Legs · Barbell
Barbell Lateral Lunge
How to do the barbell lateral lunge, the muscles it works, and the mistakes to avoid. Pulled straight from the Kovo app's exercise library.
- Equipment
- Barbell
- Difficulty
- Intermediate
- Logged as
- Weighted reps
- Movement
- Lunge
- Mechanic
- Compound
How to do it
Rack a barbell across your upper back and stand with feet together. Step wide to one side and bend that knee, pushing your hips back while keeping the other leg straight. Drive through the bent leg to push back to standing, then alternate sides.
- 1Push your hips back as you step out and feel your inner thigh and glute
- 2load
- 3Keep your chest up and weight in the heel of the working leg
- 4Drive back to standing by pushing through the bent leg
Common mistakes
- Do not let your knee cave inward or travel past your toes
- Avoid rounding your back or leaning too far forward
- Do not rush; control the lateral step
Muscles worked
The barbell lateral lunge mainly works the quads and adductors, with the glutes and hamstrings assisting.
- QuadsPrimary
- AdductorsPrimary
- GlutesSupport
- HamstringsSupport
- Lower BackMinor
- Upper AbsMinor
- Hip FlexorsMinor
Kovo programs the barbell lateral lunge for you and tracks it every session.
We build your whole program, drop the right lifts into each workout, and adjust your weights as you get stronger. Free on iOS and Android.
More quads exercises
- How to do the resistance band squat
- How to do the resistance band squat to press
- How to do the resistance band thruster
- How to do the resistance band squat walk
- How to do the barbell squat
- How to do the barbell bulgarian split squat
Last reviewed June 2026.