Dumbbell reverse lunge

What it is

Stand holding a dumbbell in each hand at your sides, feet together. Step one foot back a long way, lower until the back knee is close to the floor, then push through the front foot to return to standing.

Alternate sides or complete a set on one side before swapping. Doing one side at a time is harder and easier to keep track of.

What it demands

Everything the dumbbell split squat asks, plus the coordination of stepping back and returning under load.

Balance that is disturbed rather than held — you arrive in the position instead of setting up in it, and with weight in your hands that arrival is less forgiving.

Grip, for the whole set.

What usually goes wrong

Short steps. As always in this pattern: too short crowds the front knee and blocks the back hip.

Stepping onto a line. Placing the back foot directly behind the front removes the side-to-side base, and with weights that becomes obvious quickly.

Dropping into the bottom. With load, controlling the descent matters more, not less.

Losing the trunk position. Weights at the sides pull down evenly, so this is less of a problem than with a front-loaded version — but fatigue still shows up as a forward pitch.

Where it sits

The loaded stepping lunge, and a natural progression from the split squat — same position, now with a step to reach it.

It remains the more controllable direction to lunge: stepping backwards means you are not decelerating your bodyweight plus dumbbells onto a leading leg, which is why it is the version to learn and load first.