Exercise library
Lunge
Forward, reverse and walking lunges compared, the torso angle that shifts work between quads and glutes, and the balance fix that makes them usable.
How to do the lunge
- 01Stand tall with feet hip-width. If you are holding dumbbells, let them hang at your sides.
- 02Step backwards with one leg, landing on the ball of that foot. Reverse lunges are easier to control than forward ones.
- 03Lower until both knees are at roughly 90 degrees and the back knee is just above the floor.
- 04Keep your torso upright and your weight through the middle of the front foot.
- 05Drive through the front heel to return to standing, then repeat on the other side.
Coaching cues
- Step back, not down. Thinking 'down' collapses the front knee forward.
- Front shin roughly vertical for glutes; let it travel forward for more quad.
- Look at a fixed point ahead — balance is a vision problem as much as a strength one.
Common mistakes
FaultFront knee caving inward
FixWeak hip abduction or too much load. Think about pushing the front knee out over the middle toe and drop the weight until it stays there.
FaultTorso pitching forward
FixUsually the step was too short. Lengthen the stride and keep the chest tall — forward lean shifts the work off the quads and onto the lower back.
FaultBack knee slamming into the floor
FixLower under control and stop an inch short. If you cannot, the range is currently beyond you.
FaultWobbling every rep
FixWiden the stance slightly side to side. Lunging on a tightrope is a balance drill, not a leg exercise.
The lunge is a single-leg squat with a kickstand. That framing settles most of the arguments about it, because it makes clear that the front leg is doing the work and the back leg is there for balance.
Reverse first
Forward lunges ask you to step out and then arrest your body weight with a leg that is still finding the floor. It is a deceleration exercise, and it is where most knee complaints come from.
Reverse lunges reverse that. You step back into a position you can feel, then lower into it under control, and the front foot never leaves the ground. Same muscles, considerably more control, and far easier to load with dumbbells.
Walking lunges sit in between and are best kept for when the pattern is solid.
Torso angle selects the muscle
Stay upright with a fairly vertical front shin and the glutes take more of the work. Let the torso incline slightly forward and the shin travel further over the foot, and the quads take more.
Neither is wrong. Both are useful. But it is worth choosing deliberately rather than drifting into whichever your fatigue produces at rep eight.
Fixing the wobble
Almost everyone sets up with both feet on a single line, which is a balance beam. Move the rear foot a few inches out to the side so you have a base of support with some width to it.
The exercise immediately gets easier without getting less effective, because the thing that was limiting you was frontal-plane stability rather than leg strength.
Loading them
Dumbbells at your sides are the simplest option and the easiest to bail out of. A goblet-held weight raises the core demand and keeps you more upright. A barbell on the back allows the most load but the least margin for error.
Progress by adding reps before adding weight — the single-leg position is stability-limited long before it is strength-limited.
Common questions
What muscles do lunges work?
Mostly the quadriceps and glutes of the front leg, with the hamstrings and adductors assisting and the core working to keep you upright. The rear leg contributes far less than people assume — it is mainly a kickstand.
Are reverse or forward lunges better?
Reverse lunges are easier on the knees and easier to control, because you are stepping into a stable position rather than decelerating into one. Forward lunges demand more braking and are harder to load safely. Start with reverse.
Should my knee go past my toes in a lunge?
It can, and for most people it should. Letting the front shin travel forward increases the quad demand and is not inherently harmful to a healthy knee. Keeping the shin vertical shifts the emphasis toward the glutes. Choose based on what you are training.
Why do I lose balance during lunges?
Usually because your feet are on the same line, as if on a tightrope. Widen your stance side to side by a few inches — it costs nothing and removes most of the wobble. Fixing your eyes on a point ahead helps too.
How many lunges should I do?
Three sets of eight to twelve per leg is a sensible default. Because it is a single-leg movement, count reps per side and expect the second side to feel harder — that asymmetry is normal and worth training rather than avoiding.
Swap it out
Same training effect, different demand on the joints.