Deficit Reverse Lunge
Trains the Quads.
- Equipment
- A barbell, a rack and either a box or a weight plate
- Mechanic
- Compound
- Force
- Push
- Level
- Intermediate
How to do it
- Set a low platform or a stack of plates, two to six inches high.
- Rack a barbell across your upper back and stand on the platform with both feet.
- Step backward off the platform with one leg.
- Lower until the back knee approaches the floor — further than a flat-ground lunge because the front foot is raised.
- Keep the torso upright and the front heel down.
- Drive through the front foot to step back up onto the platform.
Common mistakes
- Setting the platform too high. The deficit exists to add range at the front hip; past the point where the back knee reaches the floor, the height adds nothing but a longer step to find.
- Stepping backward without looking. The floor is lower than the foot expects and the bar is on your back, which makes a missed step a bad one — the step is rehearsed unloaded first.
- Keeping the same weight as a flat lunge. A longer range at the hardest part means less load.
- Letting the front heel lift as you descend. The heel staying down is what keeps the hip working; up on the toes moves the load to the knee.