When you get that step up position it's very close to running form that you can get. So you learn to apply force to the ground with a single leg instead of a back squat you have both legs on the ground, where a step up is just using that one leg and really concentrating when you drive up. It's kind of like you're applying force to the ground to get that opposite knee up when you're running.
We like to get the knee parallel. The leg has to be parallel so that way when you adjust the height of your box, you know exactly how your thigh should be parallel the whole time. When you come up, opposite leg, drive that leg up if you can. If you're using light weight it's easier for balance. When you come down and control it, you shouldn't come down with the foot too far from the box, you've got to come down with that foot as close as you can to the box because you're not pushing out, you're pushing straight up with the leg that's on the box.
So just make sure you keep your abs tight the whole time, good core training for that to hold all the step up. If not, then you start getting weak and you start bending over a little bit and that's when injuries can happen. We'll start off with about eight reps in the beginning of the season and we'll work all the way down to fours and threes right before the season starts.
