How to Do the Step-Up (Bodyweight)

The bodyweight step-up has you step onto a chair or step and stand tall, one leg at a time. It trains the quads and glutes with no equipment and is easy on the joints. It suits beginners, home workouts and anyone building single-leg strength.

Quads Glutes BodyweightBeginner

Log every set of your Step-Up (Bodyweight) in Superlift

Muscles worked

Primary

Quads
Glutes

Secondary

Hamstrings
Calves

How to do the Step-Up (Bodyweight)

1
Stand in front of a sturdy chair, bench or step.
2
Place one foot flat on the surface.
3
Drive through that heel to lift yourself up.
4
Stand tall at the top without pushing off the trailing leg.
5
Lower your trailing foot back down slowly.
6
Finish your reps on one side, then switch, or alternate legs.

Form cues to remember

Drive through the front heel
Stand tall at the top
Trailing leg stays light
Lower slowly

Common mistakes

Pushing off your back leg

Keep the back foot light and let the front leg lift you.

Using a surface that's too high

Pick a height where your thigh is about parallel to the floor.

Leaning forward

Keep your chest up and torso upright.

Dropping down fast

Lower for two to three seconds.

Sets and reps

Muscle growth	3 sets of 10–15 reps per leg, 60 sec rest
Endurance	2–3 sets of 20 reps per leg

Use a sturdy surface that won't slide, and hold a wall for balance if you need it. Lower the step if your knee hurts.

Superlift for iPhone

Track your Step-Up (Bodyweight) and watch it go up

Superlift shows what you lifted last time, times your rest, and charts your strength week by week, so you always know what to beat. Every exercise in this library is built in, with the same demos and tutorials.