Image Source: POPSUGAR Photography | Chaunté Vaughn
Want to work your legs and butt but don’t have any weights? Find a step, box, bench, or sturdy chair and learn how to do a step-up. The step-up exercise combines the mechanics of a lunge with upward motion – almost like climbing stairs – to help build functional strength.
“A step-up is one of my favorite moves for multiple reasons,” says NASM-certified trainer Justin Norris, cofounder of the LIT Method. “First, I am a big fan of stability and strength, and that’s exactly what this move focuses on. During a step-up, you are activating your hamstrings, glutes, core, and stabilizers.”
All those muscles work synergistically to execute the movement, says Eric O’Connor, certified CrossFit coach, which can even increase your functional range of motion (i.e. mobility) when performed correctly. Not to mention, it’s a great way to build unilateral – aka single-leg – strength.
“The unilateral nature of the step-up is a nice complement to the bilateral elements [think: traditional squats, deadlifts, etc.] commonly performed in the gym,” he says. “Not only is strength being developed but there are additional stability, coordination, and balance demands required of this movement.” Aside from a lower-body burn, step-ups are also great for cardio and core. They get your heart rate up and require balance, forcing you to engage your core for stability.
Sold? Read on for everything you need to know about how to do step-ups, no matter your fitness level.
Step-Up Exercise Benefits
As previously mentioned, step-ups are great for improving stability, mobility, and balance. But don’t underestimate the power it takes to execute a step-up correctly. While you’ll primarily feel these in your legs and glutes – specifically your quadriceps and hamstrings – the core also plays a role in lifting you up, making this a true compound exercise (where multiple muscle groups are activated at once). Along with building lower body strength, the American Sports and Fitness Association notes that step-ups are particularly accessible for beginners, since they’re easy to modify, and don’t require any complicated equipment. Depending on the height of the step, the amount of weight used, and the speed of the movement, step-ups can also be a form of cardio, helping you get your heart rate up. Ultimately, step-ups are simple exercises with serious benefits for lower body strength, coordination, and cardiovascular health, and they definitely deserve a spot in your next leg day.
How to Do a Step-Up
We’ve broken down the step-up exercise into three variations so you can find the version that works best for your ability. If you’re new to this exercise, step on something low, then work your way up to something higher. You can also tweak the height of the surface you’re using depending on which muscles you want to target most. “For example, a low box height may target the quads to a larger degree while a higher box may target the posterior muscles [the back of your body] to a larger degree,” O’Connor says.
To make step-ups harder, you can hold a dumbbell or kettlebell in each hand and do weighted step-ups. You can also do all your reps on one leg at a time (instead of alternating) to really burn out your glutes, quads, and hamstrings on that side.
“Another simple tweak is to perform the movement with a lateral step, which will challenge your lower body and coordination in a manner that is often underutilized,” O’Connor says. To do this, you’ll follow all the instructions below, but stand to one side of the surface you’re stepping up on, instead of in front of it.
No matter how advanced you are, focus on quality reps and good form first. Then you can level up. “When performing single step-ups, make sure you start slow and focus on form over speed,” Norris recommends.
Image Source: POPSUGAR Photography | Chaunté Vaughn
Step-Up Exercise: Beginner
Before you start, find a step, chair, box, or bench high enough that when you place your foot on it, your knee bends to a 90-degree angle. Weight benches or plyo boxes are often the right height, but a dining-room chair can work too for an at-home strength-training session. If this seems too high, start with a lower step or box.
- Stand facing a step, chair, box, or bench. Place your entire right foot onto the step.
- Shift your weight into your right foot to step up onto the bench. Bring your left foot up to meet your right so you are standing with both feet on the bench.
- Return to the starting position by stepping down with the right foot, then the left, so both feet are on the floor.
- Do 10 steps leading with the left foot, then 10 steps leading with the right foot. Do three sets.
Step-Up Exercise: Intermediate
This is a slightly more advanced step-up exercise variation that will challenge your balance and work your glutes even more. This version works best with a shorter bench or step rather than a chair.
- Stand facing a step, chair, box, or bench. Place your entire right foot onto the step.
- Shift your weight into your right foot to step up onto the bench.
- Instead of stepping your left foot onto the box next to your right foot, lift the left knee up to hip height so the hip and knee are both bent at 90-degree angles.
- Keeping your right foot on the bench, bend your right knee to lower your left foot to tap the floor with your left toes – without putting all your weight into your left foot. That’s one rep.
- Without stopping, press through into your right foot to begin the next step-up rep.
- Do 10 reps on each leg. Do three sets.
Step-Up Exercise: Advanced
You’ll need a pair of dumbbells or kettlebells for this variation. Start with something lightweight (three to eight pounds), then increase to heavier weights (10 to 20 pounds). To make it even more difficult, you can try the toe-tap version (detailed above) while holding weights.
- Stand facing a step, chair, box, or bench, holding a dumbbell or kettlebell in each hand by your sides or up by your shoulders. Place your entire right foot onto the step.
- Shift your weight into your right foot to step up onto the bench. Bring your left foot up to meet your right so you are standing with both feet on the bench.
- Return to the starting position by stepping down with the right foot, then the left, so both feet are on the floor.
- Do 10 reps on each leg. Do three sets.
-Additional reporting by Lauren Mazzo and Chandler Plante
Susi May is the former senior content director of POPSUGAR Fitness. As a past Pilates instructor, she enjoys trying all kinds of workouts (except running).
Lauren Mazzo was the senior fitness editor at POPSUGAR. She is a certified personal trainer and fitness nutrition specialist through the American Council on Exercise. Prior to joining POPSUGAR, she worked for six years as a writer and editor for Shape Magazine covering health, fitness, nutrition, mental health, sex and relationships, beauty, and astrology.
Chandler Plante is an assistant editor for POPSUGAR Health & Fitness. Previously, she worked as an editorial assistant for People magazine and contributed to Ladygunn, Millie, and Bustle Digital Group. In her free time, she overshares on the internet, creating content about chronic illness, beauty, and disability.
