Smith Machine Reverse Lunge

The Smith machine reverse lunge is a beginner-friendly exercise that anyone can use to effectively strengthen their lower body.

If you’re not sure whether this exercise is better for strengthening the glutes or quadriceps, the answer is both! Simple switches in execution can help you target either muscle group to meet all your body composition needs.

In this article, we will cover tips for targeting the two separate muscle groups. We’ll also provide more information on the best way to work this exercise into your workout split.

How To Do

  1. Adjust the bar on the Smith machine to shoulder height or just below it.
  2. Stand with the bar positioned across your upper back and your feet together. Your feet should be placed slightly in front of the bar.
  3. Grip the bar with both hands before lifting it off the hooks by rotating it forward.
  4. Stand straight up and engage your core.
  5. Step one foot back behind you, with your front foot remaining under the bar. The front foot should be stable, with the toes pointing forward.
  6. Allow your back heel to lift as you lower your back knee toward the ground. Your front knee should reach around a 90-degree angle at the ending position. Keep your torso upright or slightly leaned forward and your core engaged.
  7. Push through the heel of your front foot to return to the starting position, bringing your back foot forward.
  8. Repeat as necessary before switching sides.

Tips From Expert

  • To more heavily target the quadriceps, you can perform the lunge with a more upright posture.
  • Placing more weight on the toes of the back foot also helps to increase tension in the quadriceps.
  • To target the glutes more, focus on sending the hips backward without allowing the knee to travel over the toes. You can do this by leaning the torso more forward while ensuring your spine is always neutral and not rounded.
  • You also have the option of elevating the front foot to further enhance the stretch through the glutes.

Optimal Sets and Reps

Below, we’ll discuss the ideal amounts of sets and reps you should perform depending on your training style. Although they’re not a must, following evidence-based recommendations will help you reach your unique training goals faster.

Training Type Sets Reps
Strength Training 3–5 3–6
Hypertrophy 3–4 8–12
Endurance Training 2–3 15+
Power Training 3–5 3–5 (Explosive)
Optimal Sets & Reps of Smith Machine Reverse Lunge

How to Put in Your Workout Split

The Smith machine reverse lunge is a compound exercise that heavily targets the muscles of your lower body. It can be modified to be a more quadriceps or gluteus-dominant exercise, depending on your specific hypertrophy goals.

That being said, regardless of how you perform this movement, it is still a well-rounded exercise. You can use it to provide balanced targeting of most lower-body muscles.

Generally, it is best performed as a leg-day exercise. Below, we’ll provide more detailed information on how to work the Smith machine reverse lunge into your split:

  • Push/Pulls/Legs Split — On a dedicated leg day, you want to target all the major muscle groups of the lower body. Smith machine reverse lunges are excellent for hitting the glutes, hamstrings, and quads.
  • Full-Body Split — In a full-body workout, you're targeting all the body’s major muscle groups in one session. This exercise is ideal for full-body workouts because it engages the core while focusing on the glutes, hamstrings, and quads.

As is the case with sets and reps, there are also specific loading recommendations for each training style.

To figure yours out, start by first determining your 1RM or one-repetition max. This is the most amount of weight you can lift for a single rep with good form.

After that, the following ranges will help you figure out the perfect weight for your lifts:

  • Strength Training — 80%–100% of your 1RM.
  • Hypertrophy Training — 60%–80% of your 1RM.
  • Endurance Training — 40%–60% of your 1RM.
  • Power Training — 80%–100% of your 1RM.

Primary Muscle Groups

Quadriceps

Muscles located at the front portion of your upper legs, below your pelvis and above your knees. Consists of four parts.

Quadriceps

The quadriceps are a group of four muscles located on the front of the thigh. They are often referred to by their nickname quads, with quad meaning four in Latin.

During the Smith machine reverse lunge, along with other quadriceps builder exercises, the quadriceps are the most active leg muscles. This is especially true if you perform the movement with a more upright torso.

This is because the main role of the quadriceps is to extend or straighten the knee. During the upward phase of the Smith machine reverse lunge, the quadriceps do most of the work. They contract to straighten the leg while also providing stability to the knee.

Of the quadricep muscles, the vastus lateralis had the highest activation rate, shown to be 78% during the front lunge. This was followed closely by the vastus medialis at 72%.

Secondary Muscle Groups

Gluteus

Large, superficial muscles located at your buttocks just below your lower back area.

Hip Abductors

Muscles located between your lower back and perineum. Consists of three muscle groups.

Hamstrings

Muscles located at the back of your upper leg, below your glutes and above your calves. Consists of three muscles.

Hip Adductors

Muscles located at the upper inside part of your legs between your quads and hamstrings.

Gastrocnemius

Muscles located at the back of your lower leg and consists of your calf. Starts just behind your knee and extends to your ankle.

Soleus

Muscles located behind your gastrocnemius sitting slightly deeper. Runs down your leg and connects with the gastrocnemius to make your Achilles tendon.

Iliopsoas

Muscles starting at your back, moving through your pelvis connecting just below your groin.

Gluteus

The gluteus muscle group is comprised of three muscles: the gluteus maximus, gluteus medius, and gluteus minimus.

The gluteus maximus, the largest of the glute muscles, has an activation rate of approximately 23% during the front lunge.

It is one of the main contributors to hip extension, which looks like moving the thigh backward. Because of this, it works alongside the quadriceps and hamstrings to power the lifting phase of the lunge.

The gluteus medius and minimus play more of a supporting role in the pelvis, especially when you are balanced on one leg.

Hamstrings

Directly opposite the quadriceps, located on the back of the thigh, are the hamstrings. This is a group of three muscles that are involved in both knee flexion (bending the knee) and hip extension.

In the Smith machine reverse lunge, the hamstrings are actively engaged during the downward phase. They help control the descent of your body while also playing a key role in stabilizing the knee and hip.

During the lifting phase, the hamstrings work alongside the glutes to extend the hip and return to standing.

Iliopsoas

The iliopsoas, also known as the hip flexor, is a group of two muscles: the psoas major and the iliacus.

They extend from the lumbar spine (lower back) and sacrum and insert into the femur (upper leg bone). Because of this, they are mainly involved in hip flexion (bending the thigh toward the torso) and spine stabilization.

Though less activated than the quads and glutes, the iliopsoas plays an important supporting role during the reverse lunge. It helps control the flexion of the hip as you step back, while also stabilizing the hip and pelvis.

Gastrocnemius

The gastrocnemius is one of the two main muscles that make up the calf (the other being the soleus). In the Smith machine reverse lunge, the gastrocnemius is engaged to help stabilize the ankle.

Soleus

Below the gastrocnemius on the lower leg, you’ll find the soleus. Unlike the gastrocnemius, the soleus does not cross the knee joint. So, during movements, including the reverse lunge, it is more involved in stabilizing the ankle and lower leg.

Hip Abductors

The hip abductors are a group of muscles located on the outer thigh and hip. They help to provide stability to the knee and hip during movement. This is particularly true for exercises that require balancing on one leg, such as the Smith machine reverse lunge.

Hip Adductors

Opposite the hip abductors, on the inner thigh, are the hip adductors. During the Smith machine reverse lunge, the hip adductors play a key role in maintaining balance and stability. Especially when shifting weight during the lowering phase of the lunge.

Equipment

Smith Machine

Smith Machine

This is great for working on pressing and pulling movements whilst reducing accessory muscle activity. Make sure to set up safety bars.

Variations

Exercises that target the same primary muscle groups and require the same equipment.

Smith Machine Squat

Alternatives

Exercises that target the same primary muscle groups and require the different equipment.

Hack Squat

Squat To Overhead Press

Barbell Squat

Dumbbell Lunge

Bodyweight Squat

Bodyweight Bulgarian Split Squat

High Knees

Standing Quadricep Stretch

Burpees

Jumping Jacks

Who Should Do?

Beginners

The Smith machine reverse lunge is the ideal exercise for beginners wanting to strengthen their lower body muscles. 

This is because the Smith machine’s fixed bar path has been shown to improve stability during movement. Additional stability allows for beginners to more easily execute compound movements with proper form.

People With Muscular Imbalances

Whether or not you’re aware of them, most of us have muscular imbalances. This especially happens if you train often but only focus on bilateral exercises, which engage each side of the body simultaneously.

Incorporating one unilateral exercise, like the Smith machine reverse lunge, into each workout can help prevent and reduce muscular imbalances. This can lead to improved form and reduced injury risk.

Individuals Recovering From Injury

The Smith machine reverse lunge can be used to rehabilitate hip injuries, ligament strains in the knees or ankles, and muscle strains. 

Its fixed bar path helps alleviate the tension on the joints and their supporting muscles and ligaments. Beyond that, it can be more lightly loaded than traditional barbell variations, which have a starting weight of 45 pounds.

However, individuals recovering from injury should always use a rehabilitation plan created by a certified physical therapist.

Who Should Not Do?

Functional Training Athletes

Functional training promotes dynamic, real-life movements that require full-body control, like lifting, squatting, and bending. Although the Smitch machine reverse lunge helps strengthen muscles and promote joint mobility, it isn’t ideal for functional movement training.

This is because the Smith machine’s fixed bar path restricts natural movement patterns, limiting the development of balance, coordination, and stabilizer muscles. 

People With Knee Pain

Generally, it’s not recommended that people with knee pain practice lunges. Deep lunges can put excess tension on the patellofemoral joint. This is the space where your patella (kneecap) and femur (thigh bone) meet at the front of your knee. It is also the leading cause of knee pain.

Between front lunges and back lunges, research suggests that back lunges are the better option for individuals with knee pain. However, the hack squat is a free-weight exercise that can be a more knee-friendly alternative. 

Benefits Of The Exercise

Lower Body Work

Lower body work refers to exercises and movements that target and strengthen the major muscles of the lower body. This includes the quadriceps, hamstrings, glutes, and calves, as well as stabilizing muscles around the hips, knees, and ankles.

Strengthening the muscles of the lower body using weight-bearing exercises has a plethora of benefits. It can improve bone density, reduce injury risk, and maintain your mobility as you age.

Boosts Running Performance

The reverse lunge strengthens the hamstrings, quadriceps, and glutes which are muscles directly involved in running propulsion and speed. These muscles ensure key movements involved in running and strengthening them directly affects running performance.

Beyond that, unilateral exercises like the Smith machine reverse lunge enhance single-leg stability by targeting each leg individually. This not only improves balance but can also prevent muscular imbalances, both of which aid in injury prevention.

Compound Exercise

Compound exercises are exercises that work several muscle groups simultaneously. They are also usually multi-joint, meaning that more than one joint is involved in the movement.

Technically, multi-joint and single-joint exercises (isolation exercises) are shown to provide the same benefits regarding improving body composition. However, compound exercises are more effective at burning calories. 

They can also be incorporated into full-body workouts to help you work all major muscle groups in less time.

Injury Prevention

The Smith machine reverse lunge can be a better option for reducing injury risk compared to free-weight lunge variations. This is because its guided tracks help support proper form and reduce excessive strain on the joints and supporting muscles and ligaments. 

Additionally, the exercise strengthens the quads, glutes, hamstrings, and core, which can help prevent common lower-body injuries like knee, hip, and ankle strains. 

Incorporating an exercise for building strong upper-body muscles will help you build and maintain well-rounded and full-body strength.

Core Stability

Compound exercises like the reverse lunge are excellent for improving core strength. This is because of the core engagement that’s required to maintain spinal alignment during the deep hip hinge.

However, even compared to similar exercises, such as the forward lunge, the Smith machine reverse lunge is the better option.

Frequently Asked Questions

Are Smith machine lunges good?

Yes, Smith machine lunges are a good compound exercise for targeting the quadriceps, glutes, calves, and core muscles. They are great for beginners who want to perform lunges but lack the balance needed for free-weight lunges.

What muscles do reverse lunges work?

Reverse lunges primarily target the glutes, hamstrings, and quadriceps. They also engage the core for stability and work the calves to a lesser extent. Depending on how you perform your reverse lunge, you can make it more glute or quadriceps-dominant.

Resources

Endomondo.com refrains from utilizing tertiary references. We uphold stringent sourcing criteria and depend on peer-reviewed studies and academic research conducted by medical associations and institutions. For more detailed insights, you can explore further by reading our editorial process.

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