Legs · Barbell
Barbell Lunge Twist
How to do the barbell lunge twist, 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
Hold a barbell across your upper back or front-racked. Step forward into a lunge until both knees bend near 90 degrees, then rotate your torso toward your front leg. Untwist, push through your front heel to stand, and alternate sides.
- 1Front quad and glute loading as you sink into the lunge
- 2Obliques driving the twist from your trunk, not your arms
- 3Strong push through the front heel to return to standing
Common mistakes
- Letting the front knee cave inward under the bar
- Twisting from the shoulders instead of the core
- Leaning the torso forward and losing an upright spine
Muscles worked
The barbell lunge twist mainly works the quads, obliques, and glutes, with the hamstrings, upper abs, lower abs, and calves assisting.
- QuadsPrimary
- ObliquesPrimary
- GlutesPrimary
- HamstringsSupport
- Upper AbsSupport
- Lower AbsSupport
- CalvesSupport
- ForearmsMinor
- Lower BackMinor
- Upper TrapsMinor
Kovo programs the barbell lunge twist 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.