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Which lunge is best for firing up your glutes and quads? Study crowns the winner

Lower the stress on your knees while torching your glutes and quads with the reverse lunge

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man doing reverse lunge barbell workout split squat
Anete Lusina / Pexels

The classic, humble lunge is an effective leg-day move that fine-tunes your balance and stability while strengthening your back, hips, and legs. You can choose from several variations with or without weights. I like the simplicity of lunges and how you can power through a few rounds as part of your at-home workout routine. 

In an interesting study published in the ISBS – Conference Proceedings Archive as part of the 34th International Conference of Biomechanics in Sport, the authors compared mechanical variables across three lunges: the reverse lunge, the forward lunge, and the walking lunge. Their goal was to determine which lunge is best for working those leg muscles, particularly the glutes and quads. The other goal was to find out which lunge puts the least stress on the knee, making it the safest option. Let’s explore the lunge showdown. Spoiler alert: the reverse lunge takes the crown.

The Lunge Showdown: The research

man doing dumbbell lunge outside
Shvetsa / Pexels

The researchers measured muscle activity and joint forces at the knee and hip joints of four participants while they performed different types of lunges. They used effective tools, such as eight infrared cameras, force plates, motion capture systems, and EMG (electromyography) to analyze different muscles. 

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Participants performed a warm-up exercise for at least 70 minutes before starting the experiment. This was a small pilot study of only four participants who were all professional fitness trainers with no orthopedic medical history in their knees or backs, so these results might not apply to everyone. 

Study crowns the winning lunge variation: The reverse lunge

man doing lunge with dumbbells indoor workout
Gustavo Fring / Pexels

Here are the results:

  • The reverse lunge was the most effective for activating and developing the glutes and quads. The reverse lunge variation resulted in “higher agonist muscle activities”, better muscle engagement, and superior strength-building benefits compared to the walking lunges and forward lunge.
  • In addition to activating those important butt and leg muscles the most, the reverse lunge also puts the least stress on those knees. When you reverse that lunge, it results in “relatively low momentary maximum knee shearing force compared to the other lunge techniques”.
  • Forward lunges created the highest knee shear force, which increases strain on the front of your knees.
  • Walking lunges created the highest hip and knee torque and required the most overall force and joint effort.

Final thoughts

man doing a lunge
Kuldeep Singhania / Pexels

The lunge is recognized as an effective exercise for developing the glutes and quads, and this study showed that out of all of the variations, the reverse lunge might be the most superior and safest choice for activating those muscles while lowering stress on your knee joints. As Missy Elliot says, it’s time to “turn around, flip it, and reverse it”. Training one leg at a time requires a certain degree of balance and stability, so it’s a worthwhile, challenging exercise to add to your routine. If you want to make your workout more challenging, this pilot study showed that walking lunges are the most physically demanding.

Steph Green
Steph Green
Steph Green (Steph Zee) is a singer-songwriter and professional writer with over 12 years of experience in healthcare and… Read Full Bio
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