10 Best Walking Lunge Alternatives for At-Home Glute Training
If you can’t do walking lunges, use other unilateral or compound moves that preserve the hip-extension and knee-flexion pattern to target glutes and upper legs. Choose Bulgarian split squats, reverse lunges, step-ups, single-leg Romanian deadlifts, or goblet squats. Cue: drive through the front heel to increase glute-max activation.
Original Exercise: Walking Lunge
How to Perform Walking Lunge
- Stand with your feet shoulder-width apart.
- Take a step forward with your right leg, lowering your body into a lunge position.
- Keep your torso upright and your front knee aligned with your ankle.
- Push off with your right foot and bring your left foot forward, stepping into a lunge position with your left leg.
- Continue alternating legs and walking forward, maintaining a controlled and steady pace.
- Repeat for the desired number of repetitions.
Best Walking Lunge Alternatives
1. Bodyweight Walking Lunge
84.4% MatchHow to perform this exercise
- Begin standing with your feet shoulder width apart and your hands on your hips.
- Step forward with one leg, flexing the knees to drop your hips. Descend until your rear knee nearly touches the ground. Your posture should remain upright, and your front knee should stay above the front foot.
- Drive through the heel of your lead foot and extend both knees to raise yourself back up.
- Step forward with your rear foot, repeating the lunge on the opposite leg.
2. Dumbbell Contralateral Forward Lunge
81.7% MatchHow to perform this exercise
- Stand with your feet shoulder-width apart, holding a dumbbell in each hand.
- Take a step forward with your right foot, keeping your back straight and core engaged.
- Lower your body by bending both knees until your right thigh is parallel to the ground.
- Push through your right heel to return to the starting position.
- Repeat with your left leg.
3. Crossover Reverse Lunge
81.7% MatchHow to perform this exercise
- Stand with your feet shoulder width apart. This will be your starting position.
- Perform a rear lunge by stepping back with one foot and flexing the hips and front knee. As you do so, rotate your torso across the front leg.
- After a brief pause, return to the starting position and repeat on the other side, continuing in an alternating fashion.
4. Dumbbell Lunge
81.7% MatchHow to perform this exercise
- Stand with your feet shoulder-width apart, holding a dumbbell in each hand.
- Take a step forward with your right foot, lowering your body into a lunge position.
- Keep your back straight and your chest up as you lower your body.
- Push through your right heel to return to the starting position.
- Repeat with your left leg.
5. Barbell Lunge
80.4% MatchHow to perform this exercise
- Start by standing with your feet shoulder-width apart and a barbell resting on your upper back.
- Take a step forward with your right foot, keeping your torso upright.
- Lower your body by bending your right knee until your thigh is parallel to the ground.
- Push through your right heel to return to the starting position.
- Repeat with your left leg, alternating legs for the desired number of repetitions.
6. Box Skip
80.4% MatchHow to perform this exercise
- You will need several boxes lined up about 8 feet apart.
- Begin facing the first box with one leg slightly behind the other.
- Drive off the back leg, attempting to gain as much height with the hips as possible.
- Immediately upon landing on the box, drive the other leg forward and upward to gain height and distance, leaping from the box. Land between the first two boxes with the same leg that landed on the first box.
- Then, step to the next box and repeat.
7. Alternate Leg Diagonal Bound
79.9% MatchHow to perform this exercise
- Assume a comfortable stance with one foot slightly in front of the other.
- Begin by pushing off with the front leg, driving the opposite knee forward and as high as possible before landing. Attempt to cover as much distance to each side with each bound.
- It may help to use a line on the ground to guage distance from side to side.
- Repeat the sequence with the other leg.
8. Dumbbell Lunges
74.2% MatchHow to perform this exercise
- Stand with your torso upright holding two dumbbells in your hands by your sides. This will be your starting position.
- Step forward with your right leg around 2 feet or so from the foot being left stationary behind and lower your upper body down, while keeping the torso upright and maintaining balance. Inhale as you go down. Note: As in the other exercises, do not allow your knee to go forward beyond your toes as you come down, as this will put undue stress on the knee joint. Make sure that you keep your front shin perpendicular to the ground.
- Using mainly the heel of your foot, push up and go back to the starting position as you exhale.
- Repeat the movement for the recommended amount of repetitions and then perform with the left leg.
9. Dumbbell Forward Lunge Triceps Extension
73.9% MatchHow to perform this exercise
- Stand with your feet shoulder-width apart, holding a dumbbell in each hand.
- Take a step forward with your right foot, lowering your body into a lunge position.
- Keep your back straight and your chest up.
- Extend your arms straight overhead, keeping your elbows close to your ears.
- Lower the dumbbells behind your head by bending your elbows.
10. Barbell Walking Lunge
70.4% MatchHow to perform this exercise
- Begin standing with your feet shoulder width apart and a barbell across your upper back.
- Step forward with one leg, flexing the knees to drop your hips. Descend until your rear knee nearly touches the ground. Your posture should remain upright, and your front knee should stay above the front foot.
- Drive through the heel of your lead foot and extend both knees to raise yourself back up.
- Step forward with your rear foot, repeating the lunge on the opposite leg.
Why You Might Need a Walking Lunge Alternative
You might substitute walking lunges for several reasons: persistent knee pain, limited space, balance deficits, or lack of a partner for loaded progressions. Alternatives let you adjust joint angles and leverage to protect the patellofemoral joint or reduce sagittal plane instability. For example, step-ups shorten ROM and reduce knee shear, while single-leg RDLs shift load to hip extension and hamstrings. Use a longer step or more upright torso in Bulgarian split squats to bias the glutes; cue: keep the front shin vertical and push through the heel to maximize posterior chain recruitment.
How to Choose the Right Substitute
Pick a substitute based on your goal, joint tolerance, and required balance challenge. If you want glute hypertrophy, choose exercises that increase hip-extension demand — e.g., single-leg RDL with a controlled 3-second eccentric to raise time under tension. If you have knee pain, select step-ups or reverse lunges with a shorter step to lower anterior shear. For stability and carryover to walking lunges, use Bulgarian split squats to replicate unilateral loading while controlling torso position; cue: maintain a neutral spine and avoid letting the knee track medially to protect the joint.
Frequently Asked Questions
What muscles does Walking Lunge work?
Walking lunges primarily load the gluteus maximus and quadriceps while recruiting hamstrings and adductors for stabilization. The movement combines hip extension and knee flexion; cue: push through the front heel to emphasize glute activation and drive hip extension.
What is the best bodyweight alternative to Walking Lunge?
The Bulgarian split squat is the best bodyweight alternative because it maintains unilateral loading and high glute demand. Set the rear foot on an elevated surface, keep your torso upright, and drive through the front heel to maximize hip-extension recruitment.
Can I build muscle without doing Walking Lunge?
Yes — you can build glute and upper-leg muscle with other unilateral or compound lifts using progressive overload and tempo control. Use exercises like step-ups, Bulgarian split squats, and single-leg RDLs with slow eccentrics (3–4 seconds) and increased sets to raise time under tension and stimulate hypertrophy.
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