Barbell Lateral Lunge

Setup

1. 01Place a light bar on the upper traps and grip it tightly.
2. 02Stand tall with feet together and enough clear space to step sideways.
3. 03Brace the trunk and fix the eyes forward.
4. 04Keep both feet pointing mostly forward.

Execution

1. 01Step directly sideways with one leg into a wide stance.
2. 02Sit the hips back and bend the stepping knee while the trailing leg stays straight.
3. 03Descend until the stepping thigh is near parallel, feeling a stretch in the trailing inner thigh.
4. 04Push hard off the stepping foot to return to standing, then repeat on the other side.

Checkpoints

• -Stepping knee tracks over the toes, not caving inward.
• -Trailing leg stays straight with the foot flat or heel slightly up.
• -Hips sit back rather than the knee driving far past the toes.
• -Torso stays braced with only a modest forward lean.

Common mistakes

• -Stepping too short and turning it into a shallow side squat.
• -Letting the stepping knee collapse inward.
• -Rounding the back to reach depth.
• -Loading too heavy before owning the range unloaded.