Legs · Bodyweight
Lateral Lunge
How to do the lateral lunge, the muscles it works, and the mistakes to avoid. Pulled straight from the Kovo app's exercise library.
Legs
- Equipment
- Bodyweight
- Difficulty
- Beginner
- Logged as
- Weighted reps
- Movement
- Lunge
- Mechanic
- Compound
How to do it
Stand with feet together, then step wide to one side, bending that knee while keeping the other leg straight. Push back to start.
- 1Push your hips back as you step to the side; you should feel your inner thigh and glute stretch
- 2Keep your chest up and weight in your heel on the working leg
- 3Drive back to standing by pushing through the bent leg
Common mistakes
- Don't let your knee cave inward or extend past your toes
- Avoid rounding your back or leaning too far forward
- Don't rush the movement; control the lateral step
Muscles worked
The 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 lateral lunge for you and tracks it every session.
The AI builds your whole program, drops the right lifts into each workout, and adjusts your weights as you get stronger. Free on iOS and Android.
More quads exercises
- How to do the barbell squat
- How to do the split squat
- How to do the step-up
- How to do the lunge
- How to do the squat
- How to do the bulgarian split squat
Last reviewed April 2026.