Many weight lifters are guilty of focusing too much on their bicep anatomy muscles and not enough on their legs. In other words, they spend too much time doing stand up bicep curls in the gym mirror!
So if you’ve been shying away from lower body training or just want to work your legs and biceps together, then give the lunge with bicep curl a try.
It’s an intense strength training exercise that gets your blood pumping and your muscles burning. And best of all, you only need a pair of weights and a small amount of workout space to perform it, which is ideal if you exercise at home.
Related Exercise: Reverse lunge curls
Lunge with bicep curl exercise details
- Main Muscles: Biceps brachii, quadriceps, glutes
- Secondary Muscles: Forearm flexors, brachialis, brachioradialis, hamstrings, abs
- Exercise Type: Strength
- Exercise Mechanics: Compound
- Difficulty Level: Intermediate
- Equipment Needed: Dumbbells
How to do a lunge with bicep curl
- Hold two dumbbells by your sides and stand up straight with your feet hip-width apart.
- Step forward with one leg and lower your hips toward the ground. Your knees should be at a 90-degree angle.
- At the bottom of the lunge, perform a bicep curl by lifting the weights toward your shoulders.
- Squeeze your biceps and then lower the weights back down until your elbows are fully extended.
- Push through your front leg to get back to the starting position.
- Repeat the motion with your other leg and do 3-4 sets of 5-12 reps per side.
Lunge with bicep curl variations
Besides the version that you just saw, there are three other ways to do a lunge and bicep curl together. You’ll find a full tutorial for each variation along with their pros and cons just below.
Side lunge with bicep curl
This variation of the lunge curl emphasizes your glutes, hip abductor muscles, inner thighs, and your quadriceps. Compared to the regular lunge bicep curl, however, the side lunge with bicep curl is much more effective for improving your balance and coordination because it’s more challenging to perform (at least initially).
To begin, stand up straight and hold a pair of dumbbells by your sides. Take a big step to the side with one foot while keeping your other foot planted firmly on the floor. As you step to the side, push your knee out to the side and slightly forward while lowering your hips toward the ground.
Once you’ve lunged as deeply as you comfortably can, push yourself back up by pressing through your foot. Perform a bicep curl once both of your feet are back in the starting position, then repeat the lunging motion with your other leg. Aim to perform 3-4 sets of 6-12 reps per side.
You can also do a ball squat curl to press if you want to focus on your pushing muscles as well as your biceps and legs.
Dumbbell walking lunge with biceps curl
If you have plenty of space and want to get your heart pumping while toning your hips and thighs, this is the exercise for you. To perform it, all you need is a pair of dumbbells and enough space to do at least six continuous lunges.
While you can technically do this drill in small spaces, such as your living room, you might get dizzy if you constantly have to change direction when you run out of lunging space.
Begin in the usual position—feet hip-width apart, dumbbells in hand, torso nice and straight. Start the set by lunging forward with one leg. A larger step will emphasize your glutes, while a shorter step will keep more tension on your quads.
As you lunge forward, lower your hips toward the ground until both your front and back leg are at a 90-degree angle. Press through your front foot to push yourself back up.
Once you’re in the starting position, perform a bicep curl by lifting the weights toward your shoulders while keeping your elbows still. Flex your biceps forcefully at the top of the rep and then lower the dumbbells until you reach full elbow extension. Repeat the exercise with your other leg and do 3-4 sets of 6-12 reps per side.
Bicep curls in a lunge position
If you’re feeling adventurous and want to test your muscular endurance, this variation of the lunge and bicep curl will let you find out what you’re really made of.
To perform it, lunge forward like before. This time, however, you’re going to hold the lunge position while you perform between 5-10 bicep curls. This is one round. Repeat the movement with your other leg, and do 2-6 rounds (in succession) in total.
Your quads and glutes will really feel the burn from this one, and your core will get a solid workout as well. It’s definitely an advanced variation, though, so make sure that you’ve already mastered the regular lunge bicep curl before giving it a try.
You can also do the squat curl in this fashion if you want to save time by training both legs together.
Read More: Tricep extension lunge
In conclusion
The lunge curl exercise is a tough training drill that will challenge your legs and biceps in a way that you’ve probably never felt. It’s one of the most versatile exercises for arms and legs that there is because there are more than three total variations of the exercise that you can perform.
Just make sure to start light because this movement really makes your bis and thighs burn after a while. A good idea is to begin with 6 reps per leg and then work your way up to 12 reps per side before increasing the resistance. This way, you’ll get plenty of time under tension to tone your legs while also lifting heavy weights to make them stronger.