Alternating Lunge Get-Up
Sit back on your heels and drive your hips forward until you are kneeling tall. Then place one foot forward, with your front hip and knee at right angles. Lift your front toes slightly, stand up and bring your back foot next to your front foot. The same leg stays in front: step back with the other leg into a long lunge, lower yourself slowly, lay the top of your back foot flat, bring your front knee down beside it and sit back on your heels. Then switch legs.
The alternating lunge get-up links several movements into one: from sitting on your heels to kneeling tall, into a half-kneel, up to standing and back down through a lunge. Your ankles, knees and hips move through a large range of motion, with your glutes tight the front of your back hip opens up in the half-kneel, and your thighs and glutes work as you rise and stand up.
All you need is a mat or a carpet. It fits into your mobility warm-up before strength work, or as a movement break, for example after sitting for a long time.
From the studio: When I lift my front toes and shift my weight onto the heel, I can feel my glutes working noticeably harder as I stand up. That is what I see in the studio.
Starting position
Kneel on a mat or carpet with the tops of your feet flat on the floor, and sit back on your heels.
Squeeze your glutes and drive your hips forward until you are kneeling tall, keeping your glutes tight.
Now place one foot forward. Your front hip and knee are both at 90 degrees, the heel of your front foot sits under your knee, and your weight is still on your back knee. Lift your front toes slightly so your weight sits on your heel, and pull yourself up from there. Your knee stays over your foot, and your back foot comes forward next to your front foot.
The same leg stays in front. Step back with the other leg into a long lunge and lower yourself slowly until your back knee reaches the floor. Lay the top of your back foot flat, bring your front knee down beside it and sit back on your heels. Then repeat on the other leg.
The three cues
- Drive your hips forward, glutes tight
- Front hip and knee at 90 degrees, heel under your knee
- Lift your toes and pull yourself up, knee over your foot
Common faults
| Fault | How to fix it |
|---|---|
| Your hips stay back as you rise | Squeeze your glutes and drive your hips forward. |
| Your front foot is too far forward or too close | Set your front hip and knee at 90 degrees, with your heel under your knee. |
| Your knee shoots forward as you stand up | Pull yourself up, keeping your knee over your foot. |
| You push off with your back leg | Shift your weight onto your front heel and stand up through your front leg. |
| You drop into the lunge | Step well back with the other leg and lower yourself slowly. |
| Your knees press into a hard floor | Practise on a mat, a carpet or a sports floor. |
Variations
| Variation | When to use it |
|---|---|
| Step by step | Pause briefly in each position: kneeling tall, foot forward, toes lifted, standing. Move on once the angles at the front are right without adjusting. |
| Flowing, alternating legs | At least 10, ideally 20 alternating reps, glutes tight, knee over foot. |
| Slower, front leg only | Move more slowly, pull yourself up out of the half-kneel through your front leg and keep the work entirely on your front leg. |
Reps and load
At least 10, ideally 20 alternating reps, smooth and controlled. It fits into your mobility warm-up before strength work, such as before the Dumbbell Goblet Squat or the Reverse Lunge, and as a movement break after sitting for a long time.
Which muscles do the work
| Muscle | Role | What it does here |
|---|---|---|
| Quads M. quadriceps femoris | Prime mover | Straighten the knee as you rise and stand, and control the lowering into the lunge |
| Glute max M. gluteus maximus | Prime mover | Extends the hip as you rise to kneeling tall and as you stand up, and controls the way back down |
| Hamstrings Mm. ischiocrurales | Synergist | Help extend the hip and steady the front knee |
| Glute med M. gluteus medius | Stabiliser | Keeps the front knee over the foot and the pelvis level |
| Tibialis anterior M. tibialis anterior | Stabiliser | Keeps your front toes lifted and your ankle steady |
| Core M. rectus abdominis, M. erector spinae | Stabiliser | Keeps your upper body upright while your legs do the work |
As you rise and stand up, your quads and glute max work together, helped by your hamstrings. Your glute med keeps your knee on track and your tibialis anterior steadies your ankle. In the half-kneel, with your glutes tight, the front of your back hip is stretched.
Explained in full
Andreas shows step by step how to rise from sitting on your heels through a half-kneel to standing and lunge back down, and how to make the exercise harder. · 2:04
Seeing it done right is not the same as doing it right
Video, cues and variations take you a long way. What they cannot give you is an outside eye at the moment the movement isn't quite there yet. That is what training with me is for — in the studio or in a workshop.
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Sources
Muyor JM, Martín-Fuentes I, Rodríguez-Ridao D, Antequera-Vique JA. (2020). Electromyographic activity in the gluteus medius, gluteus maximus, biceps femoris, vastus lateralis, vastus medialis and rectus femoris during the Monopodal Squat, Forward Lunge and Lateral Step-Up exercises. PLoS One 15(4):e0230841. DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0230841 — Measures muscle activity in 20 physically active adults during the forward lunge, single-leg squat and lateral step-up. The quads were most active, followed by glute med and glute max; the hamstrings also worked, and rising demanded more than lowering. The basis for the muscle table (quads and glutes as prime movers, hamstrings as synergists, glute med as a stabiliser). Measured on the lunge rather than this combination, in a young sample. (Evidence type: EMG)
Farrokhi S, Pollard CD, Souza RB, Chen YJ, Reischl S, Powers CM. (2008). Trunk position influences the kinematics, kinetics, and muscle activity of the lead lower extremity during the forward lunge exercise. J Orthop Sports Phys Ther 38(7):403–409. DOI: 10.2519/jospt.2008.2634 — Ten young adults (26.7 ± 3.2 years): leaning the trunk slightly forward increased the hip extensor moment and glute max and hamstring activity in the front leg. Only indirect support for the idea that body position shifts the work in a lunge towards the glutes. No study has measured Andreas' observation about lifting the front of the foot, so it appears as From the studio. (Evidence type: EMG)
Escamilla RF, Zheng N, Macleod TD, et al. (2008). Patellofemoral joint force and stress between a short- and long-step forward lunge. J Orthop Sports Phys Ther 38(11):681–690. DOI: 10.2519/jospt.2008.2694 — 18 adults: at 70 to 90 degrees of knee bend, patellofemoral load was higher in the short-step lunge than in the long-step lunge. The basis for stepping back into a long lunge and keeping a right angle at the front. Young adults; transferable as a mechanical principle. (Evidence type: Biomechanics)
Behm DG, Blazevich AJ, Kay AD, McHugh M. (2016). Acute effects of muscle stretching on physical performance, range of motion, and injury incidence in healthy active individuals: a systematic review. Appl Physiol Nutr Metab 41(1):1–11. DOI: 10.1139/apnm-2015-0235 — A systematic review in healthy, active people: after dynamic stretching performance was on average 1.3% higher, and all forms of stretching improve range of motion in the short term. The basis for placing the exercise in a mobility warm-up. No study has looked at the alternating lunge get-up itself; limited transfer to people aged 40 to 60. (Evidence type: Systematic review)
A note on context: EMG studies show which muscles an exercise recruits — that is a good reason to pick it, but it does not replace adjusting things to the person in front of you. See a doctor for persistent or severe pain.