Kettlebell Lateral Lunge

Description

How to Do Kettlebell Lateral Lunge

1. 1
   Setup

   Stand tall with feet hip-width apart, holding a kettlebell in a goblet position (handle down, bell up) against your chest, or with both hands holding the handle in front of your hips. Keep your chest up and core engaged.

2. 2
   Setup

   Take a wide step directly to your side with one leg, keeping your toes pointed forward and the other leg straight.

3. 3

   Hinge at your hips and bend the knee of your stepping leg, lowering your hips as if sitting back into a chair while keeping your trailing leg straight. Ensure your knee tracks over your toes and the kettlebell stays centered with your body.

4. 4

   Descend until your thigh is parallel to the floor or as deep as your flexibility allows, feeling a stretch in the inner thigh of your straight leg.

5. 5

   Drive through the heel of your lunging foot, extending your knee and hip to push back to the starting position, bringing your feet together. Repeat on the opposite side or for the desired repetitions before switching.

Tips

• Maintain a neutral spine throughout the movement by keeping your chest lifted and core braced, preventing your lower back from rounding or arching excessively.
• Focus on pushing your hips back rather than just bending your knee to properly engage your glutes and inner thighs, and to protect your knee joint.
• Keep the non-lunging leg completely straight and grounded, using it as an anchor to feel a deep stretch in the adductors.
• Breathe in as you lower into the lunge and exhale forcefully as you push back up to the starting position.

Common Mistakes

• ×Many people round their lower back when lowering into the lunge; fix this by actively engaging your core and maintaining a proud chest throughout the movement.
• ×Allowing the lunging knee to collapse inward (valgus collapse) can strain the joint; fix this by actively pushing your knee outwards, tracking it over your mid-foot.
• ×Only performing a partial range of motion limits muscle activation and flexibility gains; fix this by focusing on driving your hips back and down until your thigh is parallel to the floor, within your comfortable range.