Todd Williams

The Explosive Step-up is a great plyometric exercise that helps develop powerful extension through the hip, knee, and ankle joints while also coordinating the timing of the arm action of sprinting.  This movement is particularly useful in maximizing the first single leg foot contact during the acceleration phase of running.

Setup: Begin with a step or box that puts your knee angle of the leg that is on top of the box at roughly 90 degrees.

Initiation: Stand next to the box, placing one leg on top and the other on the ground slightly behind the heel of the leg on top of the box.  Your ankle, knee, and hip joint should all be at about 90 degrees.  Bend your elbow to 90 degrees and bring the hand of the opposite arm than the leg that is on the box to you chin.  Your other arm is bent as well with your elbow back behind your torso.

Exertion: Put a slight tension in the hamstring of the leg that is on the box by putting pressure in the heel of the foot on top of the box.  Think of this as pulling back on a rubber band and getting ready to shoot it.  When ready, contract your gluts(butt) as hard as possible while pushing through the heel to explode up and off the box as high as possible.  Switch the arms at the same time and at the same speed as the legs.

Completion: Land in the same position that you started from.

You can take a few seconds to reset and then complete another repetition or if you are comfortable with your landing do it rapidly and explode back up as soon as you land.

Try 3-4 sets of 5-8 reps