Home › Workouts › Legs

Side Lunges

A lunge sideways instead of forwards. Almost every other leg exercise moves you front to back - this one covers the inner thigh nothing else reaches.

Level Intermediate
Equipment None
Sets and reps 3 sets x 10 each side
Works on Inner thighs, glutes

How to do it

  1. Stand with feet together and hands in front of your chest.
  2. Take a big step out to the right and sit back into that hip.
  3. Keep the left leg straight and both feet flat and pointing forward.
  4. Push off the right foot to come back to standing, then do the left.

Common mistakes

  • × Letting the bent knee travel past the toes - sit back into the hip instead.
  • × Lifting the heel of the straight leg.
  • × Taking too small a step, which turns it into a half squat.
💡
One thing that matters

Push your hips back like you are closing a drawer with your backside. That stops the knee taking over.

How much

Sets and reps for Side Lunges

Where you are Aim for
Just starting 3 sets x 6 each side
The standard 3 sets x 10 each side
Once it is easy 3 sets x 15 each side
🌬️
Breathing

In as you step out and sit back, out as you push back to the middle.

Too hard, or too easy?

Where this sits

← Easier Lunges 3 sets x 10 each leg

Start here if you cannot do side lunges with clean form yet.
You are here Side Lunges 3 sets x 10 each side

Intermediate · None

Harder → Single Leg Deadlift 3 sets x 8-10 each leg

Move up when side lunges stops being a challenge.
Questions

Side Lunges, answered

What do side lunges work that squats do not?

The inner thigh and the muscles that control sideways movement. Almost all home training happens front to back, and this is one of the few movements that trains the other direction.

My inner thigh is very tight. Is that normal?

Very common, and it limits how far you can step at first. Go only as wide as you can while keeping the straight leg straight and the bent knee behind the toes. It improves within weeks.

Which foot points where?

Both feet point forward. Turning the stepping foot out is the usual mistake and it takes the inner thigh out of it.

One exercise is never the whole story

Which day to do Side Lunges, how many sets, and what to pair it with - the AI builds the whole plan. Your first one is free.

Build My Free Plan
Legs

You can also try

🦵 Beginner

Squats

Thighs, glutes

The single most important leg exercise. Done properly it strengthens your knees rather than wearing them out.

3 sets x 15-20 →
🦵 Beginner

Lunges

Thighs, glutes

One leg at a time - which also shows you exactly how uneven your two legs are.

3 sets x 10 each leg →
🦵 Beginner

Wall Sit

Thighs

Nothing moves - you just hold a sitting position against a wall. Looks easy, feels anything but.

3 sets x 30-60 sec →
⚕️
This is general information, not medical advice

Everything on this page is worked out from a formula or from published averages. It has never met you, and it cannot see your blood pressure, your medication or an old injury.

Talk to a doctor before you start if you are pregnant or breastfeeding, have a heart condition, diabetes or high blood pressure, take regular medication, have or have had an eating disorder, are recovering from injury or surgery, or are under 18. Stop and get advice if any exercise causes pain, dizziness or chest discomfort.

More about where these numbers come from is on the about page.