By Marnie Kunz, CPT

Curtsy lunges are one of my top glute exercises. This post will go over the curtsy lunge muscles worked, benefits, and how to do it. As a trainer and running coach, I often focus on finding exercises that help people build their lower body strength and stability and offer a lot of bang for their buck. Curtsy lunges are one of my top picks.

Curtsy lunges are a compound exercise that primarily targets your glutes and quads. Unlike regular lunges and squats, curtsy lunges offer the additional benefit of targeting your glute medius, which supports your hip and improves your stability, balance, and sports performance. Curtsy lunge muscles worked also include your hip adductors, which is especially important for runners and people who sit a lot, as these activities often tighten the hips.

Related Post: 10 Best Hip Stretches for Runners

Curtsy Lunge: What Is It?

Before we get into the technical details, you may wonder what a curtsy lunge is. A curtsy lunge is what it sounds like - a form of lunge with a “curtsy” movement. A curtsy lunge involves taking a step back and laterally (to the side), simulating an exaggerated curtsy. It is a lunge variation that targets often underused muscles in your glutes and strengthens your big glute muscles and quads.

Curtsy Lunge Muscles Worked

The curtsy lunge muscles worked include your glutes and quads. The secondary muscles worked are your hamstrings. As with many lower body exercises - such as regular lunges and squats, curtsy lunges target your gluteus maximus, the biggest muscle in your glutes. Unlike other exercises, curtsy lunges strengthen your two smaller glute muscles - the gluteus medius and minimus.

By targeting all three of your glute muscle groups, curtsy lunges offer an excellent booty-building workout that also will help improve your stability and reduce your risk of sports and running injuries.

Curtsy Lunge Benefits

Curtsy lunges offer many benefits. Here are some of the most significant ones:

Builds lower body strength. Curtsy lunges help develop power and strength in your lower body, especially in your glutes, quads, and hips.
Improves your stability and balance. The side movement is beneficial for improving your stability, making activities such as running more efficient.
Reduces your risk of injuries. Curtsy lunge muscles worked include your hip adductors, which is especially helpful in preventing tightness and injuries in runners and athletes.
Strengthens your inner thigh muscles. Unlike regular squats and lunges, curtsy lunges strengthen your inner thigh muscles. This often underworked area helps you move your legs more efficiently.
Improves athletic performance, according to the American Council on Exercise.

How to Do Curtsy Lunges

Curtsy lunges are an accessible exercise for all fitness levels. You can begin with your body weight and progress to holding dumbbells if you want to add more intensity to your workout. Here is how to do curtsy lunges:

Stand with your chest up and shoulders back, and feet shoulder-width apart.
Step back and to the side with your left foot, resting your weight on your front foot. Engage your core muscles and keep your chest up as you sink into a curtsy position. Lower until your thigh is parallel to the floor.
Straighten your back leg and push back up into the starting position.
Repeat to do 10 on each side. Do two to three sets of 10.

When to Do Curtsy Lunges

You can add curtsy lunges to your lower-body strength training workouts or do them as part of a full-body workout. When you’re a beginner, start with 2 sets of 10 curtsy lunges on each side and work up to 3 sets of 10.

You can hold a pair of dumbbells by your sides throughout the movement for advanced-level workouts. Make sure you can maintain good form throughout your curtsy lunges. Adjusting your balance and form may take a few weeks, so start with bodyweight curtsy lunges.

As with other forms of strength training, it’s essential to give yourself rest days between workouts. If you use weights, give yourself at least a day of rest between your curtsy lunge workouts.

To improve your fitness and become a better athlete, join our Runstreet Wolf Pack Membership for ongoing bodyweight workouts, my coaching, and our members’ only Discord group for support.

Common Curtsy Lunge Mistakes

Curtsy lunges are generally a beginner-friendly workout, but there are some common form mistakes you’ll want to avoid. Here are some tips to help you master your curtsy lunge form:

Keep your chest up. Don’t let your body fold over toward the floor as you lunge, as this will reduce your glute strengthening benefits.
Lower your body far enough. Usually, this means your front thigh will be parallel to the floor when you’re in your back curtsy position. If you don’t lower far enough, you won’t enjoy the full benefits of the exercise.
Keep your body facing forward and your hips square throughout the movement. Don’t let your body sway or fall to the side.
Step back enough so your front knee stays above your ankle and doesn’t go past it. As with most lunges, you don’t want your front knee to jut out past your ankle, as it can put too much pressure on your knee.

Curtsy Lunge FAQs

What muscles do curtsy lunges target?

Curtsy lunge muscles worked include the quads, glutes, and hip adductors. Unlike many forms of lunges and squats, curtsy lunges strengthen all three gluteal muscles, including the gluteus maximus, gluteus medius, and gluteus minimus.

How often should I do curtsy lunges?

You can do curtsy lunges two to three times per week (or up to four times per week if you use your body weight). If you use weights for your curtsy lunges, take at least a day of rest from lower body weights between each session.

What other glute exercises are good to do?

Squats, deadlifts, and hip thrusts are excellent glute-strengthening exercises to target your major glute muscles.

Do you need a custom training plan to crush your fitness goals? Check out the Runstreet Training Center. Join our next Fitness Challenge with Wolf Pack Membership for more bodyweight workouts.

Marnie Kunz is a NASM-certified trainer and USATF- and RRCA-certified running coach, dog lover, Akita mom, and writer based in Brooklyn, NY.

Curtsy Lunge: Muscles Worked, Benefits + How To Do It