Last updated on April 5th, 2024 at 10:03 am

Fast Forward

Fast forward a few more years and I blew out my calcaneus (heel bone) on my left foot, leaving me a with a nice fracture, 3 months of a cast, no weight bearing, and no ankle mobility. The ankle was literally stuck in extensions for 3 months straight. I was also stuck hobbling on my right foot with crutches for about five months. Not exactly great for an already bad set of ankles.

Long story short, this has been my struggle for the majority of my life, and made worse with recent events. Tight calves, short Achilles, painful pops and cracks, and a constant fight to grab at any ankle range of motion to alleviate knee pain, squat, and move like a normal human being. I’ve tried every trick in the book and to no avail. I really wanted to fix my ankle issues for good.

My wife is a nurse, and she has a bad right knee from a soccer injury as a kid. So she is on her feet a LOT for work, chasing my daughter around, in the gym, and just in general likes to avoid knee pain. We are careful with her gym time and avoid anything that flares up that knee. Squats are rare, lunges are hit and miss, and there is plenty of time added for pre-habbing that knee.

Transparency

I purchased my first Sanddune Stepper, wrote my review, did my interview with Matt Dahl, and then he sent me a second one. Matt has also sponsored the Garage Gym Competition multiple times. Full transparency as always, hopefully you see that my notes reflect my enjoyment of this product, not a free product.

Links throughout may include Affiliate Links. These help fund the site at no expense to you.

What Does it Do?

Im not going to spend much time explaining the ins and outs here. The really brief run down is that the Sanddune stepper, as it is named, is kind of like mimicking walking in sand. If you’ve ever done a hike of any kind on the beach, you know that afterwards muscles you didn’t even know you had are tired, but you somehow also feel REALLY good. It is this odd combination of feeling wiped and feeling stable, strong, and secure, that I’ve never really found anywhere else. That is the general concept behind the Sanddune Stepper, to give you that same experience but without the need for a trip to the beach.

From feedback from others, the stepper seems to be solid at prehab, rehab, and cardio. So I was potentially looking to replace my Rower and Airdyne on top of address my ankle problems. Much less dedicated floor space, more funds in my pocket, and more uses than simply a casual ride here and there.

Chats

In talks with Matt he mentions a lot of crazy science terms that go far beyond my understanding (see more of that below in my interview with him). Things around the lymphatic system, nervous system, and muscle contractions. Then theres a bunch of stuff that reminded me of a talking to a few PhD friends. Their depth of knowledge on a topic I felt comfortable in is absurd and questions your knowledge.

The words that echoed in my braind and still do when I asked him what was going on with the Sanddune Stepper… he ended the sentence with “I think there is more going on there than we understand”. Based on the testimonials we see on his Instagram from people that had life alterating accidents and were able to rehab with the sanddune stepper, I’m thinking he might be right.

Does It Work?

Before and even shortly after buying the stepper, I was hesitant. I was really hesitant in fact, about how I just spent almost $300 on a piece of foam that would magically fix all of my problem and replace two $1000 pieces of equipment. I was hesitant that I’d see much utility and afraid that I’d be stuck shoving it in a corner in the rafters. Even after reading reviews, numerous recommendations from people I truest, I was still not sure. After about six months of use, the short answer is, yes… it works.

I’ve noticed that my right ankles have cleared a lot of that stuck feeling, and my ROM has improved. I like that I can combine methods with the Sanddune Stepper, such as voodoo flossing my ankles while doing marches and squats or pairing it with a Compex.

It seems to help correct compensatory movements as well, like hip shifts. Don’t think you are going to hop on this and automatically be fixed by the way. You still have to hammer your soft tissue work and make sure you are moving correctly, but this seems to open up things that weren’t a possibility before. You’ll notice when you are active with the sanddune stepper, and when you aren’t. Aches and pops and bad stuff will creep back in.

Number Of Uses

I’ve talked to Matt over the years and he mentions that he has people using it in a number of ways. A very common approach is to start every day with it. Walk on it, squat on it, just overall get some movement in on it, for about 5 to 10 minutes. This gets the body moving well for the rest of the day. Toss it into your warm-up routine instead of a normal walk or cardio blast and be ready for some of the silkiest smooth squats you’ve ever done.

It is fantastic for planks, bird dogs, and other stabilization type work. And don’t even get me started on doing push-ups on this thing. Your chest will hate you in ways you never thought possible.

What About The Cardio?

For general activity, we take several walks a day. I have a dog, so to me this is just basic good pet ownership. But sometimes the weather is nasty and not conducive to my wife and daughter taking a walk at a valid hour with me and the dog. The Sanddune Stepper kicks in and replaces those walks. We turn on some music, hit a timer for 10 minutes, and get our walks in inside. This is a fantastic alternative to a normal walk. Need to spice up your cardio? Drop that treadmill for a 30 minute walk on the Sanddune Stepper. I promise you your legs will be BURNT after and you’ll be sweating and cursing everything.

This is also a great way to up your steps during the day. Toss it under a standing desk, use it while watching TV, you name it. Completely quiet, easy to add in, and you’ll feel better afterwards too. I’ve used it for active recovery with a medicine ball, for jumps, for weighted carries, for an obstacle course with my daughter, and so much more. My second one takes up permanent residence under my standing desk at home, while the other one gets used in the gym multiple times a week.

So 100%, I sold my Airdyne and Rower and haven’t found a need for them since. I’m not saying they are the same thing, and if I had a big gym I’d have them all, but for my active recovery cardio and some short burts here and there, this thing is fantastic.

Replacing the basic cardio with this should mean we have less knee issues (both of us) as well. My wife has noticed consistently that the more she use the Sanddune Stepper, the less she notices any flair ups.

Is There Anything Bad?

The backside of the unit is this kind of bungee chorded, bumpy material like you’d find on a shower floor. It is an attempt to make it anti skid, but it doesn’t really work. It looks less than ideal, and just isn’t up to snuff with the rest of the unit. Something more polished here would make the unit not slide around on slick floors, would make it last longer, and all around just be a better solution.

There also absolutely should be handle. I managed to pinch a piece of the foam off carrying it. So there are some finer details to the sanddune stepper as a whole that could improve it performance wise, aesthetically, and longevity.

That Price Though!?!?

Most people are still going to freak at a $300 piece of foam. I get it. My stance is that I spent thousands on chiropractor appointments, massages, supplements, and various tools to try and fix my problems. And got no where. The Sanddune Stepper was the first step in the right direction for me. Much cheaper than surgery, than those other interventions, and of course way cheaper than other cardio options.

The $300 is going to come down to, how do you use it. If you simply see another toy, it is a bad investment. If you see something that can help you recover, pre-hab, rehab, condition, and strengthen over the course of years to keep you healthy and happy and moving… then that is a VERY low investment.

Another piece to get over is the connection to other unstable tools. The Bosu Ball comes to mind. A big piece to the puzzle here is the design. The Sanddune Stepper allows you to get your feet flat, and move correctly. The Bosu Ball is rounded and was never meant for your feet. So these two objects, while maybe in the same “class”, aren’t built the same.

Final Thoughts

For me and my family, the Sanddune Stepper has been awesome. I have talked a lot of people into buying them, and talked a lot of people out of buying them. The end game here is, if you use it, it works. If you don’t it’ll collect dust just like every other thing you don’t use. Active recovery, bad weather walks, conditioning, strength stuff, core stuff, and so much more. And they hold together well as long as you aren’t insane. These are a definite yes for me. And if you follow them on Instagram you’ll see athletes from every major sport, strength coaches, crossfit coaches, powerlifters, and rehab facilities using this to make their athletes better.

Interview With Matt Dahl

I wanted to get more on the Sanddune Stepper from the main man himself, Matt Dahl. Here is our chat.

Thanks for taking the time to answer my questions today Matt, let’s kick it off with a quick intro. What is your background?

I’ve been active most of my life, I lifted at the Jack LaLanne institure, roller-skated 20 miles a day in my teenage years, I’ve done every sport you can think of, and I’ve been injured, and gotten out of injury, numerous times on my own determination, research, and abilities. I’m 65 years old, live in Palm Springs, CA, own a Harley, and just had hernia surgery. Thanks to the Sanddune Stepper, I’m already a full 2 months ahead of schedule on my recovery plan and looking forward to riding again soon.

Why the Sanddune Stepper/ What triggered you to say “the world needs this!?”

My father had a stroke when I was about 25 years old, and after seeing the typical Physical Therapy treatments only get him so far, I knew there had to be more. PT stops when they sop making improvements with the patient. Whether that is at 25%, 70%, or 90% recovery. There was clearly more my Dad could have improved, so I started researching.

I learned a lot about rebounding, the lymphatic system, neural feedback, the central nervous system, and more. There was something to a lot of these common injuries and issues, a lack of balance was common in strokes, injury, Parkinsons, and more. This lead to a first prototype, which we got to a 75 year old Parkinsons patient who was falling down regularly, walking with a walker, and on his was to an assited living. We put him on the prototype, after 3 months he was walking with no cane or walker. I knew we were on to something.

My father had a stroke when I was a child and I can relate to some of what you shared. My own PT experiences have been very lack luster as well. Who is the Sanddune Stepper for?

I started in the physical therapy industry, until a foot and ankle specialist cotacted me for an interview. That is how Donnie Thompson, the powerlifter with a 3000lb total, got involved. He was an outside the box thinker about foot and ankle rehab. Donnie got it to the Philadelphia Eagles, players started getting them for their locker rooms and houses, rugby players started rehabbing ankle injuries, MCL problems… NBA players, runners, and more were finding ways to cut their injury and recovery times.

Damarcus Cousins used the stepper to recover from his ruptured Achiles. Matt Brown, the UFC fighter, was having ankle issues for a year. We got him one six weeks out of a big fight. He’d been using other items from other companies with no success. He was able to get past his issues that started as kid. He has one in his house and training facility, uses it throughout the day, every single day. Joe Drafranco got one and does regular HIIT sessions on it and he had Triple H and his wife using it as well. Triple H has stiff ankles, Stephanie has loose ankles, and it works wonders for both of them.

I guess the answer is, anyone and everyone. Why is it so effective? What is going on there?

Neural feedback and muscle engagement. It simply forces your body to work harder, and smarter, to get the job done. I think there is more going on that we know actually. I think there is something about the rebounding effects, detoxification, regulation of hormones, and a bunch more.

There seems to be mixed feelings out there on stability training, what is your take?

You need the neural feedback that the stepper provides. The high intensity foam, compared to air, provides constant feedback. The flat surface allows your ankles to get in a stable position and activate all the right musles. The grade from high to low throws your proprioception off slights. The two sides are independent, so one side doesn’t impact or compensane for the other. This means you are truly doing single leg stability and strength work.

The majority of the other equiupmet is instable, but doesn’t align with the needs of the athlete. Air doesn’t give you the right feedback and proprioception. Standing on a ball forces your ankles out of alignment, and those balance boards are too hard of a surface. I’ve had PTs that saw the stepper as a gateway to getting athletes on something “more difficult” and after using it ditched the other options.

Which exercises can you do with the stepper?

The basics are the best. Squats, one leg work, etc. You get big strong dudes on this thing and they struggle, until it seems to reset a lot of their ailments. They all of a sudden half full use of their ankles, hips, lug muscles, etc. It is something that often is overlooked, people don’t identify their compensatory movement and it leads to problems, especially when we are talking about strongmen, powerlifters, and elite athletes.

Mike Burgener, Crossfit and Olympic lifting coach, got the stepper from Donnie. He has done battle ropes on it, he owns three of them. Mike’s word for the stepper was “Legit”. The hill next to his house was on fire during some LA fires and he ran back into the garage and grabbed his stepper. His wife asked him what he was doing and he said if their house was going to burn down and they were stuck in a hotel, at least he could get in a solid workout!

A few strongmen competitors actually introduced me to using the Stepper for upper body work. They were able to remove tendonitis in the elbows and wrists, increase their weights, and reduce their recovery time. I hadn’t even thought of that.

The biggest thing I hear over and over is why $300 for a piece of foam?

You can get it for about $250 with a discount code. Shipping costs $50, the cover is $20, so we are talking $180 for the foam itself. The price of the R&D and the foam construction process, the molds, etc. adds up as well. The process involves molding two chemicals together at once to create the high density foam.

Comparing to regular upholsterey foam, it doesn’t push back. The foam compresses too much, isn’t dense enough, and fills with air. That means you aren’t getting that full proprioception throughout your workout. The stepper also won’t bottom out, and is useable for 300lb linebackers and 100lb rehab patients. Most foam is going to tear so you’ll be replacing it often. Pair that with the overall design we talked about, having two sides, flat top, etc. It just doesn’t compare to a standard piece of foam. I’ve not had a single return.

What is next?

Improving the Velcro and bottom, with a handle.

What is one thing you want to leave our readers with?

The Sanddune Stepper is all about improving quality of life, especially when people have no alternative. Being able to help people recover from injury, prehab, rehab, improve performance. It is all there in the Sanddune Stepper.

Wrap Up

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