When all the benches at the Club are taken, turn to the plyo box.
Do More With is a series highlighting equipment around the Club that can help you reach your fitness goals. In this installment, we highlight the step-up box, available on the Club floor and in group fitness classes.
Some pieces of gym equipment are so simple and have so much potential, they end up being overlooked for more complicated tools that have one or two clear use cases — not a couple dozen possibilities.
Exhibit A: the basic step-up box. By my estimates as a COACH X, the step-up box is used by Equinox Plano members training on their own maybe 10 to 20 percent of the time. But in overlooking this versatile tool, you’re missing out on potential improvements in everyday functioning, muscle health, and more.
Why Train with the Step-Up Box
Step-up boxes come in all shapes, sizes, and styles; there’s the classic plyo box (which is generally wooden, features sides of all different heights, and can be stacked with one another), the metal platform box, and the aerobic exercise step. For the purposes of this article, I’ll be speaking to plyo boxes, but you can often use the other options for the same exercises and training programs.
A box can and should be used in any member’s routine, whether they’re new to fitness or an athlete looking to level up their power and explosivity. Consider the step-up, one of the fundamental movements you can perform on a box. With this exercise alone, you can challenge your balance and stability while improving your functional fitness (it is, after all, the same motion as climbing stairs or stepping over, say, a puddle). You can keep it lower-impact with smaller steps or increase the difficulty by incorporating plyometrics (think: jumps) and using a taller box.
The equipment is useful for a variety of goals, too. Want to train your muscular endurance (your muscles’ ability to work for extended periods)? Perform as many step-ups as you can, while maintaining good form, in a minute, for example. To build muscular strength, hold onto heavy weights while performing a few high-quality reps of your favorite moves. Looking for better muscular power (your ability to produce as much force as possible as quickly as possible)? Try explosive, plyometric moves, like box jumps or jump-overs. As you train, expect your heart rate to increase and your breath to quicken in order to supply your working muscles with the oxygen they need — hello, cardio.
Many box exercises are also unilateral, meaning they work just one side of your body at a time. The step-up, for instance, targets the lower-body musculature (specifically the quadriceps, glutes, hamstrings, and calves) in each leg separately. That single-leg emphasis gives you the opportunity to notice and correct muscular imbalances between the two sides of your body. (For the record, it’s normal for one leg to be slightly stronger than the other, simply due to your activities of daily living, but significant imbalances can cause movement compensations that may up your risk of injury.)
Aside from those basics, the box can also double as a bench. You might use it to modify an exercise, such as by elevating your hands during a push-up. As you get stronger, you can use shorter and shorter boxes for a boost until you reach the floor. Alternatively, advanced members can place their feet on the box and their hands on the floor for a decline push-up, increasing the intensity. You can perform chest presses and flyes while lying on a box (just hold your legs into a table-top position) or place one hand on the box for support during a single-arm row. The opportunities are endless.
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How to Use the Step-Up Box
Before performing any box movement, it’s essential to choose the right height. Beginners should start with a lower box and just their body weight, then gradually build up the height and add on load as they become stronger and more confident in each exercise.
I also recommend beginning your journey with just a handful of reps (think: five to 10) of each exercise at the top of your workout. Make sure to allow your heart rate to get to a place of recovery between sets so you feel like you can go at it again, and scale back if you notice your form falling to the wayside. As you progress, try a Tabata or HIIT-style workout: Perform 20 seconds of work then rest for 10 seconds, or do 30 seconds of work followed by 30 seconds to a minute of rest.
The step-up is one of my favorite exercises, but I’m also a fan of more advanced moves like the box jump (you can either hop or step off of the box) and box hop-overs (jumping forward or laterally over the equipment). You can combine these moves with other exercises, too; you might perform a powerful step-up, return to the floor, then go straight into a reverse lunge. You could even make this a lateral movement, with a side step-up to a side lunge, which requires a bit more coordination and balance. If you want to keep it unilateral and low-impact, try knee repeaters: Put all your weight on one foot on top of the box, keep it glued in place, and quickly drive your other leg up to meet it.
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During step-ups in particular, focus on your alignment; when you place your foot on the box, your knee should be directly over your ankle and bent at 90 degrees. That will ensure you’re not putting too much stress on the knee joint. As you step, focus on engaging your glutes and imagine driving your foot down into the box to extend your leg, which helps ensure you’re using all the correct muscles to get the job done.
I often see members allowing their torso to fall forward as they step, even if they’re not holding dumbbells at their sides. This tells me they’re not utilizing their core properly, which can potentially lead to lower back strain over time. As you train, remember to brace your core, thinking about pushing your stomach out rather than “sucking in.”
One of the most common slip-ups I see members make is quickly dropping back to the floor after a step-up without any control. Unless you're focused on power and speed, your body should still be engaged during the descent, and you should be returning your feet to the floor slowly and with some restraint, which helps to keep joint impact to a minimum. Exhaling during the hardest part of the movement (e.g. when you’re stepping up) and inhaling after the exertion will also help you keep that control.
The examples provided here just scratch the surface of the step-up box’s uses. The next time you see the equipment at the Club, ask yourself: What would be one way I could implement this tool in my current program? Get creative with it and, most importantly, have fun.
Natalie Eliason is a COACH X and personal training manager at Equinox Plano. A Houston native, Eliason has more than 11 years of expertise in the health and fitness industry and has been an integral part of the Equinox team since 2017. Her philosophy centers around a holistic approach, and she believes that a balanced lifestyle involves not only physical fitness but also nourishing the mind and spirit. Eliason is an ACE-certified personal trainer, pre- and post-natal exercise specialist, and fitness nutrition specialist. She also holds certifications from Precision Nutrition, Kettlebell Athletics, the MindBodyFood Institute, and more.