Walking and Reverse Lunge
The lunge exposes what a barbell squat hides. Load one leg at a time and every asymmetry, every weak hip and every balance problem becomes impossible to compensate for.
These six faults account for most sore knees and wobbling lunges in the gym, and correcting them usually improves the squat at the same time.
| Primary muscles | Quadriceps, gluteus maximus |
|---|---|
| Secondary muscles | Hamstrings, adductors, glute medius, core |
| Equipment | Bodyweight, dumbbells or barbell |
| Level | Beginner to intermediate |
| Most common failure point | Balance at the bottom of the rep |
| Best camera angle for a form check | 45° front, full body in frame |
Feet hip-width apart, not on a tightrope. A narrow line makes balance the limiting factor instead of the legs.
Step forward or backward far enough that at the bottom both knees form roughly 90 degrees. Too short loads the knee; too long makes the hips do all the work.
Drop the back knee straight down toward the floor rather than pushing the body forward. Keep the torso upright with the ribs stacked over the pelvis.
Bring the back knee to within a couple of centimetres of the floor without resting on it. Keep the front heel firmly planted.
Push through the whole front foot with the weight biased toward the heel, and return without letting the front knee drift inward.
You need to see the knee tracking and the torso angle at once. A pure front view hides the forward fold; a pure side view hides the knee caving.
Asymmetry is the whole point of unilateral work. Filming only your good side defeats the purpose.
If the back knee stops well above the floor on one side only, that side is the weak one, regardless of how it felt.
A heel that lifts means the step was too short. It is one of the easiest faults to see and one of the most commonly missed.
Film the set, and Stance returns the specific fault and the correction instead of a raw video to interpret yourself. The clip is analyzed and then deleted, never stored.
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Most often because the step is too short, which pushes the knee far past the toes and unloads the heel, or because the front knee is caving inward on the way up. Lengthen the step until both knees reach roughly 90 degrees at the bottom, cue the front knee toward the second toe, and reduce the load until the tracking is clean.
Reverse lunges are easier on the knee and far easier to keep upright, which makes them the better default for most people and for anyone with knee discomfort. Forward and walking lunges demand more deceleration and balance, so they are a useful progression once the reverse lunge is solid.
Hip-width apart, side to side, not on a single line. Lunging on a tightrope turns a leg exercise into a balance test, and the limiting factor becomes your ankle stability rather than your quads and glutes.
Always start the set with the weaker leg and match the stronger leg to whatever the weaker one achieved, never the reverse. Keep unilateral work in the programme year-round and film from the front periodically — the gap closes slowly, and it is easy to stop noticing it once it becomes familiar.
This guide is general training information, not medical advice. Stop and consult a qualified professional if a movement causes pain.
