Forward Lunge (Dumbbell)
The Dumbbell Forward Lunge is a dynamic unilateral leg exercise that targets the quadriceps and glutes while challenging your balance and core stability. It involves stepping forward into a staggered stance and lowering your hips before powerfully pushing back to the starting position.
Since lunges require significant coordination and deceleration force, your AI coach analyzes your RPE and rep consistency to ensure you aren't sacrificing stability for weight. If your recovery metrics (like HRV or sleep) suggest fatigue, the app may recommend reducing the load to protect your knees, or swapping to a regression if you have logged knee pain previously. Over time, it learns the volume threshold that triggers your best leg growth without causing joint irritation.
Form Cues
- Keep your chest tall and shoulders back throughout the movement
- Take a long stride forward to ensure proper hip mechanics
- Lower your hips until both knees form 90-degree angles
- Drive firmly through your front heel to push back to the start
- Don't let your front knee collapse inward past your big toe
- Don't allow your front heel to lift off the ground
- Don't slam your back knee into the floor
- Don't hunch your shoulders or round your upper back
Common Mistakes
- Taking steps that are too short
- Lifting the front heel
- Collapsing the front knee inward
- Rounding the upper back
- Banging the rear knee on the ground
Muscles Worked
This exercise is a powerhouse for the quadriceps and glutes, requiring them to decelerate your body weight and then generate force to return to standing. It also heavily recruits the hamstrings and core muscles to maintain balance and stabilize the torso during the dynamic direction change.
Primary
Secondary
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