The Key Differences Between Lunges Vs. Squats

Both lunges and squats are super well-known lower body exercises. But even if you’ve done a million and one reps of each to work your glutes, quads, and calves, you might not know that there’s a lot that sets these two exercises apart.

Of course, the most obvious difference between lunges vs. squats is your foot position. A lunge is a lower body exercise that involves a split stance with one foot forward and the other back, while a squat keeps both your feet parallel as you sit your hips back, explains April Gatlin, ACE, a master coach for Stride Fitness. While both moves involve lowering down, the motion to do so is pretty different.

For a lunge, you start with your feet hip-width apart and take a long step back with one leg so you’re in a split stance. “Lower yourself down, bending both knees to 90 degrees until your front thigh is parallel with the floor, then drive your front heel into the ground to bring yourself back up to the top of your range,” Gatlin explains. You then step together and repeat on the other side. With a squat, you begin with your feet just outside of shoulder-width apart, turn your toes slightly outward, and sit your hips back and down. “You stay heavy in your heels, then squeeze your glutes, thighs, and hamstrings to lift yourself back up,” says Gatlin.

Now that you’ve got the mechanics down, here’s everything else that sets squats and lunges apart.

The Benefits Of Squats

When you sit your hips back into a squat, you’re effectively working your quads, glutes, hamstrings, and calves as your lower muscles engage to hold you up, says Angela Gentile, a fitness instructor and owner of mindful fitness brand Sweat Remix. A squat also calls on the stabilizing muscles in your core, like your abs and obliques, as well as your spine muscles, like the erector spinae.

Squats are beloved by trainers because they work the muscles that you use for everyday activities, like bending down to pick something up or getting out of a chair, adds Jeanine E. Yutani, MA, NCP, a master instructor and owner of Via Pilates. Add squats to your routine and you’ll notice that these simple things start to feel easier.

This particular exercise can also improve your athletic performance, Gatlin notes. Practice squats and you’ll notice that you have more power in your legs, which comes in handy when running, jumping, rowing, etc. That’s the reason why athletes always add squats to their routine.

Finally, squats serve as an excellent functional movement test, Gentile says. If you feel a little wobbly while doing squats, that can be an indicator that you need to work on your lower body strength, ankle and hip stability, flexibility, and core strength by... doing more squats.

The Benefits Of Lunges

According to Gatlin, lunges also work your glutes, hamstrings, and quads. “Along with building strength in the legs, lunges are great for improving balance and stability since they are unilateral exercise,” she adds. “They can also help improve posture since they recruit muscles of your posterior chain, including glutes and hamstrings.”

Do a classic lunge with one foot forward, and you’ll also light up your core as your body works to stay stable, Yutani says. Because of the offset position of the exercise, Yutani notes that the obliques and diagonal slings of the abdominals also come into play.

Like a squat, the motion of a lunge also translates to everyday life. “[Lunges help with balance] and also help to build strength and mobility unilaterally, meaning one leg at a time, so we can better show up and do life activities like walking and climbing up and down stairs,” she says. They’re also great for improving flexibility, and improving your performance in sports, too.

Lunges Vs. Squats

According to Yutani, the main similarity between lunges and squats are the muscles worked. “They’re both predominantly lower body exercises, and help in strengthening leg muscles,” she tells Bustle. They’re also both bodyweight moves that come with a wide array of variations to choose from.

For squats, you can widen your legs for a sumo squat, slide to the side for a cossack squat, or leap into the air for a jump squat. For lunges, you can do the stationary kind, lateral lunges, walking lunges, skaters, or a Bulgarian split squat, which is actually a lunge. Add weights into the mix, and you’ll have yourself a nice full-body workout.

As for the differences? The biggest one is that a lunge is a unilateral, or single leg, exercise while a squat is a bilateral exercise with both legs used in unison, Yutani says. “A squat works two legs in a similar position, while lunges work the legs in different positions,” she adds. That’s why trainers sometimes recommend lunges to ensure you’re training both sides equally, since the dominant leg can take over during a squat.

Another difference to note is that lunges require more balance, Gentile says, and thus can feel a little more advanced than a squat. Which one you choose is up to you, and will likely depend on what you’re in the mood for and the specific benefits you’d like to focus on.

TL;DR

Choose a squat if you’re just starting to work out. You’ll target all the same muscles as a lunge, but it’ll be a little easier to remain stable since squats are a bilateral or two-limbed exercise. If you want to work on your balance, go for a lunge and add variations of each to switch things up. But all in all, both moves make for a great lower body exercise.

Studies referenced:

Aguilera-Castells, J. 2019. Muscle activity of Bulgarian squat. Effects of additional vibration, suspension and unstable surface. PLoS One. doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0221710.

Cirer-Sastre, R. 2017. Contralateral Effects After Unilateral Strength Training: A Meta-Analysis Comparing Training Loads. J Sports Sci Med. PMID: 28630570; PMCID: PMC5465979.

Krause, D. 2018. Electromyography of the Hip and Thigh Muscles During Two Variations of the Lunge Exercise: A cross-sectional study. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC6063068/

Marchetti, P.H. 2018. Balance and Lower Limb Muscle Activation between In-Line and Traditional Lunge Exercises. J Hum Kinet. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC6006536/

Marchetti, P.H. 2016. Muscle Activation Differs between Three Different Knee Joint-Angle Positions during a Maximal Isometric Back Squat Exercise. J Sports Med. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4967668/

McMillian, DJ. 2016. Modifying the Functional Movement Screen Deep Squat Test: The Effect of Foot and Arm Positional Variations. J Strength Cond Res. doi: 10.1519/JSC.0000000000001190.

Myer, G. 2014. The back squat: A proposed assessment of functional deficits and technical factors that limit performance. Strength Cond J. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4262933/

Sources:

April Gatlin, ACE, master coach for STRIDE Fitness

Angela Gentile, fitness instructor, owner of mindful fitness brand Sweat Remix

Jeanine E. Yutani, MA, NCP, master instructor, owner of Via Pilates