I would say to start with light weights and gradually increase your step height while maintaining good form, and once you're at the tallest step height you're going to use (a weight bench for me -- there's nothing higher at my gym) then increase your weight.

In conjunction with this, how many of you can actually step up, that is not push off with your trailing foot? I finally am perpendicular but I am not yet strong enough so that I don't use my trailing foot. I'm working on it tho.

I would say to start with light weights and gradually increase your step height while maintaining good form, and once you're at the tallest step height you're going to use (a weight bench for me -- there's nothing higher at my gym) then increase your weight.

Once you increase your weight, you should start back at the bottom again, right? I put my hip out for three days trying to step too high with heavy weight. OUCH!

In conjunction with this, how many of you can actually step up, that is not push off with your trailing foot? I finally am perpendicular but I am not yet strong enough so that I don't use my trailing foot. I'm working on it tho.

That's cheating!

If I can't step-up without pushing off the floor with the trailing leg, I decrease the weight. I focus on the actual step-up, pushing through my heels instead of toes and squeezing the glutes throughout the movement.

agree...using the bottom leg to push off is not allowed. I find it hard from a coordination perspective...legs were meant to work together...but if you are actively pushing with your standing leg, reduce your weight.

Once you increase your weight, you should start back at the bottom again, right? I put my hip out for three days trying to step too high with heavy weight. OUCH!

No, I don't. Once I reached the ideal height (knee is slightly higher than hip) I just kept increasing the weight as often as I could. You might have an issue with your hip flexors. There are exercises and stretches designed specifically to increase your hip flexor strength.

Thanks, will definitely have to Google those. Of course, I pretty short (5'0") so the bench I stepped up on was likely waaay to high for me.

I find that I have to have a slight push from my trailing leg but it is ever so slight...and then I use my heel & leg to get straight up. I use a 65lb BB...I have tried to lower weights but still have to have help from my trailing leg. I am only 5'2" and am using about 16-20 step. Now that I have read all these posts I am going to try using the weight bench instead and less weights to see if my form will improve.

I'm 5'2" as well and I use the weight bench. I would like to try a barbell but I'm nervous about losing my balance (do you balance it on your back??). I use 25 lb DBs.

I have to focus on not using my trailing leg and on keeping my balance -- I have to stare at a single point (usually myself in the mirror) without wavering. But my overall balance has improved immensely since completing NROL4W. Step-ups in Stage 1 compared to Stage 7 were done much differently.

How many step ups do you do per leg. I'm a novice and started using my dining room chair with 5lb weights. I'm at 15 lbs weights and feel like with each increase in weight, I should be doing more than 10 steps on each leg.

if you are at the beginning of stage 1, you should be doing 15 reps with each leg. 15 with your non-dominant leg followed by the same number for your dominant leg. that drops to 12 reps, then 10, then 8 for the rest of stage 1.

If you feel like you should do more reps, increase your weight.