Side Lunges

Work The Thighs, Hips, And Glutes While Putting More Stress On The Inner Thigh

The side lunge feels a little strange. It's kind of like a lunge and kind of like a squat.

It's a great exercise though because you can work the muscles slightly differently than normal squats and lunges but still hit the major lower body muscles.

They primarily work the quads, but you will also feel them in the hips and inner thighs.

Technique

  • Start by standing with your feet out wide and your toes pointed slightly outward at a comfortable angle.
  • Keep your head and chest up. Keep your back straight and contract your abs.
  • Lunge to the right while keeping the left leg straight.
  • Keep your weight on the heel of your lunging leg – not your toes. Don’t lean forward.
  • Lower until your right thigh is parallel with the ground. Do not let your knee extend beyond your toes and do not allow your knee to collapse inward. Keep the knee aligned with the direction the toes are pointing.
  • Press back up to the starting position squeezing the thighs and glutes.
  • Repeat with the left side.

Keep In Mind...

  • Start off slowly with these! Maybe it’s just me, but when I first tried side lunges, I felt the inner thigh of my straight leg feeling like it was being pulled like a guitar string.
  • Don’t over extend and pull a groin muscle!
  • As always with squats and lunges, keep the knee behind the toes to avoid putting a lot of stress on the knee. The idea is to work the muscles, not see how much punishment your knees can take.
  • Keep your knee aligned with the direction your toe is pointing.
  • Do not lean forward. Keep your head and chest up, and sit back with your weight on the heel of your lunging leg and not the toes.

Modifiers

  • Add a weight. For more resistance, hold a dumbbell, kettle bell, medicine ball, plate, or anything else you have handy in front of you.
  • Toe tap with the extended leg. This is tougher than you think. Tap the toe of your straight leg while you are at the bottom of the lunge.
  • From the squat position, instead of returning to the starting position, shift to the other side. Squat down with the right leg, from the bottom position, shift over to the left leg, then press up. Next start with the left side, shift over to the right, and then press up.
  • Do a plyometric version where you explode up to where you are standing tall and then immediately drop down on the other side. Keep that up for 5 minutes. Your legs will be screaming and you’ll get a great cardio workout at the same time.
  • Sliding side lunge: This is a nice variation that will put some stress on your inner thighs. Start in a standing position with the feet about shoulder width apart and the left foot on a paper plate or gliding disk. Squat down on the right leg while sliding the left leg out to the side. Follow all of the technique tips above. On the way up, press the left foot into the plate and squeeze the thigh to bring the left foot back to its original position.

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