Legs · Barbell
Barbell Overhead Lunge
How to do the barbell overhead lunge, the muscles it works, and the mistakes to avoid. Pulled straight from the Kovo app's exercise library.
- Equipment
- Barbell
- Difficulty
- Advanced
- Logged as
- Weighted reps
- Movement
- Lunge
- Mechanic
- Compound
How to do it
Press a barbell overhead with a wide grip and lock your arms out so the bar sits over the crown of your head. Step forward into a lunge until both knees bend to about 90 degrees, then drive through the front heel to return and alternate legs.
- 1Front quad and glute driving you back up out of the lunge
- 2Shoulders and core bracing hard to keep the bar locked overhead
- 3Tall torso with the bar stacked over your midline
Common mistakes
- Letting the bar drift forward or wobble out of the overhead lock
- Letting the front knee track past your toes
- Arching the lower back; keep your ribs pulled down
Muscles worked
The barbell overhead lunge mainly works the quads and glutes, with the hamstrings and calves assisting.
- QuadsPrimary
- GlutesPrimary
- HamstringsSupport
- CalvesSupport
- Lower BackMinor
- Upper AbsMinor
Kovo programs the barbell overhead 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.