Weighted Step-Up

3 × 8/side to a tall box, drive through the top foot, no push-off.

Difficulty 3 of 56.2 METs · Vigorous

Equipment

Dumbbells
Box or step

Muscle groups worked

Glutes
Hip flexors
Calves

What it buys you

Builds the one-leg drive behind standing transitions and lifts from a seated or kneeling start.

Capacity trained

Strength. Posterior chain and trunk endurance under load. Holds position without fatigue or compensation.

Train it · Two Bodies Test your limiter

Energy

Modelled kilocalories

Modelled energy cost for Weighted Step-Up at 10, 20, 30 and 45 minutes for both reference bodies
Reference body	10 min	20 min	30 min	45 min
Male reference · 82 kg	89 kcal	178 kcal	267 kcal	400 kcal
Female reference · 68 kg	74 kcal	148 kcal	221 kcal	332 kcal

Energy figures are modelled from standard activity MET values (Ainsworth Compendium, 2011) and the ACSM equation, not measured on you. They scale linearly with your own body mass, so a body 10% heavier burns about 10% more at the same intensity.

kcal = METs × 3.5 × bodyweight(kg) ÷ 200 × minutes (ACSM)

Load is effort, not pain. If a movement hurts rather than works, stop and see a clinician. Lifting another person is strength training with a person-shaped load — build the pattern unloaded first.

Cross-reference

Positions this workout helps · 33

It serves Standing, Kneeling and Lifted / Carried. Every position in those families is listed below, hardest first.

Honest framing

Training makes a posture available and sustainable. It is capability work, not a treatment for anything, and no single session changes a number. Consistency over eight weeks does.