Functional · Upper legs

Step-up

Target Quadriceps  ·  Equipment Box  ·  Level Intermediate  ·  Reps 6

Step-up is an intermediate-level functional movement targeting the quadriceps, written in Posecode, a small open-source language that capable language models can use to describe human movement as text. Authored joint targets and reach-IK solves are constrained to Posecode's configured per-axis bounds. Those bounds constrain the visualization, but they do not certify that a complete movement is safe or clinically correct. This page documents a code example; it is not exercise instruction.

Movement phases

Phase cues are display-only coaching text. The executable joint and contact directives in the source below determine the animation.

1. Plant the foot1s · flow Plant the right foot up on top of the box
2. Drive up1.2s · settle Drive through the top foot to stand tall on the box
3. Step down1.4s · settle Lower the trailing foot toward the floor while staying tall on the box
4. Off the box0.8s · settle Step the lead foot down to meet it, standing tall on the floor

The .posecode source

This is the exact text used by the linked playground animation: phases and joint angles, not 3D transforms.

posecode exercise "Step-up"
  rig humanoid
  prop box
  pose start = standing

  step "Plant the foot" 1s flow:
    hip_right: flex 70
    knee_right: flex 90
    ankle_right: plantarflex 50
    pin: foot_left floor
    cue "Plant the right foot up on top of the box"

  step "Drive up" 1.2s settle:
    hip_right: flex 8
    knee_right: flex 8
    ankle_right: plantarflex 8
    hip_left: flex 35
    knee_left: flex 45
    pin: foot_right box
    cue "Drive through the top foot to stand tall on the box"

  step "Step down" 1.4s settle:
    hip_right: flex 55
    knee_right: flex 65
    ankle_right: dorsiflex 10
    hip_left: flex 15
    knee_left: flex 25
    pin: foot_right box
    cue "Lower the trailing foot toward the floor while staying tall on the box"

  step "Off the box" 0.8s settle:
    hip_right: flex 0
    knee_right: flex 0
    ankle_right: dorsiflex 0
    ground-lock: feet
    cue "Step the lead foot down to meet it, standing tall on the floor"

  repeat 6

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