Legs · Smith Machine
Smith Rear Lunge
How to do the smith rear lunge, the muscles it works, and the mistakes to avoid. Pulled straight from the Kovo app's exercise library.
- Equipment
- Smith Machine
- Difficulty
- Intermediate
- Logged as
- Weighted reps
- Movement
- Lunge
- Mechanic
- Compound
How to do it
Set the Smith bar across your upper back and stand tall under the bar. Step one foot back and lower your hips until both knees are bent at about 90 degrees, with the back knee hovering just above the floor. Drive through your front heel to return to standing, then repeat and switch legs.
- 1The front-leg quad and glute working as you lower and stand
- 2Your weight staying over the front foot as you press up
- 3A tall torso braced against the bar throughout
Common mistakes
- Don't let your front knee drift far past your toes
- Avoid slamming the back knee into the floor
- Don't lean forward or let the bar pull you off balance
Muscles worked
The smith rear lunge mainly works the quads and glutes, with the hamstrings and calves assisting.
- QuadsPrimary
- GlutesPrimary
- HamstringsSupport
- CalvesSupport
- Lower BackMinor
- Upper AbsMinor
Kovo programs the smith rear 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.