Aerobic Stepper Exercises

The aerobic step bench is a versatile piece of equipment for body-weight and plyometric exercises. Make regular push-ups and lunges more challenging by incorporating the step. The American College of Sports Medicine recommends engaging in moderately intense physical activity 30 to 90 minutes per day for three to five days a week, depending on your goals.

Push-Ups

Push-ups work several upper-body muscles: pecs, deltoids, biceps and triceps. Abdominal and lower-back muscles also work to keep your body in a straight line throughout the movement. Increase the intensity of push-ups by putting your feet on the highest level of the step bench. This uses more body weight as resistance for upper-body muscles. Also, while keeping your hands at shoulder-width distance and your feet on the floor, place one hand on the edge of the step bench and the other hand on the floor. In this position, more of your weight is on the hand on the floor. This is a gradual progression from regular push-ups to one-handed push-ups.

Lunges

The lunge is one of the most effective exercises for leg muscles: glutes, hamstrings, quads and inner thighs. Backward lunges off of a step bench increases the time your leg muscles contract against resistance, using both eccentric (backward phase) and concentric (forward phase) contractions. Place both feet on the step bench. Keep a strong core by contracting your navel toward your spine, maintaining balance throughout the movement. Slowly step back and off the bench with one leg, forming 90-degree angles at hip and knee joints as you use your leg muscles to control the lunge. Contract the muscles of your other leg to rise back onto the bench.

Squat Jumps

Regular squat jumps target leg muscles and also your cardiovascular ability to perform short bouts of intense, rhythmic exercise. Doing squat jumps across an aerobic step bench places an additional cardiovascular challenge on your body. Set the step perpendicular to you. Place one foot on the bench and the other on the floor, feet slightly wider than shoulder-width. Squat down to lower your pelvis and your arms, then quickly jump and straddle over to the other side of the step. Now, your other foot is on the bench, and the foot you began with is on the floor. Repeat for 20 to 30 jumps or for up to a minute.