Legs · Kettlebell
Kettlebell Side Lunge
How to do the kettlebell side lunge, the muscles it works, and the mistakes to avoid. Pulled straight from the Kovo app's exercise library.
- Equipment
- Kettlebell
- Difficulty
- Beginner
- Logged as
- Weighted reps
- Movement
- Lunge
- Mechanic
- Compound
How to do it
Stand tall holding a kettlebell at your chest or by the horns. Step out wide to one side and bend that knee, pushing your hips back while keeping the other leg straight, then push off to return to standing. The lateral step loads the inner thigh and glute of the bending leg.
- 1A stretch and load through the inner thigh of your straight leg
- 2The glute and quad of your bent leg driving you back up
- 3Your chest staying tall and core braced over the kettlebell
Common mistakes
- Letting the bending knee cave inward over the foot
- Rounding your back as you reach down to the side
- Stepping too narrow to get a real load on the inner thigh
Muscles worked
The kettlebell side lunge mainly works the quads, glutes, and adductors, with the hamstrings, forearms, and calves assisting.
- QuadsPrimary
- GlutesPrimary
- AdductorsPrimary
- HamstringsSupport
- ForearmsSupport
- CalvesSupport
- Lower BackMinor
- Upper AbsMinor
- Lower AbsMinor
- ObliquesMinor
Kovo programs the kettlebell 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.