Lunge Form

Check your lunge with your phone

RepSensei has a detailed lunge check. Prop up your phone and it counts your reps and flags these issues as you move:

• Not deep enough
• Leaning forward

Prop your phone at hip height. Stand side-on, about 2 to 3 metres away, with room to step forward. The lunge check is newer and has had less testing on real movement, so expect more misses. It sees one angle, so it won't catch everything.

How to do it

1. Stand tall with feet hip width apart, holding dumbbells at your sides or with hands on your hips.
2. Take a long step forward, landing heel first, keeping your feet hip width apart as if on train tracks, not a tightrope.
3. Lower straight down until your back knee hovers just above the floor and both knees are bent to about 90 degrees.
4. Keep your torso upright and your front knee tracking over your middle toes.
5. Push through the front foot to return to standing, then switch legs or repeat on the same side.

Coaching cues

Train tracks, not a tightrope

Keeping the feet hip width apart sideways gives you a wider, steadier base.

Drop the back knee

Thinking down rather than forward keeps the weight between both feet.

Push through the front heel

It gets the glutes working and stops you rocking onto your toes.

Common mistakes and how to fix them

Step too short

A short step pushes the front knee far forward and lifts the heel. Fix: Take a longer step so both knees reach about 90 degrees at the bottom.

Front knee caving in

Weak hip control lets the knee drift towards the midline. Fix: Slow down, use less weight, and keep the knee in line with the middle toes.

Feet in line

Stepping onto the same line as the back foot narrows the base and causes wobbles. Fix: Step forward along your own track, hip width apart.

Leaning forward

Folding at the hips turns it into a hinge and loses the quad work. Fix: Keep your chest up and shoulders over hips.

Banging the back knee down

Dropping too fast loses control and can bruise the knee. Fix: Lower under control and stop just above the floor.

Muscles worked

Main: Quads, Glutes. Also: Hamstrings, Inner thighs, Calves.

Who should take care

If forward lunges hurt your knees, try reverse lunges or split squats, which are often more comfortable. Pain that does not settle is a reason to see a doctor or physiotherapist.

Variations

• Split Squat with Dumbbells: Harder: rear foot raised on a bench, as a Bulgarian split squat.
• Dumbbell Rear Lunge: Easier on the knees: stepping back keeps the shin more upright.
• Bodyweight Walking Lunge: Home option: walking lunges with no kit.
• Barbell Lunge: Harder: a bar on the back allows more load.

Filming your lunge

Prop the phone side-on at hip height, two to three metres away, so both feet and your full body stay in frame. RepSensei has a detailed camera check for lunges that counts reps and flags some visible issues from that one angle; it cannot see everything. See how to film your form.

Questions

Can my front knee go past my toes?

A little is fine for most people. What matters is that the heel stays down and the knee tracks over the toes.

Forward or reverse lunges?

Reverse lunges are usually easier to balance and kinder to the knees. Forward lunges add more deceleration work.

Should I alternate legs?

Either works. Doing all reps on one side first makes it easier to focus and compare sides.

See the Dumbbell Lunges exercise guide with a 3D figure.

More form guides

• Squat form
• Deadlift form
• Romanian Deadlift form
• Hip Thrust form
• Bulgarian Split Squat form

General guidance, not medical advice. Stop if anything hurts. The camera can miss things, so no issue seen doesn't mean perfect form.