What you'll gain

• Targets the glute medius for hip shape and lateral stability.

• Builds single-leg strength with a heavy crossover challenge.

• Improves balance and hip control under load.

Step-by-Step Instructions

1. 1

   Hold a kettlebell at chest height in a goblet grip with both hands cupping the horns.

2. 2

   Stand tall with your feet hip-width apart and your core braced.

3. 3

   Step one foot diagonally back and across behind your front leg, like you're starting a curtsy.

4. 4

   Lower your back knee toward the floor by bending both legs, keeping the front knee tracking over the front foot.

5. 5

   Drive through the heel of your front foot to push back up to the start, returning the back leg to neutral.

6. 6

   Alternate sides each rep, keeping your torso upright and the kettlebell tight to your chest throughout.

Common Mistakes

• Letting the front knee cave inward on the descent, which strains the knee and removes glute work.

• Crossing the back leg too far behind, which forces the hips to rotate and breaks the stable stance.

• Leaning the torso forward over the front leg, loading the lower back instead of the glutes.

• Letting the kettlebell drop away from the chest, which destabilizes the upper body and shortens the rep.

About This Exercise

The kettlebell alternating curtsy lunge takes a classic lunge and crosses one leg behind the other in a curtsy pattern. That crossover loads the glute medius — the side of the glute responsible for hip stability — far more than a forward or reverse lunge does. Holding a kettlebell at chest height adds load and forces the core to brace as the hips rotate. For app and course content, this clip is a strong inclusion in glute-focused programs, women's training tracks, and athletic hip-stability blocks. It's also useful in lateral-stability rehab-adjacent content for runners and team-sport athletes who need balanced glute strength. Drop it into your unilateral leg library next to the standard reverse lunge and the Bulgarian split squat for a complete single-leg coaching set.

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