# Barbell Forward Lunge: how to do it

- Main muscles: quads, glutes
- Also works: hamstrings, adductors
- Equipment: barbell
- Level: intermediate
- 3D demo (side view): https://media.trainaq.com/exercises/barbell_forward_lunge/b5a5ed5a15/side-m-720.mp4

## Steps

1. Rest the bar on your upper back and stand with your feet hip-width apart.
2. Take a long step forward and land heel first.
3. Lower until both knees are bent to about 90° and your back knee is just above the floor.
4. Push through your front heel and step back to the start.
5. Alternate legs, or finish all reps on one side.

## Cues

- Step long, drop straight down.
- Chest up, bar steady.
- Push the floor away with the front heel.

## Common mistakes

- Stepping too short so the front heel comes up.
- Letting the front knee fall inward.
- Bouncing the back knee off the floor.

## The version in our demo

A forward lunge with the bar on the upper back, one leg per rep, stepping back to the start each time.

## Starting position

Bar on the upper back as in a high-bar back squat (on the traps, not the neck), hands just outside the shoulders, shoulder blades squeezed. Feet hip-width, standing tall.

## The movement

Take a long step forward with one foot (about 0.9 × leg length), landing heel first then flat. Lower straight down, not forward, until both knees are about 90° and the back knee is just above the floor; the back heel lifts and the back foot rolls onto its ball. The front knee stays over the front foot and the trunk stays upright with a slight lean. Push hard through the front heel and step back to the start.

## Breathing

Breathe in as you step and lower; breathe out as you push back up.

## Tempo

1.0 s step, 0.8 s down, 0.2 s pause, 0.9 s up, 0.55 s step back, 0.55 s standing.

## Form in numbers

| Measure | Target | Good range | Sources |
| --- | --- | --- | --- |
| Front knee at the bottom | 90–95° | 80–100° |  |
| Rear knee at the bottom | 95–100° | 80–110° |  |
| Rear knee above the floor (joint centre) | 7 cm (surface 2–3 cm) | 2–10 cm |  |
| Front shin from vertical | 5° | ≤ 10° |  |
| Trunk from vertical at the bottom | 8° | 0–15° |  |
| Feet width | hip-width tracks (each foot 9 cm from the midline) | no crossing |  |

## Sources

1. [ExRx.net, "Barbell Lunge" (bar on the back, step forward, lower until the front thigh is nearly level and the rear knee nearly touches the floor, push back)](https://exrx.net/WeightExercises/Quadriceps/BBLunge)
2. [ACE Exercise Library, "Forward Lunge" (long step, heel first, both knees about 90°, trunk upright)](https://www.acefitness.org/resources/everyone/exercise-library/)
3. NSCA, Essentials of Strength Training and Conditioning, 4th ed. (2016), ch. 15, forward step lunge

Source: https://trainaq.com/exercises/barbell-forward-lunge