Barbell Curtsey Lunge

The Barbell Curtsey Lunge targets the glutes, quadriceps, and hamstrings while improving balance and coordination.

  1. Stand with feet hip-width apart, holding a barbell across your upper back.
  2. Step one leg back and to the side, lowering into a lunge while keeping your front knee over your ankle.
  3. Push through your front heel to return to the starting position.
  4. Alternate legs for the desired number of repetitions.

How to perform the Barbell Curtsey Lunge

  1. Set up. Set up in a stable, balanced starting position appropriate for the Barbell Curtsey Lunge using your barbell.
  2. Brace and execute. Brace your core, control the descent, and move through a full pain-free range of motion while emphasizing your glutes.
  3. Reset. Reverse the movement under control and reset between repetitions, keeping your form crisp on every rep.

Coaching cues

  • Move with intent — every rep should feel deliberate, not rushed.
  • Drive force through your glutes rather than momentum.
  • Keep your breathing steady: exhale on the hard part, inhale on the reset.

Common mistakes

  • Using too much weight and losing positional control.
  • Cutting the range of motion short and missing the target muscle.
  • Letting your spine round or hyperextend instead of staying neutral.

Detailed cues, common mistakes, and demonstration video are available in the Fitly app.

Build a free routine

Stage exercises here, then sign up to save them as a real Fitly routine — synced to web and mobile.

View staged routine (0)

Related exercises

0 exercises staged Save your routine — sign up free.