Legs · Dumbbell
Dumbbell Side Lunge
How to do the dumbbell side lunge, the muscles it works, and the mistakes to avoid. Pulled straight from the Kovo app's exercise library.
- Equipment
- Dumbbell
- Difficulty
- Intermediate
- Logged as
- Weighted reps
- Movement
- Lunge
- Mechanic
- Compound
How to do it
Stand tall holding a dumbbell at your chest or by your sides. Step out wide to one side and bend that knee, sitting your hips back while the other leg stays straight. Push off the bent leg to return to center and repeat to the other side.
- 1Glutes and quads of the bent leg loading as you sit into the lunge
- 2A stretch through the inner thigh of the straight leg
- 3Hips driving you back to standing
Common mistakes
- Letting the bent knee cave inward
- Keeping the torso too upright instead of hinging the hips back
- Rushing the push back so you lose balance
Muscles worked
The dumbbell side lunge mainly works the quads and glutes, with the hamstrings and adductors assisting.
- QuadsPrimary
- GlutesPrimary
- HamstringsSupport
- AdductorsSupport
- ForearmsMinor
- Lower BackMinor
- Upper AbsMinor
- Lower AbsMinor
- CalvesMinor
Kovo programs the dumbbell side 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.