Forward Lunge
Lunge, bodyweight, quadriceps and glutes
The forward lunge is a long step forward into a split stance, lowering the back knee toward the floor and pushing back to standing. It trains the quadriceps and glutes of the front leg, with the hamstrings and adductors helping, and it asks for balance. It suits most people as a first single leg exercise, with body weight before dumbbells.
Setting up
- Stand tall with the feet about hip width apart and the hands on the hips or by the sides.
- Pick a spot on the floor a long stride ahead for the front foot.
- Keep the feet on two separate tracks, hip width apart, rather than in one line.
- Begin with body weight only until each step lands the same way.
How to do a forward lunge
- Take a long step forward and land with the whole front foot.
- Lower the back knee straight down toward the floor, chest tall.
- Stop when the back knee is just above the floor and the front knee is over the middle of the foot.
- Push through the front foot to step back to standing.
- Switch legs, or finish all the reps on one side first.
Breathing. Breathe in as you step and lower, and breathe out as you push back up.
Muscles worked
- Mainly
- Quadriceps and glutes
- Also
- Adductors and hamstrings
Common mistakes
- Feet in one line like a tightrope, so you wobble. It narrows your base, so land the front foot on its own track, hip width from the back one.
- Front heel lifting off the floor. Then the knee takes the strain, so take a longer step and push through the whole foot.
- Front knee caving in. It twists under load, so keep the knee over the middle of the foot and lunge less deep until it stays there.
- Leaning the chest far forward. It tips you off balance and onto the front knee, so keep the chest tall and drop straight down.
Easier and harder
- Easier
- Reverse Lunge, Split Squat
- Harder
- Walking Lunge, Dumbbell Forward Lunge
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