Curtsy lunge benefits: Strengthen and sculpt your glutes
Are you looking for an effective exercise that targets your glutes, helps you achieve a sculpted physique, and improves your overall strength? Curtsy lunges are a lower body exercise that offers benefits for all fitness levels.
Lunges are a staple for building a strong and toned lower body during strength training.
The curtsy lunge is a unilateral exercise, meaning it is performed on one side of the body at a time.
What is a curtsy lunge?
Curtsy lunge is a single-leg compound exercise that helps with functional strength movement, that targets your glutes, quads and hamstrings. As opposed to traditional lunges, the curtsy lunge targets the inner thighs along with more specifically your glute medius and glute minimus.
Muscles worked during curtsy lunge
The curtsy lunge is a lunge variation that can done with your own body weight or with added weight.
The primary muscles target:
Quadriceps: All four muscles of the quadriceps, which include the rectus femoris, vastus lateralis, vastus medialis, and vastus intermedius, are activated during this exercise,
Glutes: all three gluteal muscles, which include the gluteus maximus, medius, and minimus.
Secondary muscles:
The curtsy lunge targets the inner and outer thighs, the adductors and calves.
5 benefits of curtsy lunges
Standard lunges are a great exercise. Curtsy lunges are a variation that should be added into leg day workouts.
Stronger legs and glutes
People who want to reduce their maximum lifts and squats can replace them with curtsy lunges for better results and supplementary exercise. As a result, your lower body strength improves. This means you can do activities like walking, running and jumping with more power.
Shapely glutes
Curtsy lunges will shape your lower body and improve the appearance of your glutes. Curtsy lunges are a great way to target the gluteus minimus, medius and inner thighs.
Improves strength and muscle mass
The curtsy lunge is an excellent way to build strength and lean muscle mass. This compound exercise works multiple muscles, joints and stabilizers, helping to increase strength and lower body strength and lower body size.
Improves balance
The curtsy lunge exercise is a great way to improve balance and strengthen the glutes. As you cross your leg behind you, muscles in your ankle, calves, quads and core all work to stabilize your body during the curtsy lunge.
Better overall fitness
Including curtsy lunges in your workout routine can improve your overall fitness level. They engage multiple muscles at once and help you become fitter and more athletic.
How to do curtsy lunges
- Stand with your feet shoulder-width apart and your arms down at your sides.
- Hold a dumbbell in each hand.
- Put your weight on your right foot and step back and across your left foot at a 45-degree angle.
- Bend through your knees and lower your left knee to the ground. Your right thigh should be parallel to the ground.
- Keep your hips and torso squared to the front and your torso is upright. Push through your foot and return to standing.
Variations with weights
- Kettlebell curtsy lunges: If you feel comfortable with the lunges, you can add the kettlebell to add tension to your lower part of the body, as it also engages the core muscles of the body.
- Bodyweight curtsy lunges: Just use your own body weight. You don’t need any weight to get an effective exercise.
- Lunges with Smith machine: Use the Smith machine, an assisted barbell, for extra support during the lunge. It adds a challenge to the lunge you are doing.
- TRX curtsy lunges: Step back and use the straps to help support your weight throughout the motion.
