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Squats and lunges are both effective moves that are commonly included in lower-body workouts — but they're not interchangeable. Each one challenges your muscles in a unique way that translates directly to your everyday life. Depending on your goals, one might give you more bang for your buck. So, which one is better for you?
Here's what to know about squats versus lunges, including which muscles they target, how to perform them safely, and which exercise is better for strength, fat loss and everyday movement.
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Lunges Vs. Squats: Key differences
Squats
Balance challenge: Low
Muscle symmetry: Equal load on both sides
Core activation: Moderate
Lunges:
Balance challenge: High
Muscle symmetry: One side at a time
Core activation: High
Squats: Muscles Worked and Benefits
Squats are a bilateral movement, meaning they work both legs at the same time. The exercise targets the glutes, quads, hamstrings, calves and core. They are great for building overall lower-body strength and power and this strength translates to everyday life. Think: sitting and standing up from a chair, picking up your kid or grabbing something off the floor. They are also a low-impact and joint-friendly exercise, making them safe for those with knee or balance issues.
How to Perform a Squat
Stand with your feet shoulder-width apart, toes slightly turned out.
Engage your core and sit your hips back as if lowering into a chair.
Keep your chest lifted to avoid low-back strain and keep your knees tracking over your third toe to avoid torque on the knees.
Grip the ground with your feet and press down to return to standing.
Pro tip: Start with bodyweight squats. If your heels lift or knees cave in while squatting, place a chair behind you for support, elevate your heels on a small wedge or hold onto something for balance. Avoid letting your knees collapse inward, rounding your back or looking down.
Lunges: Muscles Worked and Benefits
Lunges are a unilateral movement, meaning one side of the body is working at a time. This makes them beneficial for correcting muscular imbalances and improving balance, coordination and reaction time. Lunges target the quads, glutes, hamstrings, inner thighs and core. They improve functional fitness, helping with everyday movement like climbing stairs, catching your balance when you trip, walking uphill and preventing falls.
How to Perform a Lunge
Start standing with feet hips-width apart. Take a controlled step forward (or backward) with one foot.
Lower your body until both knees form 90-degree angles and keep your chest up. Your front knee should be stacked over your ankle, and the back knee hovers about an inch above the floor or gently touches a pad.
Push off the front foot to return to standing.
Pro tip: Use a wall, chair or countertop for balance if needed. Reverse lunges (stepping backward) are often easier on the knees and balance wise than forward lunges. Avoid slamming your knee into the ground, leaning forward, putting your hands on your front leg or letting your front knee shift too far past your toes.
Squats vs Lunges: Which Is Better for Strength, Fat Loss or Functionality?
Which exercise is most effect depends on your goal — but as a trainer and athlete, I've found that most people benefit from doing both, especially for improving functional fitness in everyday movements.
Goal: Strength
Winner: Squats win for overall muscle-building potential.
Squats train multiple joints at once, which builds power and functional strength efficiently and effectively. You can progress for a bigger challenge by adding dumbbells, kettlebells, bands or a barbell.
Goal: Fat Loss
Winner: Lunges require more stability and balance, which raises your heart rate and burns more calories per rep making it feel like cardio.
Add walking, weighted or jumping variations to create a cardio-strength hybrid.
Goal: Everyday Functionality
Winner: A combination of squats and lunges is best!
Squats mimic common movements like sitting and standing, while lunges train real-life asymmetrical patterns like walking, stepping over things, reaching down to grab something and quickly changing direction, which can be helpful for athletic performance. Lunges also challenge your reactive strength, which is key for fall prevention — especially as we age.
Bottom line
Squats are better for strength, power, longevity and joint-friendly movement. Lunges are better for balance, coordination, performance and real-world agility. But for the best results, I recommend doing both. It's hard to be functionally healthy without having both movement patterns under control! They're both foundational moves that make your legs stronger, your core more stable, and your everyday life a little easier.
If you're a beginner, start with squats to build baseline strength and confidence. Once you're comfortable, start to gradually add in lunges to improve your balance and activate more muscles. As you build strength, you can progress the moves by varying your tempo, angles, resistance and foot position for an effective lower-body workout, no gym membership or fancy equipment required!
This article was originally published on TODAY.com