Walking Lunge

The walking lunge is a single-leg strength exercise that mainly trains your quadriceps and glutes, with your hamstrings helping out. You move forward by stepping into one lunge after another, switching legs each rep, which also challenges your balance and coordination.

Start standing tall with your feet about hip-width apart. If you are using dumbbells, hold them at your sides with a relaxed but secure grip, shoulders pulled back, and your chest up. Look straight ahead.

Take a controlled step forward with one foot. Lower your hips until both knees are bent close to 90 degrees and your back knee is just above the floor. Push through your entire front foot to bring your back leg forward into the next step, then repeat on the other side. Keep your torso upright and your front knee tracking over your toes.

Breathe in as you lower into the lunge and breathe out as you push up to step forward. Gently brace your core before each step. To make it easier, do reverse lunges in place so you do not have to balance while traveling forward. To make it harder, hold dumbbells at your sides or take a slightly longer step, as long as your front knee stays controlled.

Fault: The front knee caves inward during the lowering phase. Fix: Push that knee out so it stays in line with your toes, and keep your weight spread across your whole front foot.

Fault: The torso leans too far forward or rounds. Fix: Pull your shoulders back, lift your chest, and keep your eyes focused forward throughout each step.

Fault: The front heel lifts off the ground. Fix: Take a slightly shorter step, keep your front heel planted, and drive up through that heel as you push forward.

Fault: The back knee drops hard to the floor. Fix: Lower yourself under control so the back knee only lightly touches the ground, and keep your core braced to keep your hips steady.