Lateral Lunge
A sideways lunge that strengthens the legs and hips in the frontal plane — movement running never trains but injury-resilience depends on.
Also called: side lunge
Illustrations: Exercise data by RepDB (repdb.co)
Setup
Stand tall with feet together and room to step sideways.
How to do the Lateral Lunge
- Step wide to one side and sit the hips back over that foot.
- The stepping knee bends; the trailing leg stays straight with the foot flat.
- Chest up, both feet pointing forward.
- Push off the bent leg to return to standing.
Lateral Lunge muscles worked
The Lateral Lunge works the glutes, adductors and quads.
Common Lateral Lunge mistakes
- Knee diving forward past the toes instead of hips sitting back.
- Trailing foot rolling or lifting.
- Rounding the back to reach the floor.
Scale it
Easier: Reduce the step width and depth.
Harder: Hold a dumbbell at the chest (goblet position).
Pairs well with
Air Squat
The unloaded squat — the foundational lower-body pattern, used for warm-ups, circuits, and building movement quality.
Back Squat
The barbell squat — the heaviest-loadable lower-body strength lift, building quads, glutes, and trunk strength together.
Box Jump
An explosive two-foot jump onto a box with a soft landing — leg power and landing mechanics for stronger, springier strides.
Eccentric Step-Down
A slow-lowering step-down that emphasizes the eccentric phase — builds knee control and quad strength for downhill running.