The lateral lunge is ideal if you’re looking for a bodyweight workout that will strengthen your inner thighs and glutes. Dumbbells may transform this multipurpose technique into a strength-training routine emphasizing muscular endurance rather than balance and flexibility.
Grayson Wickham, DPT, physical therapist and creator of Movement Vault, recommends lateral lunges since most people need to engage in more side-to-side motions in their regular activities or exercises. “This causes muscle weakness and tightness, which in turn causes impaired movement and may result in injury down the road.”
The body is capable of motion in three axes, the frontal (from side to side), sagittal (from front to rear), and transverse (from rotation to rotation). Promoting muscle balance requires exercising each of these planes in your regular workouts, such as side lunges for the frontal plane.
In this article, we will discuss the lateral lunge, its advantages, proper technique, and how you can include it in your training program.
- A lateral lunge is what? The lateral lunge, or the side lunge, is a lower-body strengthening exercise that may be performed with just your body weight. The lateral lunge is a variation that involves stepping out to the side rather than forward or backward.
- Who here can perform a lateral lunge? Most people can do a version of the lateral lunge that works for them. Please consult your physician before doing this or any other activity after a recent injury or surgical procedure. According to Wickham, the most common issue with lateral lunges is when the exerciser tries to go deeper than their level of hip and ankle mobility permits. You risk damaging your meniscus and cartilage by twisting your knee and putting it in an unnatural posture.
- How can side lunges benefit the muscles? Lower body muscles, including glutes, quadriceps, calves, and hamstrings, get a good workout as you lunge. The glutes and inner thighs are the best targets for the lateral lunge. You’re also using the muscles in your core to keep you steady.
The Correct Form for Lateral Lunges
Lunge Lateral
- Keep your feet about hip-width apart and pointed forward.
- Put your hands at your side or in front of you.
- Step to the right with your right foot and shift your weight to the right foot.
- Keep your left leg straight while bending your right knee and shifting your hips back until you get a flat back.
- Always stand with the tips of your toes pointing forward.
- Put weight on your right heel to get back up on your feet.
- Alternate legs or focus on this site for all your repetitions.
- Maintain this range for two or three sets, completing 10–15 repetitions on each side.
The Lateral Lunge Has 6 Advantages
Even while regular lunges are beneficial, lateral lunges present a new challenge to your body and should be incorporated into your program.
1. Enhanced Stability and Balance
The side lunge is an excellent unilateral exercise for enhancing general balance and stability and avoiding muscular imbalances since it focuses on working just one side of the body at a time. But lateral lunges are very beneficial. Lateral lunges were more effective than forward lunges for improving ankle and knee stability in a small research published in the Journal of Sports Medicine and Physical Fitness in April 2013.
2. Knee Injury Prevention and Protection
If you suffer from a runner’s knee (pain around the patella or kneecap), arthritis, or another knee injury, you may find relief by performing lateral lunges. The lateral lunge may be preferable to the standard lunge if you have knee discomfort when bending your knee forward. The NYU Langone Medical Center reports that lateral lunges can reduce the risk of knee problems like ACL tears since they strengthen the hamstrings, glutes, and quads.
3. Work Your Glutes and Inner Thighs
“When you move and perform exercises in the frontal plane, also known as side-to-side movements, you target the muscles on the outside and inside of your joint,” Wickham explains. “Here, you’re working the gluteus medius and adductor magnus muscles of your outer and inner thighs, respectively.”
4. Be more Adaptable
The inner thighs and groin are also stretched and loosened up by making lateral lunges. Your stretched leg will experience a pleasant stretch when you step out. You’ll feel more time if you step further out (while maintaining proper shin-to-foot alignment).
5. Possibility of Performing a Dynamic Stretch
When warming up for a sport or other physical activity, lateral lunges are an excellent choice for an exercise to incorporate into a dynamic stretching program. By actively rotating the joint through its complete range of motion, dynamic stretching helps you increase flexibility and range of motion. This sort of stretching is great for pre-exercise warming up. This form of unweighted lunges may be included in your routine.
6. Suggest a Sport-Relevant Functional Exercise
The lateral lunge is a versatile exercise that may be used in various sports and hobbies. By targeting and toning the muscles you’ll need for your sport, this workout can help you become more powerful and elegant.
Alternating Lateral Lunges
You can modify lateral lunges so they’re simpler until your strength increases if you find that regular ones are too challenging. Or, if you’re up for a challenge, you may take this activity to the next level in several ways.
1. Chair Lateral Lunge
Use a chair for support if you need to until you master the moves and can do them without one.
- Place yourself in front of a chair with your hips apart and your toes pointing forward.
- The left hand should be placed on the chair.
- Extend your right leg and put your whole weight on it as you step out.
- Lunge forward on the balls of your feet by bending your right knee and bringing your hips back.
- Don’t bend your left knee.
- Stand with your feet shoulder-width apart and your toes pointing forward.
- Use your right leg as a springboard and stand up on it.
- Step out with your left leg while hanging on to the chair with your right hand, then repeat on the opposite side.
- Maintain this range for two or three sets, completing 10–15 repetitions on each side.
2. Combination of Lateral Lunge and Upright Row
Dumbbell exercises are excellent for building upper body strength because of the added resistance they provide. Start with a 3- or 5-pound dumbbell in each hand if you’re new to strength training, then work up.
- Keep your feet about hip-width apart and pointed forward as you stand tall.
- Keep your hands towards each other while you hold a pair of dumbbells.
- Extend your right leg and put your whole weight on it as you step out.
- Lunge forward on the balls of your feet by bending your right knee and bringing your hips back.
- Don’t bend your left knee.
- Stand with your feet shoulder-width apart and your toes pointing forward.
- Raise both weights to your upper arms, keeping your elbows slightly bent.
- Could you bring them back to the initial position?
- Use your right leg as a springboard and stand up on it.
- Iterate on the reverse side.
- Maintain this range for two or three sets, completing 10–15 repetitions on each side.
3. Lunge with Lateral Bands
If you want to push your glutes more, using a resistance band is a fantastic method.
- Wrap an elastic resistance band around your lower legs, a few inches above the ankles.
- Put your hands at your side or in front of you.
- Extend your right leg and put your whole weight on it as you step out.
- Lunge forward while bending your right knee and bringing your hips back.
- Don’t bend your left knee.
- Stand with your feet shoulder-width apart and your toes pointing forward.
- Use your right leg as a springboard and stand up on it.
- Iterate on the reverse side.
- Maintain this range for two or three sets, completing 10–15 repetitions on each side.
4. Lateral Pulses in the Lungs
Muscles can be more challenged, and the intensity of an activity increases by using pulses. This is useful if you can’t access things like dumbbells or resistance bands. The resistance of the equipment can be increased by including the vibrations in their use.
- Keep your feet about hip-width apart and pointed forward as you stand tall.
- Put your hands at your side or in front of you.
- Extend your right leg and put your whole weight on it as you step out.
- Lunge forward on the balls of your feet by bending your right knee and bringing your hips back.
- Don’t bend your left knee.
- Do three sets of the “pulse” or bend your right leg.
- Use your right leg as a springboard and stand up on it.
- Iterate on the reverse side.
- Maintain this range for two or three sets, completing 10–15 repetitions on each side.
Exercising the Sides of the Body with Lateral Lunges
You may incorporate lateral lunges into your workout routine because of their adaptability. However, your fitness objectives and demands should be taken into account.
You may include lateral lunges in your routine if you’re trying to build muscle. The American Council on Exercise (ACE) suggests tailoring your workout’s sets, repetitions, and weight to your needs. Bodyweight or mild to moderate weight can be used for this workout to help you increase endurance. Do two to four sets of 12 to 15 repetitions.
Use a higher weight and complete 6-12 repetitions over 2-6 sets to bulk out. The final sets are always the most challenging. If they need to be balanced, try using more of them.
High-intensity interval training (HIIT) circuits often contain lateral lunges and other exercises, including burpees, bicycle crunches, and squats.
Finally, lateral lunges can be used as a dynamic stretch in a pre-exercise or pre-game warmup. Dynamic stretches also include knees-to-chest, arm circles, and high steps.
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