One of the main muscle groups lots of people want to accentuate and strengthen is the glutes, or shall we say, the buttocks, or the derrière. For those wanting a firm, pronounced, rounded, and muscular rear end, specific glute-focused exercises are part of the picture. Honestly, I noticed the strength and shape of my glutes enhanced over a few months of physical therapy as I was working my way through countless reps of glute bridges, squats, and glute step-ups. It’s pretty impressive what our bodies can do when we put the work in.
Strong glutes can improve your posture, athletic performance, and balance, and reduce back pain. These important muscles support your lower body joints and help to evenly distribute forces as you do your daily functional activities. Glute step-ups are an excellent choice to activate your glutes. In fact, researchers found that performing step-ups resulted in the highest gluteus maximus activation levels compared to all other exercises tested in the study, including hip thrusts, split squats, lunges, and deadlifts. It’s definitely worth including step-ups in your routine. Here’s what you need to know about step-ups, including how to do them properly, the benefits, common mistakes to avoid, top tips, and FAQs.
How to do glute step-ups
You can choose a box or step with a height that works for you, and you can change that over time as you feel more comfortable with the exercise. Beginners usually start with a lower step before working up to a higher box or chair. Adding weights is simple; you can hold two dumbbells with your arms down by your sides while performing this move. Alternatively, you can use kettlebells or a barbell.
How to do glute step-ups:
- Stand facing a stable bench, plyo box, step, or chair that’s roughly knee height.
- Step up onto the box, pushing through your heel and lifting your right foot onto the box, roughly two or three inches away from the edge. Try to make sure your toes point forward.
- You can bring your left knee up to your hips before planting your left foot next to your right foot so you’re standing up on the box.
- Carefully bring your right foot back down to the floor and step your left foot down to the floor, so you’re standing back in the starting position, facing the box.
- Aim for about 10 to 15 reps before switching to your other side. Try to rest for 30 seconds to two minutes in between sets.
What are glute step-ups?
Glute step-ups are a lower-body compound exercise where you step up onto a box, bench, chair, or an elevated surface and step back down again, alternating sides. You can increase the height of the elevated platform or add weights to make the exercise more advanced.
What muscles are targeted during glute step-ups?
During this move, you’ll torch your:
- Glutes
- Quads
- Hamstrings
Your hip abductors and adductors, calves, and lower abs also help to stabilize you. Your glutes and major leg muscles do most of the work, and your other lower body and core muscles keep you stable and balanced. You have three main muscles that make up your glutes: gluteus maximus, gluteus medius, and gluteus minimus.
What are the benefits?
The following are some of the many benefits of glute step-ups:
- Researchers found that step-ups are the best lower-body move for engaging the gluteus maximus, which is the largest of those muscles. Other step-up variations came after the original: lateral step-ups, diagonal step-ups, and crossover step-ups.
- Improve your balance, stability, and coordination. Better balance lowers your risk of falls and injuries.
- Enhance your overall functional fitness and your ability to play sports as you train your fast-twitch muscles for sprinting and sharp turns.
- Address muscular imbalances.
- Make climbing stairs easier by strengthening major lower body muscles.
- Researchers used step-ups as a measure of physical fitness, muscle strength, and leg function, especially in older adults.
Common mistakes to avoid
Here are the most common mistakes to avoid, so you can get the most out of this exercise:
- Leaning too far forward and hunching or rounding your spine.
- Not engaging your core.
- Bringing your knee too far forward over your foot on your balancing or working leg, which exerts excess stress on your knee and can shift you off balance.
- Caving your knee in.
- Pushing off with your back leg.
- Tucking your pelvis under when you’re bringing your knee up.
- Rushing the movement.
Top tips to safely maximize your results
Follow these top safety tips for the best outcome:
- Brace your core.
- Keep your shoulder blades back and down.
- Try to keep your torso upright.
- While you will need to lean forward a little to step up onto the box, avoid leaning too far forward.
- Maintain and distribute your weight evenly across your feet.
- Prioritize control over speed and go at a steady pace.
- Start with a lower box without any weights, and you can add weights and increase the height over time as you develop your strength and fitness.
You can also support yourself on a wall by positioning your plyo box next to a wall and using your arms to help you stay balanced. Some fitness buffs like Aaron Schiavone prefer this because it allows you to really focus on activating those glutes if you lightly hold a bench, cable machine, or wall to maintain stability.
Does changing the step height impact glute engagement?
A higher step shifts even more emphasis to your glutes and hamstrings. Your hamstrings are the muscles on the back of your thighs. With a higher step, there’s a greater range of motion, which can increase the activation of those glutes. Beginners usually go for a lower step, around six to 12 inches, whereas you might prefer a box 12 to 18 inches if you’re at a more intermediate level. If you’re more advanced, you might go for a higher step or box around 18 to 24 inches.
Variations and alternatives
Here are some of the best variations to try:
- Lateral step-ups — As the name suggests, you step up laterally or from the side onto the box.
- Crossover step-ups — With the crossover variation, you step onto the platform while crossing one leg over the other.
- Diagonal step-ups — With this variation, you step up diagonally onto the box.
FAQs
Are hip thrusts or step-ups better?
Both hip thrusts and step-ups are effective exercises, but some research does show that step-ups are superior if you specifically want to elicit the highest activation of the glute muscles. You could always include both in your workout routine or switch up your routine with different glute-focused exercises.
How to do step-ups as a beginner?
If you’re a beginner, start with a lower step between six and 12 inches and don’t use any weights until you get familiar with this move.
How many sets and reps should you do?
It’s up to you how many sets and reps you do, but most people aim for two or three sets of 10 to 15 reps. Alternatively, you could just set a timer for 40 to 60 seconds and perform continuous step-ups before resting for 20 to 30 seconds and starting the timer again for another one or two rounds.
