Step Ups with Barbell

Muscles worked

The prime movers are the quadriceps across the front of the thigh, which straighten the knee and, just as importantly, control it on the way back down.

Because more than one joint is moving, the work does not stay in one place: the hamstrings assist hip extension and slow the knee down; the calves control the ankle and hold the heel position; the glutes finish hip extension.

Every exercise for:QuadricepsHamstringsCalvesGlutes

How this movement works

The working muscles shorten as they drive the load away from you, and more than one joint changes angle to do it. Load spreads down a chain instead of sitting on one muscle, which is why a compound push handles more weight than any single-joint alternative — and why joint position, not the muscle, is usually what fails first.

It is filed under strength: produce force against resistance for a countable number of repetitions, and progress the resistance over time.

What you need

A barbell locks both hands to one bar, so neither side can drift and the load climbs in plate-sized steps. That makes it the simplest way to add weight and the least forgiving thing to bail out of.

Every exercise using:Barbell

These train the quadriceps too, using equipment this one does not:

• Step Ups with Dumbbellsdumbbell
• Thigh Abductormachine
• All Fours Quad Stretchbody only
• Cable Deadliftscable
• Front Squats With Two Kettlebellskettlebell

Difficulty

Listed at intermediate level. It assumes you already own the underlying pattern and can hold position under load — if the position breaks before the target muscle tires, drop back to a beginner variation until it does not.

Of the 173 quadriceps exercises in this database, 62 are listed at intermediate level.