8 Lunge Variations – How to Do a Lunge – Illustrated Guide

The lunge is a simple but effective movement you can use to build lower body strength and stability. Lunges work your hips, glutes, quads, hamstrings and the inner adductors in your thighs.

Being a simple movement, there are many lunge variations that can you perform with your body weight, dumbbells, barbells or kettlebells. In this guide, we explore 8 of the most popular lunge variations.

Jump to

• Dumbbell lunges
• Reverse lunges
• Barbell lunges
• Dumbbell walking lunges
• Reverse lunge shoulder press
• Lateral lunges
• Side lunge to curtsy lunge
• Lunge twists

Lunges vs other lower body exercises

There are many exercises to choose from to target your lower body. Squats, leg presses and step-ups all target your quads, hamstrings and glutes. But how do lunges compare to these exercises?

• Lunges vs squats - The squat is an excellent lower body exercise. Like lunges, it also targets your quads and glutes, but the squat is less effective at working your hamstrings. This means that lunges allow for a more balanced development of your lower body. Lunges may also be safer than squats since they place less stress on your lower back. This is particularly true if you have back problems or if you perform the exercise with poor form.

• Lunges vs leg press - Leg presses are a machine-based exercise that target similar muscles. However, the leg press isolates specific muscles while neglecting others, and they don't engage your core. This does allow you to lift a heavier weight, but it does come with a disadvantage. Lunges are a compound exercise that engages multiple muscle groups, including your core, so it is more functional exercise that may improve your perform in everyday workouts and activities.

• Lunges vs step-ups - You perform step-ups by stepping onto a raised platform, leading with one foot and then bringing your other foot up to meet it. This exercise primarily targets your quads, but also works your glutes and hamstrings. Step-ups are a good, low-impact alternative to lunges. But, they do not provide the same level of intensity or muscle engagement compared to lunges. Lunges have a greater range of motion, with leads to increased muscle activation and better strength and size gains.

Muscles

Quads

Your quads (quadriceps) are the muscles at the front of your thighs. Their function is to straighten your knee from the bent position, and they help stabilize your knee joint. Your quads help in exercises like climbing, walking, running and jumping.

Your quads are made up of four separate muscles - vastus lateralis, vastus medialis, vastus intermedius and rectus femoris. Each of these muscles originates from a different point on your femur and hip, and connect into a quadriceps tendon that attaches to your knee cap.

All lunges work your quads as a primary muscle, but reverse lunges and walking lunges will put even more emphasis on your quads.

Hamstrings

Your hamstrings are made up of three muscles – the biceps femoris, the semitendinosus and the semimembranosus. Together, these muscles allow your leg to bend about the knee and assist in hip extension. Strong hamstrings are beneficial in everyday activities like walking, running and jumping.

If you want to emphasize your hamstrings while doing a lunge, you can take a bigger step forwards and lean your torso forwards.

Glutes

Your glutes are made up of three muscles in your buttock. They produce hip extension (moving your leg back), rotation and hip abduction (moving your leg out to the side), as well as provide stability to your upper body when you stand. Your glutes are key muscles in propelling your body forwards, jumping and heavy lifting.

All lunges target your glutes. If you're not feeling the movement in your glutes, double down on the proper form. Ensure your shins are vertical and that you are distributing enough weight through your extended foot.

Because your glutes are made up of three separate muscles, performing curtsy lunges or lateral lunges can help ensure your glutes are getting full engagement.

Calves

Your calf muscles are in turn made up of the gastrocnemius and soleus muscles. These muscles are essential in walking, running and jumping and provide balance and stability. When you take the tiptoe position, your calf muscles contract to pull up your heels (pointing your foot downwards, i.e. plantar flexion), shifting your bodyweight onto the ball of your foot.

All lunges variations will engage your calves, but lunges as an exercise do not specifically target your calves. So make sure you're adding some calf raises to your workout routine, too!

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Dumbbell lunges

Lunges can help strengthen your lower body, including your quads, hamstrings and glutes. They also help improve your balance, coordination and core strength.

Lunges are suitable for everyone, whether you are a gym newbie or an advanced trainee. You can easily adjust the weight to make the lunge easier or more challenging. If you have knee or hip issues, or any other relevant medical condition, you should consult a doctor before you add lunges to your workout routine.

Lunges make a great addition to your leg day or full body workout routine. Since lunges need no or minimal equipment, it's a great exercise to do when following an at-home workout plan.

How to do

1. Stand tall, holding a dumbbell in each hand. Your feet should be hip-width apart.
2. Step forward with your right foot, lowering your body until your right knee is bent at a 90 degree angle. At the bottom of the lunge, your left knee should be just above the floor. Ensure your torso remains upright and keep your core engaged.
3. Finally, push off with your right foot to return to the starting position.
4. Repeat for the other leg and the desired number of reps.

Sets and reps

In most workout routines, 3-4 sets of 8-12 reps is a good place to start. This is an ideal range to build strength and endurance in your lower body, as well as promoting muscle growth.

Start with a lower weight that is suitable for your current fitness level. As you build strength, you can increase the weight of the dumbbells to make the exercise more challenging.

You can also progress by increase the number of sets or reps.

Reverse lunges

In the forward lunge, you take a step forwards, which can place additional stress on your extended knee. The reverse lunge sees you take a step backwards instead. This not only reduces the stress on your knee, but it also demands less balance and core ability compared to the forward lunge.

Reverse lunges put more emphasis on your hamstrings and glutes, whereas forward lunges emphasize your quads.

For these reasons, reverse lunges are a good choice if you want to put more emphasize on your hamstrings or you are simply looking for an exercise that is easier to perform. You also add both variations to your workout routine.

How to do

1. Stand tall, holding a dumbbell in each hand. Your feet should be hip-width apart.
2. Take a step back with your right foot, lowering your body until your left knee is bent at a 90 degree angle. At the bottom of the lunge, your right knee should be just above the floor. Ensure your torso remains upright and keep your core engaged.
3. Finally, push off with your left heel to return to the starting position.
4. Repeat for the other leg and the desired number of reps.

Barbell lunges

In the barbell lunge, the weight is placed on your shoulders. This demands more engagement from your upper body and core, but provides less range of motion compared to dumbbell lunges.

Apart from the difference in equipment, both barbell lunges and dumbbell target the same muscles with similar efficiency. So the choice to use a barbell is more one of personal preference.

How to do

1. Stand tall with your feet hip-width apart. A barbell is placed on your shoulders behind your neck. Ensure you have a firm grip and the bar is stable.
2. Step forward with your right foot, lowering your body until your right knee is bent at a 90 degree angle. At the bottom of the lunge, your left knee should be just above the floor. Ensure your torso remains upright and keep your core engaged.
3. Finally, push off with your right foot to return to the starting position.
4. Repeat for the other leg and the desired number of reps.

Dumbbell walking lunges

In walking lunges, you step forward into the lunge, then bring your back foot forward to step into the next lunge. Essentially, you are "walking forwards" rather than returning back to the starting position. This adds an additional challenge in terms of balance and coordination.

How to do

1. Stand tall, holding a dumbbell in each hand. Your feet should be hip-width apart.
2. Step forward with your right foot, lowering your body until your right knee is bent at a 90 degree angle. At the bottom of the lunge, your left knee should be just above the floor. Ensure your torso remains upright and keep your core engaged.
3. Finally, push off with your right foot. At the same time, bring your left foot forwards to move into the next lunch.
4. Immediately begin the next lunge with your other leg.
5. Repeat for the desired number of reps.

Reverse lunge shoulder press

In this variation, you combine the reverse lunge with the shoulder press, an upper body movement. This turns the exercise into a full body exercise, providing a workout for your triceps and deltoids, too.

How to do

1. Stand tall, holding a dumbbell in each hand at shoulder level. Your palms should be facing forwards.
2. Step back with your right foot, dropping your knee towards the ground in the reverse lunge movement. Keep your left knee above your ankle.
3. As you descent into the lunge, press the weights overhead until your arms are fully extended.
4. Finally, lower the weights back to shoulder level as you push through your left foot to return to the standing position.
5. Repeat for your other leg and the desired number of reps.

Lateral lunges

Traditional lunges focus on a forward or backward movement, which targets your quadriceps muscles. Lateral lunges are a side-to-side movement that helps target your inner and outer thighs. These muscles are known as your adductors and abductors, and it's easy to miss them out in a workout routine.

Lateral lunges are a great way to build lower body strength, as well as improve your hip flexibility. If you play sports, the lateral lunge is a very functional movement that might improve your performance.

How to do

1. Stand tall with your feet hip-width apart.
2. Step out to the right, keeping your leg straight and your toes pointed straight ahead as you plant your foot back on the floor.
3. At the same time, shift your body weight towards your left leg, bending at your knee and dropping your torso into the lateral lunge position.
4. Finally, push off your right foot to return to the starting position.
5. Repeat the lunge on the other side of your body, and for the desired number of reps.

Side lunge to curtsy lunge

The side lunge to curtsy lunge exercise involves a more complex movement. It features both a lateral and a diagonal movement, which is more challenging and works your leg muscles from a different angle. This variation also demands a great deal of balance and coordination skill.

How to do

1. Stand tall with your feet hip-width apart.
2. Step out to the left and bend your right knee into a side lunge. Keep your left leg straight as you do this.
3. Push off your right foot to exit the side lunge.
4. Then immediately cross your right leg behind your left and lower into a curtsy lunge.
5. Finally, push through your left hell to return to the starting position.
6. Repeat for the other side of your body and the desired number of reps.

Lunge twists

Lunge twists add a rotational element to the exercise that brings your core and obliques into play. This twist makes the exercise more challenging.

The lunge twist is a great exercise to improve your lower body strength, enhance your core stability as well as improve your torso's rotational mobility. This is beneficial for various sports and everyday activities.

How to do

1. Stand with your feet hip-width apart.
2. Take a step forwards with your right foot and lower into a lunge. Keep your front knee aligned with your ankle.
3. As you descend, twist your torso to the right.
4. At the same time, extend your arms out to your sides to maintain balance. Keep your spine straight and your core engaged.
5. Twist back to the neutral position, as you push off your right foot to return to the starting position.
6. Repeat for the other side and the desired number of reps.

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Tips

Speed up or slow down

You can also modify this exercise by simply changing the speed as which you lunge. Faster lunges have a great cardio benefit and really get your heart pumping.

Slower lunges, while using weighted dumbbells, are a great way to build strength. Doing the exercise in a slow, controlled way will increase the time your muscles are under tension. This will make the exercise more effective overall.

Focus on the correct posture

Keep your upper body straight, your shoulders back and relaxed and your chin up. If it helps, pick a point to look at as you lunge to keep your height straight.

Ensure that your front knee is directly above your ankle and not pushed out too far. Overextending your knee can lead to knee injuries, such as sprains and strains. This tip also ensures that the exercise effectively targets the leg muscles without putting unnecessary strain on the joints.

The correct posture ensures the right muscles are targeted and reduces the risk of injury. In lunges, this helps you target your quadriceps, hamstrings and glutes effectively.

Keep the weight balanced

Don't let either your body weight or the dumbbell weight shift to one side. It's easy to lose balance as you step into the lunge.

By keeping balanced, you are ensuring that all muscles being targeted get their fair share of the weight being lifted.

If you find it difficult to maintain balance throughout the movement, consider using a lighter weight.