Barbell Lunge

Muscles worked by the Barbell Lunge

Primary

GlutesGluteus MaximusQuadsQuadriceps Femoris

Secondary

Lower BackErector SpinaeGlute MediusGluteus MediusHamstringsHamstring Muscles

Also called: glute, glutes, gluteus maximus, buttocks, butt, quad.

Equipment

Barbell

Also called: bar, olympic barbell, straight bar, olympic bar, power bar.

How to do the Barbell Lunge

1. Place a barbell across your upper back and stand tall.
2. Step forward with one leg into a long stride.
3. Lower your back knee toward the ground until your front thigh is parallel.
4. Drive through your front heel to return to standing.
5. Complete reps on one side, then switch.

Form tips

• Take a stride long enough that your front knee stays over your ankle.
• Keep your torso upright and core braced under the bar.
• Push the floor away through the front heel, not the toes.

At a glance

Barbell Lunge in German & Spanish

Descriptions, instructions and tips ship in all three languages in the JSON.

Related exercises

• Barbell Reverse Lunge
• Dumbbell Lunge
• Kettlebell Lunge Press
• Kettlebell Offset Reverse Lunge and Press
• Kettlebell Rotational Lunge
• Lunge
• Reverse Lunge
• Banded Figure-4 Stretch

Exercise data (JSON)

The record below is exactly what exercises.json ships for this exercise — names, descriptions, instructions and tips in English, German and Spanish.

{
  "id": "barbell-lunge",
  "name_en": "Barbell Lunge",
  "name_de": "Langhantel-Ausfallschritt",
  "name_es": "Zancada con Barra",
  "description_en": "A forward lunge with a barbell across the upper back, training the quads and glutes one leg at a time.",
  "description_de": "Ein Ausfallschritt nach vorn mit einer Langhantel auf dem oberen Rücken — trainiert Quadrizeps und Gesäßmuskeln einbeinig.",
  "description_es": "Una zancada hacia delante con la barra sobre la parte alta de la espalda, entrenando cuádriceps y glúteos una pierna a la vez.",
  "category": "strength",
  "force_type": "push",
  "mechanic": "compound",
  "difficulty": "intermediate",
  "equipment": "barbell",
  "body_part": "upper_legs",
  "primary_muscles": [
    "gluteus_maximus",
    "quadriceps"
  ],
  "secondary_muscles": [
    "erector_spinae",
    "gluteus_medius",
    "hamstrings"
  ],
  "goals": [
    "hypertrophy",
    "strength"
  ],
  "tags": [
    "knee_safe"
  ],
  "variation_group": "lunge",
  "is_unilateral": true,
  "is_bodyweight": false,
  "instructions_en": [
    "Place a barbell across your upper back and stand tall.",
    "Step forward with one leg into a long stride.",
    "Lower your back knee toward the ground until your front thigh is parallel.",
    "Drive through your front heel to return to standing.",
    "Complete reps on one side, then switch."
  ],
  "instructions_de": [
    "Lege eine Langhantel auf den oberen Rücken und stehe aufrecht.",
    "Tritt mit einem Bein weit nach vorne.",
    "Senke das hintere Knie in Richtung Boden, bis der vordere Oberschenkel parallel ist.",
    "Drücke durch die Ferse des vorderen Fußes zurück in den Stand.",
    "Absolviere alle Wiederholungen auf einer Seite, dann wechsle."
  ],
  "instructions_es": [
    "Coloca una barra en la parte alta de la espalda y párate erguido.",
    "Da un paso adelante con una pierna en una zancada larga.",
    "Baja la rodilla trasera hacia el suelo hasta que el muslo delantero quede paralelo.",
    "Impulsa a través del talón delantero para volver a la posición inicial.",
    "Completa las repeticiones de un lado, luego cambia."
  ],
  "tips_en": [
    "Take a stride long enough that your front knee stays over your ankle.",
    "Keep your torso upright and core braced under the bar.",
    "Push the floor away through the front heel, not the toes."
  ],
  "tips_de": [
    "Mache den Schritt so lang, dass dein vorderes Knie über dem Sprunggelenk bleibt.",
    "Halte den Oberkörper aufrecht und den Rumpf unter der Stange angespannt.",
    "Drücke dich über die vordere Ferse ab, nicht über die Zehen."
  ],
  "tips_es": [
    "Da una zancada lo bastante larga para que la rodilla delantera quede sobre el tobillo.",
    "Mantén el torso erguido y el core contraído bajo la barra.",
    "Empuja el suelo con el talón delantero, no con los dedos."
  ],
  "met": 6.0,
  "images": {
    "flat": {
      "start": "images/flat/barbell-reverse-lunge-start.webp",
      "peak": "images/flat/barbell-reverse-lunge-peak.webp"
    }
  }
}

Fetch just this exercise

const { exercises } = await fetch(
  "https://exercise-dataset.com/exercises.json"
).then(r => r.json());
const ex = exercises.find(e => e.id === "barbell-lunge");

Free for personal and commercial in-app use with attribution (“Exercise data by RepDB”) — see the license and ready-made attribution snippets. Redistributing the data as a dataset or API is not permitted.