Curtsy Lunge | Illustrated Exercise Guide

Primary muscles: Quads, glutes
Secondary muscles: Calves, thighs
Equipment: No equipment

CURTSY LUNGE INSTRUCTIONS

1. Stand tall with your feet hip-width apart.
2. Keeping your weight in your right foot, take a big step back with your left leg, crossing it behind your right leg.
3. Start lowering your body, by bending your knees, until your right thigh is parallel to the floor.
4. Return to the starting position and repeat on the opposite side.

PROPER FORM AND BREATHING PATTERN

When doing the curtsy lunge, engage your core muscles, face forward, maintain your upper body nice and tall and keep your back straight. Breathe in as you lunge and keep your front knee over your ankle. Bend both knees, until your calves and thighs form a 90-degree angle, and keep the toes pointing in the same direction as the knees.

EXERCISE BENEFITS

The curtsy lunge is a modified version of the standard lunge that incorporates different leg muscles into the lunge position. This exercise helps to tone your inner and outer thighs as well as the rest of your legs and glutes. It’s important to add lateral movements to your leg workouts, to target different muscle groups, challenge your stability and improve your overall core strength.

DEMONSTRATION

SETS AND REPS

Since the curtsy lunge is a progression of the regular lunge, make sure you acquire proper lunge technique first. Once you’re comfortable with your form you can change it up by adding side lunges and curtsy lunges to your workout routine. Start with a 15 to 30 second set or do 10 to 15 repetitions on each side.

CALORIES BURNED

To calculate the number of calories burned doing the curtsy lunge, enter your weight and the duration of the exercise:

RELATED LOWER BODY EXERCISES

Try these other lower body exercises to strengthen, sculpt and tone your thighs, hips, legs and glutes:
Fire hydrant
Standing leg circles
Lunges
Single leg bridge