Muscles worked
The walking lunge trains your quads and glutes, which do most of the work in your front leg. Your inner thighs and hamstrings help, and your calves and trunk work the whole time to keep your balance. Your grip gets trained too, from holding the dumbbells. Step length changes the emphasis. A longer step usually gives your glutes more to do, while a shorter step, where your knee travels further forward, puts more on your quads. Leaning your upper body slightly forward also gives your glutes more work.
Common mistakes
- Your back knee hits the floor. Dropping the knee hard is unpleasant and takes away control at the bottom. Lower slowly and stop just above the floor.
- Your steps are too short. With steps that are too short, your front heel lifts and your knee is pushed far forward. Take steps long enough that your whole front foot stays on the floor at the bottom.
- Your back leg does the work. Many people push off with the back foot and bounce into the next step. Drive up through your whole front foot instead, and let the back leg follow.
Variations and alternatives
- The dumbbell lunge, where you step back to the start after each rep, suits you when you have no room to walk.
- The reverse lunge, where you step backwards, is one many people find easier to balance.
- The Bulgarian split squat, with your back foot on a bench, puts more of the load on the front leg and is a step up.
- The bodyweight lunge when you train at home or want to learn the movement without weights.
Sets and reps
The walking lunge is best suited to building muscle and endurance. 8 to 12 reps per leg over 2 to 4 sets is a good starting point, and 12 to 20 per leg, or a set distance, works for endurance. Heavy strength sets of 3 to 6 reps are unusual here, as balance and grip often give out before your legs. Read more in the guide to sets and reps.
Decide whether you count reps per leg or total steps, and do it the same way every time so your numbers can be compared. If your grip gives out before your legs are tired, lifting straps can help. Add reps first and weight second, in small steps, and end each set with 1 to 3 reps in reserve. That is progressive overload in practice.