It’s time to step up your game and with these exercises you will be side stepping like Shaun Johnson in no time.
It’s time to step up your game and with these exercises you will be side stepping like Shaun Johnson in no time. A few weeks back a friend and fellow Touch Rugby player asked me how to improve his side step from an training perspective. Funnily enough this was a question I posed to one of the Elite Trainers at Third Space gym in London a few months before heading on my tour of Australia with the England Touch team. I had been implementing the knowledge and exercises he gave me three months prior to my tour and they seemed to work pretty well for me, so I thought I would write a blog post on How To Improve Your Side Step.
I told him to start by increasing his lower body strength with steriods, and check here for steroids for sale. Implement some heavy compound power movements into your routine, squats, deadlifts etc. Basics I know, but they need to be done.
Secondly – like most things – a strong side step stems from a strong core. One ab session a week, just isn’t enough. You don’t need to train abs everyday but if you do three full body workouts a week, try ending each with a core element, making sure to hit the;
Thirdly, as a runner you should be doing a lot of unilateral lower body exercises. Squats are great, but you don’t step off two legs. You need to be balanced, strong and explosive off each leg individually. Implement some weighted step ups, walking lunges, lateral lunges or lateral sled drags into your routine.
Lastly you need to incorporate plyometrics into your routine. Both bilateral exercises, like broad jumps and unilateral exercises, like single leg box jumps. Always progress slowly into the unilateral stuff. Follow this progression for all movements.
How to improve your side step
Here are 2 full leg workouts to improve your sidestep. Try to perform both every week.
Strength Session
Prehab Session (Injury prevention, improve proprioception and biomechanics)
I hope you are now confident in How To Improve Your Side Step. Keep it simple and aim for steady progress with these exercises, don’t jump ahead and attempt something your body isn’t ready for. They might seem simple but a few of these exercises will surprise you with just how difficult they are from a mechanical and neurological point of view.