Upper legs
Side Lunge
A lunge out to the side: it trains your legs in another plane and adds inner thighs and hip mobility.
Also known as: lateral lunge
- Level
- Intermediate
- Equipment
- Bodyweight
- Type
- Compound
Muscles worked
How to do it
- Stand with your feet together and take a wide step out to one side.
- Push your hips back and bend that knee, keeping the other leg straight.
- Lower until you feel a stretch in the inner thigh of the straight leg.
- Push off the bent leg to return to the centre.
Form cues
- Both feet point forward and stay flat.
- Your hips travel back, like a squat.
- Chest up.
Common mistakes
- Knee shooting forward over your toes: send your hips back.
- Heel lifting on the bent leg: spread your weight across the foot.
- Bending the straight leg: keep it straight to stretch the adductor.
Sets and reps
3 sets of 8-12 reps per side with 60-90 seconds of rest.
FAQ
What does the side lunge work?
Quads and glutes of the bent leg and the adductors of both legs.
Is it good as a warm-up?
Yes, without weight it's a great hip mobility drill.
How should I load it?
With a dumbbell or kettlebell at your chest, like a goblet squat.
What muscles do the side lunge work?
They mainly work the glutes and the quads, with help from the glute medius, the hamstrings and the hip flexors.
Train with Nuvana
Add the side lunge to your next workout
Log your sets and weights, and see how each muscle progresses in the app.
