Poliquin Step
What Is the Poliquin Step?
Poliquin Step is a compound exercise that primarily targets the quads and also engages the glutes, adductors and calves. It is an intermediate-level movement in which you stand on one leg on a sloped step, heel higher than toes, and bend the knee far forward over the toes until the free heel lightly touches the floor in front of the step. It is named after strength coach Charles Poliquin, who popularized it as a knee-strengthening drill.
The point of the exercise is to build strength in the quadriceps at a deep knee bend with the knee well past the toes, a position that stairs, landings, deceleration and changes of direction all demand but that many lifters avoid in the gym. It needs little more than a step and body weight, so coaches use it in warm-ups and in knee-focused accessory work, especially for runners and court and field athletes.
The slope is what sets it apart. With the heel raised, the shin can travel further forward before the ankle runs out of range, so the knee does more of the work and the hip less. In a small lab study of single-leg squats on a decline board, peak knee moment rose by about 40% once the board reached 15 degrees or steeper, while hip and ankle moments dropped.
The Poliquin Step belongs to a family of three knee drills that are often mixed up. In all three, the working leg stays on the step while the free leg reaches forward and down to a light heel tap. The Patrick Step is done on a flat step with the working heel kept down, the Poliquin Step keeps the heel down on a slope, and the Peterson Step goes back to a flat step but lets the working heel rise onto the ball of the foot as the knee travels forward. Coaches usually progress through them in that order.
It suits anyone who wants stronger, more resilient knees, from runners and jumping athletes to lifters whose squats stop short of a full knee bend. If it is too hard, build up first with a Forward Step-Down or the Patrick Step on a low step, and start with a short reach of the free leg.
Muscles Worked
- Vastus Lateralis
- Primary
- Vastus Medialis
- Primary
- Rectus Femoris
- High
- Gluteus Medius
- Medium
- Soleus
- Low
- External Oblique
- Minimal
Instructions
- Set up a step platform with an angled top, or a slant board on a low step, so the surface slopes down toward the front with the heels higher than the toes.
- Stand tall on the slope facing downhill, feet hip-width apart and hands on your hips.
- Shift your weight onto one leg, keeping the whole working foot, heel included, flat on the slope.
- Bend the working knee and let it travel forward over the toes while you reach the free leg forward and down off the front edge, keeping it nearly straight with the toes pulled up.
- Lower slowly until the free heel lightly touches the floor in front of the step, without putting weight on it.
- Keep your torso upright, your hips level and the working knee tracking over the middle toes throughout.
- Press through the whole working foot to straighten the knee and return to standing tall, bringing the free leg back up.
- Complete all reps on one leg, then switch sides.
Common Mistakes
Pushing off the free leg
Putting weight through the heel on the floor to get back up takes the work away from the working knee, so the tap should be light with no push.
Lifting the working heel
Letting the working heel peel off the slope turns the drill into a Peterson Step and loses the heel-down position the slope is there to provide.
Knee caving inward
The working knee drifts toward the midline as you lower instead of tracking over the middle toes.
Hip dropping or twisting
The free side of the pelvis sags or rotates as the leg reaches down, which usually means the step is too high for now.
Sitting back instead of bending the knee
Leaning forward and pushing the hips back to keep the knee behind the toes moves the work to the hips and defeats the purpose of the exercise.
Dropping into the bottom
Falling toward the floor instead of lowering under control removes the slow lowering that builds knee strength and makes alignment harder to hold.
Injuries
Poliquin Step is a low risk exercise when performed with proper technique. It is done with body weight or a light load, but it deliberately bends the knee deeply with the knee well past the toes, so the patellar tendon and the joint behind the kneecap take most of the stress. Moving to a higher step or a steeper slope too soon is the usual cause of soreness at the front of the knee.
Start on a low step, around 6 inches (15 cm), lower for a slow count of two to three seconds, and keep the working knee tracking over the middle toes rather than caving inward. Keep the free heel to a light tap so the working leg does all of the work, and keep the hips level. A deep muscular burn above the knee is normal; sharp pain at the kneecap or in the tendon below it is not.
To make it easier, hold a rail or wall for balance, shorten the reach of the free leg, or use the flat-footed Patrick Step. To progress, raise the step, reach the free leg further forward, hold a light dumbbell or kettlebell, or move on to the Peterson Step.
Stop if you feel sharp or worsening pain at the front of the knee, pain that lingers into the next day, or the knee giving way. If you are coming back from a knee injury or surgery, progress the step height and slope with your physical therapist.
- Primary Focus
- Quads
- Equipment
- Step platform and body weight
- Modality
- Strength
- Difficulty
- Intermediate
Alternative Exercises
Other Names for the Poliquin Step
The Poliquin Step is also known as:
- Poliquin Step-Up
Frequently Asked Questions
- Q: What is the difference between the Poliquin Step, the Patrick Step and the Peterson Step?
All three have you stand on a step on one leg and lower the free heel to the floor in front while the working knee travels forward. The Patrick Step uses a flat step with the working heel down, the Poliquin Step puts the working foot on a slope so the heel stays down but sits higher than the toes, and the Peterson Step uses a flat step but lets the working heel rise onto the ball of the foot.
- Q: Do I need a slant board?
You need some kind of slope under the working foot, with the heel higher than the toes. A step platform with an angled top, a slant board set on a low step, or a sturdy wedge all work; without one, the exercise becomes a Patrick Step.
- Q: Does the Poliquin Step isolate the VMO?
No. It works the whole quadriceps hard at a deep knee bend, and the burn many people feel just above and inside the knee comes from that work. A systematic review of 20 EMG studies found that changing hip, knee, ankle or foot position did not preferentially activate the VMO over the vastus lateralis.
- Q: How high should the step be?
Start low, around 6 inches (15 cm), where you can tap the floor without your hips dropping and without knee pain. Raise the step only once you can do every rep slowly and with control.
- Q: How many reps should I do?
It is usually trained with body weight for higher reps, building toward sets of about 20 slow reps per leg. Once that is easy, add height, a longer reach or a light dumbbell or kettlebell.