Patrick Step Up vs. Poliquin Step Up

Full video breakdown showing the difference, followed by article explanation...

The Poliquin Step Up is named after Charles Poliquin, the most medal-producing Olympic Strength Coach of all time, and my original mentor. The Poliquin Step Up is 1 of 3 reverse step-ups I use, the 3rd being the Petersen Step Up, which is the most advanced and least crucial of the 3, and don't worry: I will be covering the Petersen Step Up for you next VMO Monday with video breakdown and article explanation just like this!

The difference is simple: a Patrick Step Up is on a flat box, and a Poliquin Step Up is on a slant.

As a result, the Patrick Step Up works your ankle mobility and your soleus - both KEY for Achilles and long-term knee protection - while the Poliquin Step Up does not.

HOWEVER: the Poliquin Step Up forces even HARDER contraction of your VMO, and the Poliquin Step Up has quite a magical effect for handling long-term knee-tendon problems due to how it overloads the fully extended position, meaning: in a Patrick Step Up your VMO is pretty much resting at the top, whereas in a Poliquin Step Up it is still working at the top!

Due to the intensity of the Polquin Step Up, I found it unsafe to jump beginners into without first having that same degree of strength attained in the Patrick Step Up. But once a given degree of strength in the Patrick Step Up is present, not only is it safe to match that strength in the Poliquin Step Up: your knees will feel AMAZING from doing it!

First off, you need the right slant board: it will have enough angle that it's still tough at the top of the exercise, but enough grip that you won't slide down! @slantboardguy on Instagram makes the best board I've found, which accomplishes this purpose perfectly. Nathan and his wife Kim sell them at slantboardguy.com, and I make $0 for saying that. In fact, I consistently pay full price for all the products you see me using, even when offered for free. This ensures I am always giving you my 100% honest opinion. I just purchased 3 more boards while writing this, which I will be using as gifts in 2021 for ATG Fam that I meet up with here in LA!

Now let's go right into the sets and reps:

It's simple! Whatever you can handle pain-free in a Patrick Step Up, you can then try to MATCH in the Poliquin Step Up next session, indirect place of the Patrick Step Up!

This ensures you always build from the ankle up and will be able to safely handle the increased knee load of the Poliquin Step Up.

In Knee Ability Zero that means bodyweight Poliquin Step Up for 25 reps. Amazing burn and knee health benefits can be attained from bodyweight alone!

Then in Dense Strength where you're doing the Patrick Step Up for 10 sets of 10 per leg on 6-inch box in 20 minutes, you could try to match that 10 sets of 10 with the same weight in the Poliquin Step Up the next session. Dense Strength has 12 levels of Patrick Step Up strength progression, from bodyweight in Week 1, to as high as 100% body weight in Week 12! So let's say you do a week's weight target in the Patrick Step Up and really DOMINATE it, well I wouldn't be opposed to you sticking with the intended weight increase the next week but using the Poliquin Step Up, and going back and forth each week between Patrick and Poliquin, still increasing weight gradually each week.

And finally, in the Standards Program, your Patrick Step Up Standard is 100% of body weight for 15 reps on 6-inch box, so you could try to match this in the Poliquin Step Up as well. I have then driven athletes to as high as 150% bodyweight x 10 reps, but again: I advise first reaching a weight with Patrick Step Up first, then matching it the next time with Poliquin Step Up.

The last thing I would mention is that, if you have really done a lot of Patrick Step Ups and have gotten quite good at them, I wouldn't mind you doing an entire program with the Poliquin Step Up in its place, since you may have "newbie gains" waiting for you by training it!

Over and over again I see the best results by rebuilding your body from the ground up. The Patrick Step Up involves more ankle responsibility, whereas the Poliquin Step Up is almost purely knee responsibility.

So yes, the Poliquin Step Up potentially provides even GREATER knee bulletproofing than the Patrick Step Up alone. I simply don't advise going heavier in the Poliquin Step Up than you can handle in the Patrick Step Up, to ensure balanced development.

"Patrick Step Up or Poliquin Step Up?"

I think we may have a Golden Age of anti-gravity and bulletproofing by mastering them BOTH.

Yours in Truth,

Ben