Muscles worked
Your front leg does almost all the work. The glutes and quads drive you back up, helped by the inner thigh. With your back foot crossing diagonally behind, the side of your front hip is put on stretch, and the gluteus medius works hard to keep your pelvis and knee in place. That is why many choose it: it tends to give the side of the glutes more to do than an ordinary reverse lunge. Your calves and trunk work for balance.
Common mistakes
- You step too far across. The further your back foot crosses, the more your hips twist and the harder balance gets. Step only so far across that your hips still face forward.
- Your weight shifts to the back leg. Then the back leg does the work and the point is lost. Let your front foot carry most of the load, with the back foot as a support on its toes.
- The dumbbells outweigh your balance. If you wobble on every rep, balance is the limit, not your legs. Start with no weight or one dumbbell at your chest, and add load once you are steady.
Variations and alternatives
- The reverse lunge steps straight back, is more stable and can be loaded heavier.
- The Bulgarian split squat keeps your back foot on a bench, for loading one leg without stepping.
- The lateral lunge steps straight out to the side and puts more on your inner thigh.
- The cable hip abduction isolates the side of the hip without the balance challenge.
Sets and reps
Three sets of 8 to 12 reps per leg is a good standard for building muscle. You can alternate legs every rep or finish one side first. Alternating is often easier for balance, while one side at a time builds more fatigue. Rest one to two minutes between sets. The guide to sets and reps helps you pick the numbers.
Add reps before moving to heavier dumbbells, and keep the jumps small. That is progressive overload, but in a balance exercise it only counts while you stay steady on every rep. If your knee hurts, rather than your muscles feeling tired, stop the exercise and ask a doctor or physiotherapist to look at it.