Lateral Lunges for Hip and Groin Strength: Building Side-to-Side Power

If you've ever felt a sharp tug on the inside of your groin while sliding sideways to stay in front of an attacker on the basketball court, or woken up with a deep ache on the inside of your hip after diving sideways for a shot in badminton, that's less about weak muscles overall and more about muscles you've barely trained to move sideways in the first place.

Think back to a moment you nearly slipped on a staircase and had to spread your legs sideways to catch your balance. What kicked in wasn't the muscles that push you forward or let you crouch down; it was the muscles on the outside and inside of your hip that push your leg out to the side. Yet squats, lunges, and deadlifts, the backbone of most lower-body routines, are all front-to-back, sagittal-plane movements. Unless you train it separately, the frontal-plane strength that lets you spread and gather your legs sideways tends to go untouched for life.

The lateral lunge fills that exact gap. This guide covers the correct starting position and movement steps for a bodyweight lateral lunge, reach, sliding, and dumbbell progressions that add load, an 8-week table of what to build up week by week, and the cases where you shouldn't start plus the signals that mean you should stop mid-session. If the inside of your hip pulls often, this companion piece is worth reading too: groin strain adductor rehab

What Is the Frontal Plane, and Why Lateral Lunges Matter

The body moves through three broad planes: the sagittal plane, where you bend and extend front to back; the transverse plane, where you rotate side to side; and the frontal plane, where you spread and gather sideways. The squats, lunges, deadlifts, and leg presses you learn at the gym are all sagittal-plane movements, and running or cycling fall into that category too. But the moment you change direction, guarding an opponent in basketball, darting to the side of the court in badminton, or catching yourself when a stair throws you sideways, what holds your body up is frontal-plane musculature: the gluteus medius on the outside of the hip and the adductors on the inside.

Distefano and colleagues (2009, Journal of Orthopaedic & Sports Physical Therapy) used EMG to compare gluteal activation across nine lower-body exercises in healthy adults, and found that single-limb exercises including the lateral lunge ranked near the top for gluteus medius activation, in the 40-50% range of maximum voluntary contraction. That figure only shows how hard the muscle is being recruited, not that it proves actual strength gains or injury prevention, and the sample was limited to young, healthy adults. Even so, it's worth noting that front-to-back exercises alone don't recruit these muscles nearly as hard.

A lack of frontal-plane strength also ties directly to groin injuries. Harøy and colleagues (2019, British Journal of Sports Medicine) ran a cluster-randomized controlled trial in male football teams and found that teams who regularly performed the Copenhagen adductor strengthening exercise had a 41% lower risk of groin injury than the control group. That effect, though, was heavily dependent on how consistently players actually did the exercise, and because the result comes from a specific sport and gender, applying it directly to the general public or other sports calls for some caution.

In a fall, the direction itself determines how severe the injury turns out to be. Greenspan and colleagues (1998, American Journal of Medicine) analyzed the relationship between fall direction and hip fracture in frail nursing-home residents and found that sideways falls carried a significantly higher risk of hip fracture than falls forward or backward. The sample was limited to frail nursing-home elderly, so applying it directly to healthy middle-aged adults is a stretch, but it illustrates why the strength to control which way you fall, the strength to plant a leg out to the side and hold, matters as much as it does.

In the end, the lateral lunge targets exactly the muscles involved both in the moment you change direction in sport and the moment you catch yourself wobbling sideways in daily life. Use the table below for a quick check on where your frontal-plane strength stands right now.

If either test felt noticeably unstable, it's worth starting from the basic lateral lunge covered next and building up carefully from there.

Frontal-plane gaps show up outside of sports too. Twisting sideways with a laundry basket tucked against your hip to load the washer, reaching sideways into the back of a car trunk, or nudging a shopping cart sideways to change direction in a checkout line all recruit frontal-plane muscles in small, unremarkable moments. If you've noticed unusual stiffness or instability during movements like these, the lateral lunge is worth adding even if you don't play a particular sport.

Rehab programs for athletes in sports with frequent direction changes, tennis and soccer among them, often build lateral-lunge-family movements in as a standard component, which lines up with what the research above points to: sagittal-plane strength alone doesn't do much to guard against the injuries and falls that happen in the frontal plane.

Lateral Lunge Basics: Starting Position Through Breathing

A lateral lunge might look at first glance like a squat spread out to the side, but because your center of gravity shifts left and right, it demands balance and strength at the same time. For the first few days, paying more attention to knee direction and foot pressure than to rep count is the shortcut to staying injury-free over the long run.

Floor surface matters more than you'd expect. Try this in socks on a hardwood floor and the extended leg can slip unexpectedly, dumping sudden load onto the knee, so work barefoot or in grippy socks on a surface, like a yoga mat or carpet, where your sole can hold its footing. If you wear shoes, a thin, flat sole reads foot pressure better than a thickly cushioned running shoe.

Starting position Stand with your feet roughly twice shoulder-width apart, toes pointing forward or slightly out. Bring your hands together in front of your chest or rest them on your hips. Look straight ahead and keep your spine tall as you start.

Movement steps ① Bend the right knee and shift your weight to the right while the left leg stays straight and extended out to the side. ② Sit back into the right hip as if sitting into a chair, keeping the right knee from caving inward past the second toe. ③ Keep the left knee straight with the whole sole of that foot planted on the floor as you hold. ④ Push off the right foot to return to the centered starting stance. ⑤ Repeat the same movement on the other side.

Breathing timing Inhale through the nose as you sit down, shifting weight to the side, and exhale through the mouth as you drive back up to center. Holding your breath while seated into the position needlessly raises blood pressure, so avoid it.

Sets, reps, frequency 10-12 reps per side, 3 sets, with 30-45 seconds of rest between sets. Start at 3 times a week for the first two weeks, and move up to 4 times a week once your knees and groin aren't noticeably sore the next day.

Common mistakes and fixes The bending knee drifting inward past the toes is the most common flaw. Consciously push the knee out so it tracks over the second toe as you sit down. Many people also let the heel of the extended leg lift so they're standing on the toes alone; keeping that heel pinned to the floor is what actually lets the adductor lengthen and get loaded properly. Leaning the torso too far forward, which dumps weight onto the knee, is another flaw to watch for; emphasizing the feeling of sitting the hips back corrects it.

Stop if you notice Stop immediately if you feel a sharp, stabbing pain on the inside of the groin or the inside of the knee. A catching sensation or sound in the hip joint accompanied by pain, or numbness or radiating pain down the leg, are also reasons to stop.

Leveling Up: Reach, Slide, and Dumbbell Variations

Once you can do the basic lateral lunge for 12 reps per side, 3 sets, without the knee caving inward and without pain, it's time to build load and control with the three variations below. You don't have to move through them strictly in order, but respecting each stage's level-up criterion before adding the next one is the safer approach.

Reach Lateral Lunge: Adding Eccentric Control with a Forward Reach

Starting position Start from the same wide stance as the basic lateral lunge, keeping your hands free to reach forward.

Movement steps ① As you shift weight to one side and sit down, reach both hands toward the floor just in front of the bent leg's toes. ② Pause for one second just short of touching the floor. ③ Push through the sole of the extended leg to stand tall and return to center.

Breathing timing Inhale as you reach down, and exhale as you push back up after the one-second pause. Keep breathing lightly through the pause rather than holding it.

Sets, reps, frequency 8-10 reps per side, 3 sets, 3 times a week. The bent knee carries more load than in the basic version, so cut the reps and prioritize form quality.

Common mistakes and fixes Rounding the back while reaching for extra distance is a common flaw. It's fine if your fingertips don't reach the floor; keep the spine tall and reach only as far as that allows. Letting the knee travel well past the toes also puts unnecessary strain on the joint, so keep the feeling of folding the hips back as you sit.

Stop if you notice Stop and go back to the reach-free basic version if reaching brings on a pulling pain in the lower back or a sharp pain at the front of the knee.

Sliding Lateral Lunge: Adding Load with a Smooth Floor or a Band

Level-up criterion Move on once you can do the reach lateral lunge for 10 reps per side, 3 sets, without the back rounding and without pain.

Equipment On hardwood or smooth tile, a thick sock or a sliding disc under the foot works; on carpet or a mat, a folded towel does the same job. A mini band worn just above the knees can produce a similar effect.

Movement steps ① With one foot on the slider, bend the opposite knee and shift your weight onto it. ② As the sliding foot glides out to the side, use the bent knee to brake and control the speed. ③ Push through the bent leg to drag the sliding foot back and return to center.

Breathing timing Inhale as the foot slides out, and exhale as you pull it back to center.

Sets, reps, frequency 8 reps per side, 3 sets, 2-3 times a week. If controlling the sliding foot feels awkward at first, practice next to a wall or chair.

Common mistakes and fixes The sliding foot shooting out too fast for the knee to control is common. Limit the slide distance at first and master braking with the bent knee before extending the range. Letting the knee get pulled inward when using a band is another frequent issue; keep actively pressing the knee outward against the band's resistance.

Stop if you notice Stop immediately and drop back to the basic version or below if the knee buckles with pain mid-slide, or you get repeated sharp twinges on the inside of the hip.

Dumbbell Lateral Lunge: Adding Load to Convert to Strength

Level-up criterion Once you can complete the sliding lateral lunge for 8 reps per side, 3 sets, keeping the knee under control and pain-free, it's time to add load.

Equipment A single 5-10 kg dumbbell, or a kettlebell of similar weight. Start light and confirm your form first.

Starting position Hold the dumbbell in a goblet grip with both hands in front of your chest, elbows pointing naturally down.

Movement steps ① Shift weight to one side and sit down in the same sequence as the basic lateral lunge. ② Brace your core so the dumbbell's weight doesn't pull your torso forward. ③ Push through the bent leg to return to center.

Breathing timing The inhale-on-the-way-down, exhale-on-the-way-up rhythm is the same as the basic version, but a short, forceful exhale on the way up, matched to the added weight, helps keep the core stable.

Sets, reps, frequency 8 reps per side, 3 sets, twice a week. Form comes before adding weight; if your form breaks down before you hit 8 reps, drop the load.

Common mistakes and fixes The dumbbell's weight rounding the back and shifting load onto the lower back is common. Keep the dumbbell as close to your body as possible and brace the core to keep the spine tall. As the weight increases, the extended leg's knee tends to bend slightly too, which is another frequent flaw; keeping that knee locked straight is what lets the adductor actually lengthen under load.

Stop if you notice Set the weight down and return to the bodyweight version if holding the dumbbell brings on lower-back pain, or groin pain that's clearly sharper than in earlier stages.

The 8-Week Program: Weekly Targets

If you're not sure which variation to run on a given day, use the table below as your baseline. Keep in mind it's only an example of an average pace; if you haven't met a stage's level-up check, don't push forward. Repeat that week's stage for another week instead.

If you're still on the sliding stage after eight weeks, that's not a failed program. Frontal-plane strength means waking up muscles you've barely used before, so the pace varies widely from person to person, and it isn't unusual for someone with especially tight groin muscles to take 10-12 weeks. What matters isn't finishing on a fixed timeline; it's respecting each stage's check and working through them in order.

If you're heading into a sport with frequent direction changes, basketball or badminton among them, folding in 5-6 basic lateral lunges per side as a light warm-up beforehand is worth doing. Waking the frontal-plane muscles up ahead of time noticeably improves your reaction speed on sudden cuts during play.

Plateaus tend to show up in two spots. One is the transition into the reach stage, where the back keeps rounding the moment you reach forward. The other is the dumbbell stage, where the extended leg's knee bends slightly the moment you add weight. In both cases, rather than forcing your way through more reps, it's faster in the long run to reread that stage's common mistakes and fixes, check your form, and if needed, drop back a stage for a day or two to rebuild the feel.

When to Skip This, and Red Flags to Stop

The lateral lunge is effective for building frontal-plane strength, but it doesn't replace care for an acute injury or a condition that needs a diagnosis. See an orthopedic specialist or physical therapist before starting if any of the following apply to you.

• An acute groin (adductor) tear or severe strain diagnosed within the last two weeks
• Less than 12 weeks since hip or knee joint replacement surgery, or you haven't yet been cleared by your care team
• A meniscus injury or severe degenerative arthritis that makes bearing weight sideways difficult on its own
• Pelvic instability from mid-pregnancy onward, such as pubic symphysis pain, where a wide stance triggers pain
• A diagnosed hip labral tear without clearance from your care team to exercise

If you're trying this for the first time in your 60s or beyond, start with a narrower stance and a shorter reach out to the side, and position yourself where you can grab a wall or table for support. A diagnosis of osteoporosis isn't a reason to avoid the lateral lunge outright, but it makes keeping support nearby especially important, in case a slide sideways or a loss of balance turns into a fall.

Even if none of the above apply to you, stop where you are and monitor your condition if you notice any of the following during the exercise: new or worsening sharp pain on the inside of the groin or knee, a catching sensation in the hip joint accompanied by pain, or numbness or radiating pain down the leg. If the pain keeps recurring even after resting a day or two, it's safer to see an orthopedic specialist or physical therapist to identify the cause rather than continuing to self-manage.

Near-infrared LED should be understood as a wellness tool that supports recovery around this training, not a medical device that replaces the lateral lunge or treats a groin or hip injury directly. Don't shine it directly into your eyes, and if you're taking a photosensitizing medication, check with your prescribing doctor before use. As a rule, don't apply it directly to open wounds or areas with reduced sensation. For a broad area like the hip, many people keep the device 5-30 cm from the skin and use it for about 10-15 minutes per session, 3-5 times a week, though the right duration can vary with skin condition and individual factors.