Dumbbell Step-Up (Low)
A single leg step onto a low box while holding a dumbbell in each hand, driven by the top leg.
How to do it
- Hold a dumbbell in each hand with your arms straight at your sides.
- Stand facing a low, stable box with your feet hip width apart.
- Pull your shoulders down and back and brace your abdominals.
- Place one foot flat on the box with the knee tracking over the second toe.
- Press through that heel to stand tall on the box and bring the other foot up.
- Step back down with the trailing foot first, then the working foot, and repeat.
Key technique cue
Press through the heel of the working foot, not the back leg; lower slowly.
Common mistakes
- ✕ Pushing off the back foot to get up, which takes the work off the stepping leg.
- ✕ Driving through the toes instead of the heel, which reduces glute involvement.
- ✕ Letting the stepping knee fall inward as you rise, which stresses the joint.
- ✕ Dropping down instead of lowering, which throws away the eccentric half of the rep.
Benefits
- ✓ Trains one leg at a time through a step height beginners can control.
- ✓ Loads the quads and glutes without any spinal compression from a bar.
- ✓ Rehearses a movement pattern used on every staircase and kerb.
Progression: from easier to harder
-
Step 1 You are here - Dumbbell Step-Up (Low)
-
Step 2
About the exercise
The low dumbbell step-up trains one leg at a time through a step height that most people can control. You stand facing a low box with a dumbbell in each hand, place one foot flat on the surface, then press through that heel until the leg is fully extended and the trailing foot joins it. The quadriceps and gluteus maximus produce the movement, and driving through the heel rather than the toes keeps the glutes involved. A low box keeps the hip angle shallow, which makes it accessible to people who cannot yet control a knee height step.
Updated
Similar exercises
-
Beginner Dumbbell Goblet Forward Lunge -
Beginner Dumbbell Goblet Reverse Lunge -
Beginner Dumbbell Goblet Split Squat -
Beginner Dumbbell Lateral Lunge -
Intermediate Dumbbell Alternating Forward Lunge -
Intermediate Dumbbell Bulgarian Split Squat -
Intermediate Dumbbell Goblet Bulgarian Split Squat -
Beginner Bodyweight Reverse Lunge
A week of training and meals built for you
Workoutify plans workouts around your days, time and equipment — and a menu for your goal and macros.