Barbell Step-Up
Trains the Quads.
- Equipment
- A barbell, a box and a rack
- Mechanic
- Compound
- Force
- Push
- Level
- Intermediate
How to do it
- Set a box at a height that puts your thigh roughly parallel to the floor when your foot is on it.
- Rack a barbell across your upper back and step away from the rack.
- Place one whole foot on the box, heel on rather than hanging off.
- Drive through that foot to stand up on the box, keeping the other foot passive.
- Step back down under control on the same side, landing softly.
- Finish the repetitions on that leg before swapping, and rack the bar between sides if you need to.
Common mistakes
- Pushing off the bottom foot. That is a hop with a bar on your back, and the leg being trained is the one on the box.
- Choosing a box height that needs a lunge upward to reach. Under a bar, a box that is too high turns the step into a scramble at the point where the load is furthest from the floor.
- Stepping down and immediately up again. The lowering half is the repetition's second half; controlling it is what makes step-ups worth doing and what makes them sore.
- Rushing the last repetitions of a side. Fatigue on a single leg under a bar shows up as the knee falling inward, and that is the point to end the set rather than the point to push through.