Which muscle do lunges work

They work your inner and outer thighs and may even help to reduce the appearance of cellulite. Plus, side lunges target your quadriceps, hips, and legs at a slightly different angle, thus working them a little differently.

Pay attention to the outsides of your legs and work on activating these muscles as you do these lunges. The walking variation targets your core, hips, and glutes, and improves overall stability. They also increase your range of motion and help to improve your functional everyday movements.

Reverse lunges activate your core, glutes, and hamstrings. They put less stress on your joints and give you a bit more stability in your front leg. This is ideal for people who have knee concerns, difficulty balancing, or less hip mobility. Reverse lunges allow you to be more balanced as you move backward, changing up the direction from most of your movements and training your muscles to work differently. You can add a twist to stationary, walking, or reverse lunges to activate your core and glutes more deeply.

Twisting lunges also require balance and stability as you twist your torso away from your lower body while maintaining the alignment of your knees. Strong glutes also prevent and relieve back and knee pain, all of which help to improve your athletic performance and lower your risk of injury. Curtsy lunges also sculpt and strengthen your hip adductors, quadriceps, and hamstrings as well as improve hip stabilization. Use a kettlebell or dumbbell to up the intensity of this variation.

Lunges and squats both work your lower body and are a valuable addition to your fitness regime. Consider focusing on squats if you feel more stable in this position. Of course, adding both lunges and squats to your routine is beneficial.

Lunges increase muscle mass to build up strength and tone your body, especially your core, butt, and legs. Lunges target the following muscles :. Lunges are simple, making them accessible to people who want to add them to part of a longer routine or do them for a few minutes at a time throughout the day.

You must stay on track and be consistent to maintain your results over time. You may develop tight, toned, and stronger muscles and start to lower your body fat percentage within a few weeks. More noticeable results may take a few months to develop.

For each lunge variation, do 2 to 3 sets of 8 to 12 repetitions. The glute max is the largest butt muscle, and when you move forward and backward, you target it primarily. But it's only when you move side-to-side that you can really engage and work the glute medius and glute minimus , which are located on the outer sides of your butt. They're part of a group of muscles called hip abductors, which are responsible for moving your legs to the side and away from your body.

Lunging laterally and diagonally also engages the hip adductor muscles inner thighs , which are responsible for bringing your legs in toward the midline of your body. To fully optimize the strength, power, and stability of your glutes and entire hip area, you have to use and strengthen all the muscles involved, not just the big ones that move you forward and backward.

It's helpful to think of a lunge as a single-leg squat. You want to think about bending forward at your hips called a hip hinge as you bend your knees to lower down into a lunge, the same way you would for a squat. Think about sitting your butt back and putting your weight into your heels—that will keep the brunt of the work in your glutes and quads and help you avoid putting too much force on your knees.

Also, just like squatting, different people may lunge slightly differently. Hip and ankle mobility , among other biomechanical factors, will influence how deeply you can lunge, and that's OK. Do what works for you. And like most exercises, you'll likely develop a greater range of motion the more you do lunges and develop strength and flexibility in your glutes and quads. One cue that instructors often give during lunges is to make sure your knees don't move past your toes.

It's an easy, general instruction to give to a large group of people when you can't give individualized form notes, but it's not always the most helpful cue for everyone.

For example, if you have long limbs, your knees may need to come slightly forward in order for them to bend at the correct angle. So while keeping your front knee directly over your foot is a good general note we say this to give people an idea of how deeply their knee should be bent , it's certainly not the end-all-be-all.

With lunges, hinging at your hips, putting the weight in your glutes and quads, and keeping your back flat are more important form notes to keep in mind. Speaking of your back: When you lunge, you always want to make sure your back isn't rounding or arching. For some people, keeping their torso totally upright in a lunge keeps their back properly aligned; for others, a forward lean in the torso is what puts their backs in a safe position.

So do whatever keeps your spine straight and back flat—that means both your lower and upper back. Even if you're leaning forward a bit, your chest should be open and your shoulders should be relaxed, not hunched up by your ears.

Your neck should be neutral in line with your spine and not straining upward or downward. With your torso totally upright, your knees may potentially hit degree angles when you lower into a lunge; if your torso is leaning forward, they probably won't. Again, that's OK. If lunges bother your knees, try skipping the traditional lunge. The forward momentum puts a little more pressure on your knees, which can be bothersome for many people.

Opt for reverse lunges, or some of the other options, instead. If you're still feeling any pain or discomfort, talk with your doctor or physical therapist before continuing to do lunges.

And in the meantime, do some of these lower-body exercises that can help improve knee pain instead. The options and combinations of lunge exercises you can find on the internet are pretty endless.

We included 18 great ones below to help you get started. Try the ones that look interesting to you, or try them all and figure out what sort of lunges feel best for you.

Most of these lunge variations can be done with or without weights, and are conducive to a variety of free weights, so go with what you like or feel most comfortable with. The exception being anything that involves a jump—it's best to do those with your bodyweight only, unless you're an extremely experienced exerciser. The best way to add these to your routine will vary depending on your goals. If you're looking to strengthen your glutes and quads and core!

You can also pick three or four of these exercises, ideally ones that have you moving in a few different directions, and string them together for an effective lower-body workout. Try starting with 10 reps of each, and do 3 sets. From there, you can add weight or reps to increase the challenge and further strengthen your muscles.

All products featured on SELF are independently selected by our editors. If you buy something through our retail links, we may earn an affiliate commission. Targets the gluteus maximus, gluteus medius, gluteus minimus, quadriceps, hamstrings, core, and the hip adductors inner thighs. Targets the gluteus maximus, gluteus medius, gluteus minimus, quadriceps, core, and the soleus and gastrocnemius calf muscles.

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Different lunges work your muscles a little differently. Let's talk about good lunge form. Here are 18 different lunges to try during your next workout. Katie Thompson. Stand with your feet shoulder-width apart and your hands on your hips as pictured or hold them together in front of your chest.

This is the starting position. Step forward about 2 feet with your right foot, and plant it firmly on the floor. The perfect beauty product for oily skin.

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