button in email which takes you right to the recording in Substack. No more scrolling around in Substack to find the matching button. And the recording begins automatically. Thanks for making this step so much easier.
40 min! Impressive!! I do this exercise with weight in the contralateral hand. I was using a workout bench which is several inches too high for my 5’0” frame. I just used a shorter chair the other day and it made all the difference in my form! Now to find a more stable step that’s the correct height! Thanks for this article!
I had used a 12 inch step for years without any issues. This past November, Rogue sponsored the Chad 1000x. In the past when Go Ruck sponsored the step up challenge, the intermediate level was at 30 lbs and whichever height you wanted. Rogue now set the intermediate Chad 1000 at 20 inches. My ego was bruised so I asked my wife for the Rogue box for my basement gym. After reading this article, I went downstairs and discovered my hip is flexed slightly more than 90 degrees in the down position. This probably caused some bad form issues, like bruising the ball of my foot from repeated uncontrolled descents and aggravating low back muscles. I looked up specs and Yeti coolers come in at just below 17 inches. Good choice.
When you are doing the 40-minute workout, are you alternating legs with every step or do you do one leg for a period before switching to the other leg?
I’m a PT and never heard of the Patrick Step-up. I looked it up and it’s just a “step-down”, at least that’s what I’ve always called them. I do them as a warm-up for leg day.
What about a step down variant? Starting on the box and stepping forward and down. That would seem to test the descent. I definitely struggled with that on my backpacking trip.
Great advice. As a 70-year-old in the fitness industry, I think stepups are one of the most underutilized longevity exercises.
The eccentric “braking” you describe is great for preventing falls, but stepups also have another benefit: the repeated stepping impact can help stimulate bone density, which matters for people dealing with osteopenia and osteoporosis. The single-leg nature also builds balance and symmetry—both key for staying mobile later in life.
I do jump ups and downs. More impact and osteopenia, osteoporosis benefit - IF approved by your doctor. Use a low height and have a spotter.
For older folks, the trick is exactly what you suggest: lower step heights and slow, controlled descents. Simple movement, big payoff.
Edit: I should have mentioned how this elevates heart rate and has cardio benefits too.
Great note! Especially the part about jump ups and downs, if approved by your doc. Jumps can be super powerful but also carry more risks as we age.
I live in a townhome, so throw 15-20lbs in a pack, and do 50 floors throughout the day. It has done wonders.
Amazing. I have a friend who lived in NYC during the pandemic when all gyms were closed. He'd throw on a pack and climb up and down the stairs of his 10-story building. Got into the best shape of his life.
I believe it.
A couple of years ago, after decades of being overweight, high cholesterol, I got on Tirzepatide, did a hard 75, in preparation of my 60th birthday, and a trip to Milan to attend the Italian Grand Prix at Monza, followed by a week in Paris for our thirtieth anniversary, and the magic sauce for me is the 15,000 steps a day mark.
I just recently saw you on Rich Roll, got on here, even subscribed, which I never do btw, and have started to take that pack on my 3-4 mile daily walks.
Had to drop the weight though, as 5 floors is one thing with weight on your back, 90 min outside with a couple hundred feet of elevation is quite another. It is rough getting old..lol.
I am loving the content here, definitely my favorite Substack, and started reading Comfort Crisis as reading for another 75 Hard I am a couple weeks into.
Excellent so far.
Gotta know: How was Monza? My 60th is not far off and that’s sounding like a great idea!
Oh it was glorious!
Now to be fair, I am avid Ferrari fan, and Leclerc won the race for them, and the place went nuts. The after race podium presentation there is crazy, over 100k take to the track.
Best sporting day of my life.😎
Great new feature! You added the ability to hit the audio button in email which takes you right to the recording in Substack. No more scrolling around in Substack to find the matching button. And the recording begins automatically. Thanks for making this step so much easier.
Thanks for the feedback!
We listened to feedback on the Survey and reached out to Substack for a solution. Hopefully it's useful!
I love when you post something that validates a lift I’ve had in my last two programs as a strength coach.💪🏻. Such a functional movement!
40 min! Impressive!! I do this exercise with weight in the contralateral hand. I was using a workout bench which is several inches too high for my 5’0” frame. I just used a shorter chair the other day and it made all the difference in my form! Now to find a more stable step that’s the correct height! Thanks for this article!
Thank you for the video! Always good to have a visual on both the proper form and improper form.
Of course.
I had used a 12 inch step for years without any issues. This past November, Rogue sponsored the Chad 1000x. In the past when Go Ruck sponsored the step up challenge, the intermediate level was at 30 lbs and whichever height you wanted. Rogue now set the intermediate Chad 1000 at 20 inches. My ego was bruised so I asked my wife for the Rogue box for my basement gym. After reading this article, I went downstairs and discovered my hip is flexed slightly more than 90 degrees in the down position. This probably caused some bad form issues, like bruising the ball of my foot from repeated uncontrolled descents and aggravating low back muscles. I looked up specs and Yeti coolers come in at just below 17 inches. Good choice.
Once you master this, you're ready for Step Up 2: The Streets.
Any chance you could post a quick form video on the crossover and lateral variations?
And the Patrick step...
So helpful! I've been using the Rogue box at the gym & didn't realize it was too high.
I was thinking the same thing! We always use 20" boxes but it does change how you step up... since im not exceptionally tall.
Great post! As Dirk mentioned, the cardio benefits are fantastic.
When you are doing the 40-minute workout, are you alternating legs with every step or do you do one leg for a period before switching to the other leg?
Alternate legs each step.
Any way of adding vids for the additional variations at the end of the post? Adding those sounds like it would make for an incredible leg day!
Stepups build ECCentric DEceleration because the lowering phase trains your BRAKES.
.... the “brakes” die before the “engine.”
"Key players in Fall Resistance ... Brace and Brake ... Trip, Stumble and Stay UP!"
"Key players in Fx resistance ... Brace, Brake .... and if go down, BREAK the fall. That's where our 'suit of armor' comes in.
Touche' Coach.
👍⛰️
I’m a PT and never heard of the Patrick Step-up. I looked it up and it’s just a “step-down”, at least that’s what I’ve always called them. I do them as a warm-up for leg day.
I'm not shocked: https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC8608004/
What about a step down variant? Starting on the box and stepping forward and down. That would seem to test the descent. I definitely struggled with that on my backpacking trip.
This is the Patrick Stepup that Michael mentioned 👍🏼