Step-up

Movement

The versions studies have tested

Studies have measured forward and lateral step-ups, and forward and lateral step-downs⁴. One study of 15 resistance-trained women added crossover and diagonal step-ups⁷. Another study, of 44 healthy adults, used a step-up-and-over⁸. In it, activity in three muscles rose in order from the step-up-and-over to the lunge to the single-leg squat⁸. They were the rectus femoris, at the front of the thigh, and two buttock muscles, the gluteus maximus and the dominant-side gluteus medius⁸.

Two studies compared the lifting and lowering phases^1,9. In 29 people with healthy knees doing lateral step-ups, lifting produced significantly more quadriceps and biceps femoris activity than lowering⁹. The biceps femoris is a hamstring muscle, on the outer side of the back of the thigh. In 20 physically active adults doing the lateral step-up, activity was higher while lifting in each muscle measured¹.

How it compares with other tasks

One study of 20 healthy adults compared four tasks: the step-up, half step-down, step-down and single-leg squat¹⁰. Of the four, the step-up had the lowest moment impulses for flexion (bending) and adduction (moving the thigh toward the midline) at the hip¹⁰. A moment is the turning effect of a force around a joint, and an impulse is force added up over time. The step-up also had the lowest gluteus medius, quadriceps and hamstring activity¹⁰.

What it loads

The front of the thigh

The quadriceps is a group of four muscles on the front of the thigh². Acting through the kneecap, it straightens the leg at the knee². Two studies of the lateral step-up compared it with other muscles^1,11:

• 20 physically active adults at 60% of a five-repetition-maximum load, the heaviest load a person can lift five times. The highest activity came from the vastus lateralis and vastus medialis, followed by the gluteus medius and gluteus maximus¹.
• 32 adults without symptoms, holding 10% or 25% of body weight. The vastus medialis oblique (the lowest fibres of the vastus medialis) and vastus lateralis were recruited more than the hamstrings and gluteus maximus¹¹.

The hamstrings, the three long muscles at the back of the thigh, extend the hip and bend the knee^2,12. One study tested 29 people with healthy knees on 4-inch and 8-inch lateral step-ups⁹. Average hamstring activity was 3% to 9% of a maximal voluntary contraction, a muscle’s hardest effort⁹. The vastus medialis ranged from 24% to 60%⁹.

Two pictures of the gluteus maximus

The gluteus maximus is aligned to extend the hip, moving the thigh backward¹³. Three reviews of muscle activity report very different figures for it in the step-up^3,4,14.

Review	What the figure covers	Gluteus maximus activity (% of a maximal isometric contraction)
Review of loaded strength exercises	Average for the step-up and its lateral, diagonal, crossover kinds	1253
Review of body-weight exercises	Forward step-up, average of six studies	38.74
Review of body-weight exercises	Lateral step-up, average of six studies	36.04
Review of 23 studies of gluteal activity	Lateral step-up, average of six studies	49.614
Review of 23 studies of gluteal activity	Lateral step-up, single highest value	113.814

The four values behind the top figure came from one cited study³. The body-weight review found wide ranges between studies⁴. It noted that step height ranged from 15.0 to 20.3 cm⁴. The review of 23 studies suggested that differences between studies may come from box height and familiarity with the movement¹⁴. Its highest gluteus maximus value came with a 45.7 cm box¹⁴.

One study of 15 resistance-trained women used six-repetition-maximum loads on a 45.72 cm box⁷. The plain step-up produced greater gluteus maximus activity than the crossover, diagonal and lateral versions⁷. In young, healthy people stepping up without added load, the gluteus maximus was recruited at about 29% to 31% on the study’s activity scale¹⁵.

The gluteus medius

The gluteus medius is a buttock muscle that lies beneath the gluteus maximus. It is one of the hip abductors, which can contribute to steadying the pelvis during walking¹⁶. A meta-analysis, which pools the results of several studies, covered step exercises¹⁷. It found high middle gluteus medius activity in the lateral step-up, about 45% of a maximal isometric contraction¹⁷. The forward step-up was moderate, at about 35%¹⁷.

The pooled studies differed widely in technique, step height, step distance and whether resistance was added¹⁷. In young, healthy people stepping up without added load, the gluteus medius was recruited at about 61% to 63% on the study’s activity scale¹⁵.

The kneecap joint

The patellofemoral joint is one of three joints that make up the knee². In it, the kneecap slides up and down in a groove on the lower end of the femur (thigh bone)². One study of 20 healthy participants modelled the peak force at this joint on low and high steps⁵.

Task	Modelled peak force (times body weight)
10 cm step-up	1.75
10 cm step-down	3.15
20 cm step-up	3.65
20 cm step-down	5.85

In 20 healthy participants, modelled peak force at the kneecap joint was higher stepping down than stepping up at the same height⁵.

In 20 healthy participants, modelled peak force at the kneecap joint was higher stepping down than stepping up at the same height.

The patellar tendon and the anterior cruciate ligament

The patellar tendon is the band that runs from the kneecap down to the shinbone. One study of 20 healthy adults sorted exercises into three tiers of patellar tendon loading¹⁸. The 20 cm step-up, 20 cm step-down and 30 cm step-up each fell in the lowest tier¹⁸.

The anterior cruciate ligament is the front one of two ligaments that cross inside the knee. One study measured strain in its anteromedial bundle, toward the front and inner side, in nine people with normal ligaments¹⁹. Strain is how far something stretches as a share of its resting length. Peak strain did not differ significantly between the step-up, step-down, lunge and one-legged sit to stand¹⁹. In each exercise, strain rose significantly as the knee straightened¹⁹.

In people with kneecap pain

Patellofemoral pain is pain around or behind the kneecap. Studies comparing muscle activity in people with and without it do not agree^20,21,22:

• 20 women with pain and 20 healthy women. Those with pain did the step-up and single-leg squat with less gluteus medius and gluteus maximus activity²⁰.
• 12 people with pain and 20 without, measured with fine-wire electrodes, thin wire sensors placed into a muscle. Those with pain showed lower gluteus medius activity in 3 of 11 exercises, one of them the step-up²¹.
• A meta-analysis. It found similar gluteus medius and gluteus maximus activity amplitude (size) in the two groups, whatever the sex or the task²².

In 12 people with patellofemoral pain, the step-up produced less activity in the upper gluteus maximus than in the tensor fasciae latae²³. That is a small muscle at the upper outer thigh.

How the body adapts

Step-up training set against squat training

A randomised training study followed 33 developmental rugby players⁶. Groups were prescribed the step-up or the back squat twice a week for eight weeks⁶. Each group improved in the exercise it trained and in the one it did not⁶. The gains below are effect sizes, a standard measure of how large a difference is.

Group	Gain in step-up strength	Gain in back squat strength
Trained the step-up	0.746	0.426
Trained the back squat	0.276	0.676

Between the groups, the difference in squat strength gained was unclear⁶. The step-up group gained more step-up strength⁶.

Shorter lateral step-up programmes

Two studies trained the lateral step-up for four or six weeks^24,25. Both used an isokinetic test, a strength test on a machine that holds a limb to a fixed speed.

• Four weeks, 20 people. They improved their leg press, loaded step-up repetitions, hop distance and timed hop²⁴. Isokinetic quadriceps peak torque, the greatest turning force the muscle produced, showed no significant gain²⁴. The 18 controls did not change²⁴.
• Six weeks, 20 women who were not athletes. They were randomly assigned to lateral step-up training or a control group²⁵. Isokinetic quadriceps strength and thigh girth did not change differently between the groups²⁵.

Muscle size in older women

A randomised trial followed 45 community-dwelling women aged about 69²⁶. Twelve weeks of bench stepping, with the step height raised over time, increased thigh muscle volume more than no training²⁶. Peak velocity and balance did not improve²⁶.

Progressive overload

A 2026 position stand describes progressive overload as the need to raise the stimulus on the muscle through a training programme²⁷. It lists load, volume, training frequency, exercise selection and duration as ways to raise it²⁷.

Adding weight

The rugby study prescribed 6 to 8 sets of 4 to 8 repetitions at 45% to 88% of one-repetition maximum⁶. A one-repetition maximum is the heaviest load a person can lift once. Volume load, the total weight lifted, was matched between the step-up and squat groups⁶. In the four-week lateral step-up programme, the weight used rose and the repetitions fell²⁴. The total step-up work did not change²⁴.

A modelling study estimated muscle forces in nine healthy men doing the squat, split squat and step-up²⁸. The men added up to 75% of body mass²⁸. Modelled forces in the gluteal muscles, vasti (the three vastus muscles of the quadriceps), hamstrings and calf muscles rose with load in each exercise²⁸. The rises in gluteus maximus and vasti forces were often more pronounced in the step-up and split squat than in the squat²⁸.

The authors of the review of loaded strength exercises wrote that step-ups have a high stabilising demand³. They wrote that this may limit the load used, and so may hinder maximal strength and muscle growth³.

Raising the step

The twelve-week trial in 45 older women progressed training mainly by raising step height, while training volume stayed equal²⁶. In 29 people with healthy knees, an 8-inch lateral step-up was set against a 4-inch one⁹. The vastus medialis, rectus femoris and hamstrings were significantly more active on the higher step⁹.

Stepping faster

One study had 20 participants do forward step-ups at 35, 60 and 95 steps per minute²⁹. Muscle activity rose as the pace rose²⁹.

Connections

The step-up loads the quadriceps, gluteus medius and gluteus maximus, in that order of activity in one study of 20 adults¹. In nine men, modelled forces also rose with load in the hamstrings, soleus and gastrocnemius, two calf muscles²⁸.

It loads the patellofemoral joint of the knee, with a higher modelled peak force on a 20 cm step than a 10 cm one⁵. Of four tasks in 20 healthy adults, it had the lowest flexion and adduction moment impulses at the hip¹⁰. Studies have also measured it at the patellar tendon and the anterior cruciate ligament^18,19.

Studies have measured the step-up beside the lunge, the single-leg squat, the split squat and the back squat^1,6,28. One study compared women with and without patellofemoral pain during it²⁰.

Sources

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Every source the library cites

Changes

• October 7, 2026 First published.