Dumbbell Walking Lunges

Dumbbell Walking Lunge Basics

Primary muscles worked: Quads, Glutes

Synergist Muscles: Hamstrings, Forearms, Core

Mechanics: Compound

Equipment: A pair of dumbbells

How To Perform Dumbbell Walking Lunges

• First, grab a pair of dumbbells, with your arms fully extended and to the side of your body. Utilize a neutral hand position so that your palms face your body.
• Now take an exaggerated step forward, your back toes should stay firmly in place. This over-step will allow for proper knee position during the exercise.
• Next, bend your front knee and back knee at the same time. Your back knee should come close to, but not touch the floor. Your front knee should be in line with your lower leg and should not extend beyond your toes.
• Push down with your front foot, driving your front leg back in to full extension while bringing up the back foot to be beside the front foot.
• Come to balance with both of your feet side by side, and then step forward with your opposite foot this time.
• Continue alternating until your desired rep number is reached.

Dumbbell Walking Lunge Tips

• Your upper body should remain in the upright position throughout the lift. Do not bend forward at the waist.

Dumbbell Walking Lunges and Sports Application

The walking dumbbell lunge is a great exercise for any sport. It supports total leg development, in addition to challenging the stabilizing aspects of body control. This lunge variation is exceptional from a speed and agility standpoint in that it increases the driving power of the front leg. Speed is controlled by stride length and stride frequency. This exercise will increase both by improving power per stride, while increasing frequency of the strides by minimizing the time it takes for the front leg to reach its starting position again.