Barbell Lunge
Trains the Quads.
- Equipment
- A barbell and a rack
- Mechanic
- Compound
- Force
- Push
- Level
- Intermediate
How to do it
- Set a bar in a rack at roughly mid-chest height and rest it across your upper back as for a squat.
- Unrack it and step back clear of the rack, feet hip-width apart.
- Brace your stomach and keep your torso upright.
- Take a long step forward, landing on the whole foot.
- Lower straight down until the back knee is just above the floor, keeping the front shin roughly vertical.
- Drive back up through the front heel and step back to the start, then repeat with the other leg.
Common mistakes
- Underestimating the balance demand. A bar on the back is much less forgiving than dumbbells at the sides, because there is no way to put it down mid-repetition. Start lighter than a dumbbell lunge.
- Stepping too short, which pushes the front knee forward and shortens the back leg's range.
- Leaning forward under the bar. If the torso tips, the load moves to the lower back and the front leg does less.
- Doing them at the start of a leg session. Balance degrades with fatigue, and a barbell lunge is the wrong movement to be fighting for balance in.