Lunges · Bodyweight
How to do more lunges
How to lunge without your knee complaining, the ladder from a split squat to the walking and jumping versions, and how often to train them.
The movement
How to do one properly.
Every rep the same shape, so the numbers mean the same thing on day thirty as on day one.
- 1
Stand tall, hands on your hips, and take a long step forward.
- 2
Lower straight down until the back knee is a fist off the floor and the front shin is upright.
- 3
Keep your chest up and your front heel down.
- 4
Push through the front foot to stand back up.
- 5
Alternate legs. One lunge is one leg; count them that way.
The way up
How to do more lunges
Rung 1
Split squat
Feet already apart, lower and rise without stepping. Learn the depth standing still.
Rung 2
Reverse lunge
Step back instead of forward. Easier on the knee, same muscles.
Rung 3
Forward lunge
The standard. Step, lower, drive back to standing.
Rung 4
Walking lunge
Step through instead of back. Twenty steps down a corridor is a set.
Rung 5
Jumping or weighted
Switch legs in the air, or hold a pair of dumbbells. Either one restarts the count.
Lunges answer to volume: three or four sets of ten to twenty a leg, three times a week, adding two a leg each week.
Soreness is worse than with squats because of the stretch on the back leg. Start lower than you think and add from there; a week you cannot walk down stairs is a week you lose.
How it is counted
On the board, however it got there.
No watch counts lunges, so nobody's does. Say it out loud in the app or type it in, and it lands the same as a synced session.
Questions
Asked about lunges
My front knee hurts when I lunge.
Take a longer step so the shin stays upright, keep the heel down, and switch to reverse lunges for a few weeks. Most lunge knees are a short step, not a bad knee.
How are lunges counted?
One rep is one leg. Twenty lunges is ten each side. Log the total.
Does it count from my watch?
No watch counts lunges, so nobody's does. Say it out loud in the app or type it in, and it lands the same as a synced session.
Is it free?
Yes. The athlete app is free: logging, challenges and every guide on this site. Coaches pay for their workspace; the people they coach do not.
Other exercises
Everything else we count.
Push up
How to do more push ups
Pull up
How to do more pull ups
Squat
How to do more squats
Plank
How to hold a plank longer
Sit up
How to do more sit ups
Dip
How to do more dips
Burpees
How to do more burpees
Jumping jacks
How to do more jumping jacks
Skipping
How to skip rope longer
Extensions
How to do more back extensions
Battle ropes
How to last longer on battle ropes
Running
How to run further
Cycling
How to ride further
Swimming
How to swim further
Rowing
How to row further
Steps
How to walk more steps every day
Hiking
How to hike further
Football
How to get fitter for football
Basketball
How to get fitter for basketball
Tennis
How to get fitter for tennis
Dancing
How to build stamina for dancing
Yoga
How to make yoga a daily habit
Do more lunges.
Let someone see it.
Get the app, log what you did or let your watch send it, and hand your friends the code.