Zach joins Coach Damon V to demonstrate an eccentric step-down designed to help people with FA safely build lower body strength and stability.
Transcript
What’s up, guys? Coach Damon V here with my guy, Zach. And we’re going to show you guys another awesome rare move.
This is a great exercise for lower body strength, building muscle in a way that’s safe for athletes with FA and doesn’t super completely tax your nervous system, so you can go on about your day.
So here’s what we want to do. First off, we want to have something that we can stabilize with. If that’s a rack at a gym, the sink at home, something — I gotta have my hands on something. Then we’re going to step up two feet on this step up right here. So we’re starting both feet up.
This is the acentric step down. All right? So what we’re going to do is, we’re two feet up. I got my hands on something. I want to keep my hips over the the step up. I don’t want to lean back. Keep my hips over the step up and, slowly, focusing on the negative, do that step down.
“Ready? Go. Step down. Bend. Bend. Yes. And then back up. Perfect.”
OK, now we go with the other leg.
“OK. So the — yeah. Slow. Unlock that knee. Yeah. There it is. Try not to bring the hips back. OK. Back up with the same leg. Perfect.
“All right. Left leg. Oh, other leg. OK. We keeping the hips over. And bend that knee. Bend that knee—that knee. Bend that knee. Yeah.”
That right there — preventing that knee from shooting and buckling — that is where we’re working on here, which we’re trying to get the quad and the glute to engage quickly so that we can catch ourself, which is really, really important.
“Let’s get a couple more reps here, Zach. OK. Last one, brother. Right leg. Oh, other leg. Oh, all right, I got you. Left legs coming down. Hips are staying forward. Bend that knee. Yeah.
So you feel how it bent after you put your other foot down. We want to catch it when we’re still in free space, so that leg can do everything. All right? All right.
So your hips stay forward. Bend the knee here. Bend the knee right here. Right here. Right here, you gotta catch it. Ah, ah, ah, ah. Stay forward. Bend it from here. Put that left leg back. Off—now catch yourself with that right. Yeah. You got it. You got it. You got it. Catch it. Yeah. There it is. Very good.
It’s hard. It’s a lot of work. Hey, give me some, though. Well, I got you. Here we go. Yeah. Good work, brother.”
