Every person that has worked out at one point in their life has heard of a lunge. It is one of the foundational movements we all learn when first beginning our fitness journeys. They are great at building a solid foundation for our bodies while working on strengthening our legs and glutes. But did you know that there is a variation of the lunge that actually works the glutes harder? If you are looking for an exercise to target those glutes, then keep reading.
The Reverse Lunge
Compared to a classic lunge aka a forward lunge, your quads do more of the work. Whereas, the reverse lunge tends to challenge your glutes a little more due to you not really using any muscles in the front of the leg to push your back leg back to the starting position. In a regular lunge, you are stepping your forward foot back instead which is a more quad-dominated movement. The focus is mostly on the back of the legs.
What is even better is that reverse lunges tend to be easier to execute and they are easier on your knees. Win-win.
How to do a Reverse Lunge
- Start in a standing position with your feet right under your hips in a natural stance. Step your left leg a couple feet behind you.
- Bend your front leg allowing your back knee to drop towards the ground. Keep your chest lifted.
- If you can, lower your knee down until it touches the ground.
- Press through your front heel to raise your body back up to starting position. Try not to lean forward while doing so. Place your back foot next to your front foot back in your standing starting position.
- Complete the same movement but this time with your other foot stepping back.
- That’s one rep on each leg.
- Try for 10 repitions on each leg.
Tip: Exhale as you step back and lower your knee, and inhale on the way back up.
Want to make it more challenging, add some dumbbells to the exercise. You can do this by holding dumbbells by your side, holding them in a front rack position, or holding one dumbbell overhead. Additionally, to add the most weight you can add a barbell to the lunge and place it in a back rack position.
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