Dumbbell Walking Lunge
Trains the Quads.
- Equipment
- Dumbbells
- Mechanic
- Compound
- Force
- Push
- Level
- Beginner
How to do it
- Stand at one end of a clear stretch of floor, feet together, holding a dumbbell in each hand at your sides.
- Brace your stomach and set your shoulders down so the dumbbells hang straight.
- Take a long step forward and lower until the back knee is just above the floor and the front thigh is roughly parallel with it.
- Keep the torso upright and the front heel planted on the way down.
- Drive through the front foot to stand, bringing the back foot through into the next step.
- Keep alternating legs as you travel, and bring the feet together before you turn round.
Common mistakes
- Letting the dumbbells swing. They hang still at your sides; a swing pulls you off line mid-step, and every landing becomes a correction instead of a repetition.
- Stepping too short. A short step drives the front knee far past the toes and leaves the glutes and hamstrings little to do; a long step shares the work between the front and the back of the thigh.
- Pushing off the back foot to stand up. The front leg is the one being trained; the back foot is only there for balance.
- Letting the grip end the set. With the weight in the hands, the grip often gives out before the legs; set the dumbbells down deliberately when it starts to go, not when they slip.