I have two questions that I've not found answers for.

1) Step heights? I'm too cheap to buy a step since we have plenty of building supplies laying around. What heights are good for steps? I know it will vary but, for weights, what is the general range you gals/guys use?

2) I've just begun to really get into the incline on my treadmill and love the way it works my legs. I don't do anything fast when I'm cranking on the incline, just a nice, steady pace. I do that every other day so what leg exercises does that cover/not cover? I'm going to start doing a full-body workout every other day but don't want to overdo my legs and waste my time if they're already covered with the incline days. (The other days on the treadmill, I do no incline, just working on speed/distance.)

Thanks!

I just thought of another question, not leg-related, before I scurry off to bed:

Way back in the dark ages, when I was in high school, my gym teacher was a body builder. We had a few months where we weight trained in that gym class. My foggy memory is reminding me of something he said back then to get us started. Something along the lines of finding the max weight you can do *once* and then use 50% of that as your workout weight. So, if you can bench press 50 pounds one time and that's your max, then do your 3 sets of 10 reps (or whatever your set/rep is) at 25 pounds.

I don't remember if it was actually 50% of the max weight, though. I don't have a clue what percentage it was. Does anyone know? Or is this considered complete bunk now? (Not that it was perfect back then -- it was just a general starting place, to be adjusted according to your actual endurance during the first few times.)

I'll take a shot at these, since I'm up anyway. (2:20 am here, can't sleep)

1) You don't need a step for weight training, and in fact I can't really think why you'd want one for this purpose. Lunges, squats, etc can all be done without a step. I suppose you could do calf raises with a step, but any ol' stair in your house or yard (or even the curb!) would do just fine.

2) Incline treadmills work your quads (thighs), I suppose. But if you're a beginner, don't worry too much about isolating particular muscles. You'll get the most bang for your time & energy buck out of compound movements like squats, lunges, deadlifts, bench press, rows, and so forth.

If you haven't found it already, I strongly recommend you read Krista Scott Dixon's website, www.stumptuous.com. Best info on the web for women who are just starting out, and she's not trying to sell anything. An hour or two on that site, and you'll have all the info you need to get you lifting and eating right. It's inspirational, too. (OK, enough raving.)

3) There are two problems with your gym teacher's formula method. One is that it requires that you know your one-rep max, and the only way to do that is to lift at maximal effort for one rep. It isn't a good idea to try this when you're a beginner, and still working on your form on various exercises. Second, it's also very imprecise, because the 50% "rule" is just a formula. Bodies are different, depending on the amount and type of muscle fibers ("fast twitch" or "slow twitch", in case you care). In fact, women tend to have better endurance than men, so a formula he gleaned out of some bodybuilding magazine in the 70s probably doesn't apply to women well at all.

A better way to find out how much weight you should be lifting for 10 reps on an exercise (or whatever) is to try lifting X weight for 10 reps! If you can do 10 reps easily at weight X, then try 10 reps at the next weight up. If you can only do 6, then move down a weight. Keep track in a little notebook, so you can remember for next time.

Form is key, though. Work on form, even at a lighter weight, and then add to it. Again, see Krista's site, where she lays out some basic exercises and the incorrect and correct form for each. She offers a lot of good basic routines, too.

Good luck, and three cheers for deciding to build weight training into your exercise plan.

I think you're talking about "Dumbbell Step Ups"?

I agree with Kaw, but Dumbbell Step Ups are a compound exercise as well and I love doing them! It provides a nice addition of cardio to a leg workout.

It's usually recommended to begin with a lighter weight, but if you're at the gym, use one of the benches in the weight room and step up with the left leg and then bring up with the right so you're on top of the flat bench. Step down with your left and back to the ground with the right. Then step up with the right to begin with so you're alternating.

You can also try this at home as Kaw suggested with your stairs to feel it out.

Good Luck!

Like Kaw said, a step is not really required for many exercises I can think of. I suppose you are thinking of step ups and the like, but you can do these with your weight bench. That said, I like the club step because it is versatile:

1. If a person is not ready for the step up onto the bench, the variable height of the step is great for letting someone work up. If it is the step up you are thinking about in your question, I would start the step height about mid-shin and try to progress up so when you lead foot is planted firmly in the middle of the step, the top of your thigh is a bit more than parallel. When you get to that point, start progressing in weight.

2. I also think the variable heights of steps are great for acclimating to the one-legged squat.

3. While I would prefer plyo boxes or boxes purposely designed for box squats, if you have a variable height step, you can use it for things such as box jumps or other plyometric exercises or box squats.

4. If you don't have a bench, then you can use them as a bench and can use them for your step ups, bulgarian split squats etc.

As for the Incline treadmill. While it does work the muscles harder and differently than than no resistance, It is still a cardio workout and doesn't replace proper strength training for the legs.

As far as the % of 1RM max, kaw once again gave you great advice. Any tables and calculators you see will be generalized. There will be differences in muscles and in different people. The fast-twitch, slow-twitch fiber makeup of the muscles are key here. But, in general, these tables have some use for helping to estimate starting weights when you are changing set/rep schemes at least until you really get to know your capabilities and have a significant training history through different set/rep schemes to base personal estimates on.

One such calculator and table is here:

http://www.bodybuilding.com/fun/1rm.htm

This is along the lines of what your gym teacher was referring to. I prefer kaw's method though.

There are optional ways to do the step up as well:

Along with the way Aymster described,

I start with my lead foot planted firmly in middle of the step. Initiate the movement with the heel of the lead foot, don't push off with the trail foot. Bring the trail foot up to the top of the bench but don't actually place it down on the bench. I find this really places additional emphasis on one-legged nature of the exercise. Then bring the trailing leg UNDER CONTROL back to the floor. Don't let momentum just place it down. You want to work the eccentric as well as the concentric. Repeat all reps for the first leg and then switch legs.

The reasons I like doing them this way are:
1. It is a true unilateral exercise through the concentric-pause-eccentric whereas if you are putting your trail foot down at the top, you have removed the unilateral aspect.

2. By leaving the top foot planted on the box it decreases the tendency to cheat by pushing off the trail leg. It emphaises pulling yourself up with the heel of the lead leg.

3. By leaving the lead foot up, it lessens the tendency to start short-stepping the movement (moving the trail leg almost right up against the box) or to move the lead leg closer to or off the edge of the box when they start to fatigue. Both of these show the tendency to try to rely on the quads and remove or lessen the involvement of the hamstrings and glutes as one tires.

Can't you just step up and down on a chair? I do this when I'm traveling at hotels when I don't have dumbells.

Sure

As long as the chair is stable and the height/design is such that you can maintain the correct posture, it's fine in my opinion and, in the case of a hotel room, where your options are limited, it's a great idea.

Great info, thanks!

So...

1) I won't even think twice about the Incredibly Hulky Gym Teacher's advice from the dark ages.

2) I won't worry about overdoing my legs with both weights and incline.

3) The step thing, let me explain. I'm sure I don't "need" it but I'm building a box anyway to house some of my (hope-to-be) oft-used equipment and, while I was at it, I figured I'd make it double-duty. Box form -- keep weight plates, etc in it. When exercising, flip it over, and use as a step for variety. I could also use it as a bench since I don't have one. I get bored easily so want to have lots of options around for mixing things up pretty often. I have the attention span of a... Wait, what was I talking about?

Oh, and I do know about stumptuous. I've been reading it a bit each day for about a month now and LOVE it!

If you want to learn about some cool exercises you could pick up the latest issue of Oxygen magazine, they had some neat leg exercises with a step...

If your attention span is short dvd's are great - Kathy Smith, Cathe, and Jari Love have dvd's with weights.

There's also those exercise cards - one set is with weights - you can find them on amazon - it's a deck of cards - and you just shuffle through various exercise.

I like the Sculpting book, it has a nice program. There's also Smart Women do Dumbells and other books with routines for beginners. If you've been reading for a month you've come across a lot of this...

There's also the "standing against a wall and sitting" for legs, I do that at hotels too, heck I do it while taking a shower. Just pretend to sit for awhile and you'll feel the BURN...

I use my bass amp as a step (its a practice amp so I dn't mind treating it like furniture)

Thanks for the ideas! I actually have the sculpting book in my cart at Amazon, ready for the next time there's some extra money floating around. I'm looking at that Oxygen mag online right now. I've never seen it in the stores so haven't been able to thumb through any. Are they any good -- good enough to make it worth a subscription? I'm not much of a magazine person so I'm a bit cautious about ordering them.