This exercise puts three movements together. You step up onto a low step with one leg, press a light weight in each hand overhead as you rise, then drive the other knee up in front of you and hold your balance for a few seconds before stepping back down. The leg on the step does the lifting and your shoulders do the pressing. Meanwhile your trunk has to keep you steady on one leg. Physios add it late in strength or balance programs, once a plain step-up is easy.

How to do the step-up with knee drive and press

Stand facing a low, sturdy step with a light dumbbell in each hand. Bend your elbows so the weights sit just in front of your shoulders.
Put your first foot flat on the step, heel and all.
Push through that foot to step up, keeping the knee traveling straight forward over your toes. As you rise, press both weights straight up toward the ceiling.
At the top, bring your other knee up in front of you to about hip height and hold your balance there for a few seconds with your arms still overhead. Look straight ahead and keep your stomach muscles firm.
Lower the weights back to your shoulders and step the lifted foot back down to the floor with control, leaving the first foot on the step.
Repeat on the same leg for the set, then switch sides.

What you should feel

Work in the thigh and buttock of the leg on the step, and at the front of the hip that lifts. The shoulders and the backs of your arms join in as you press. Expect the ankle and hip you stand on to work hard just to keep you balanced.

Common mistakes

Using weights so heavy that your lower back arches as the arms go up.
Springing off the floor foot instead of pushing through the leg on the step.
The knee on the step drifting inward as you rise.
Rushing the knee drive so you wobble, or dropping back down to the floor.

How often

Many programs start with 2 to 3 sets of 6 to 10 on each leg, 2 or 3 times a week, with light weights or none at all. Your physio will adjust this.

Stop and check with your physio if

Sharp knee or hip pain, or the working knee buckles under you.
A sharp or catching pain in the shoulder as the weights go overhead.
You lose your balance at the top or feel close to falling. Put the lifted foot down, step off and rest.
Chest pain or pressure, dizziness or feeling faint, a racing or irregular heartbeat, or being far more out of breath than the effort should cause.
You feel dizzy, lightheaded, faint or sick, or the room seems to spin. Stop, sit down and get medical advice the same day before you exercise again. If you faint, it does not settle within a few minutes of sitting still, your vision suddenly blurs or goes double, or you cannot stand or walk steadily, call emergency services.

From the clinic

Learn the plain step up first, then add the knee drive, and only then the weights. The woman in the video has nothing to hold, but when you start, use a step next to a wall or stair rail and practice the knee drive with one hand on it. Add the weights only once you can hold the balance at the top without touching it. Any recent fall, osteoporosis or unsteady balance means leaving out the weights and the press for now, and keeping a hand on the support until you can balance at the top without holding on. An ache at the front of the knee is a sign to use a lower step, and after knee surgery ask your physio when this version is right for you.

Pressing weights overhead does not suit every shoulder. If lifting your arm is painful, you cannot raise it fully, or you have had a shoulder dislocation or shoulder surgery, check with your physio first, and do the step-up and knee drive with your hands on your hips instead. If you have had a hip replacement, get the go-ahead from your surgeon or physio before you try this exercise. Driving the knee up brings that hip to a right angle or beyond while the other leg holds your weight on the step, and many surgeons ask you to avoid that for the first months after some operations.

With a heart condition or high blood pressure, check with your doctor before you start. If you have high blood pressure, breathe steadily through every repetition and never hold your breath. If chest pain, pressure or tightness does not ease quickly when you rest, spreads to your arm, neck, jaw, stomach or back, or comes with sweating, feeling sick, feeling light-headed or being short of breath, call emergency services straight away, as this can be a heart attack. If it eases quickly and none of these happen, get medical advice the same day, and do not exercise again until you have been checked.

Written and checked by the PocketPhysio editorial team. Last updated 2026-09-26.

This page is general education, not a diagnosis or a personal treatment plan. If you have pain, an injury or a health condition, see a physiotherapist or doctor before starting new exercises.

Step-up with knee drive and press