So you've been doing lunges with bad knees and decided that maybe you should give your knees—and lunges—a break. Fair enough. But just because one exercise causes pain doesn’t mean all leg work is off-limits. If you can find good lunge alternatives that don’t aggravate your knees, you’ll not only stay active but also strengthen the muscles that support your knees.
In this article, we’ll walk through:
Take Your Fitness To The Next Level
- What lunges are
- Why they sometimes hurt your knees
- The best lunge alternatives for bad knees
- How to train around knee pain without making it worse
What Are Lunges (And Why They're Effective)?
Lunges are a foundational unilateral leg exercise that train your quads, glutes, and hamstrings. They typically involve stepping forward with one leg, lowering your body until your front thigh is parallel to the ground, then pushing back to the start.
They’re beloved for a reason—they build single-leg strength, improve balance, and increase hip and ankle mobility. But not all knees love them. If your knee alignment, strength, or mobility is off, lunges can become a source of pain instead of progress.
Why Do Lunges Hurt My Knees?
There are several common culprits:
- Poor Form: Knees caving inward, overly short or long strides, and leaning too far forward can all stress your joints.
- Weak Glutes or Quads: Muscle imbalances mean other structures (like the knee joint) take on more work than they should.
- Limited Mobility: Tight hips or ankles can force your knees into compromising positions.
- Pre-existing Injury: Sometimes, lunges are simply too aggressive for recovering knees.
The 6 Best Lunge Alternatives For Bad Knees
These knee-friendly exercises will help you maintain strength and muscle in your lower body while minimizing joint stress.
1. Reverse Lunge
Reverse lunges take pressure off your front knee by shifting the load toward your rear leg. Because there’s no forward momentum, braking forces are reduced, making them a great first step back into lunge variations.
2. Split Squat
Â
Similar to lunges, but with your feet fixed in place. This reduces the instability and shear forces that can irritate the knee. You still get the benefits of unilateral leg training, but with more control.
3. Sled Drag
Walking backward while dragging a sled is an underrated quad burner—and excellent for knees. It strengthens the quads with minimal eccentric stress, reducing pain and improving joint health. Plus, it mimics terminal knee extension, a key rehab movement.
Learn more about how sled pushes and pulls strengthen your knees.
4. Goblet Squat
As you can likely only use a smaller load, the goblet squat is a great movement to use for muscle hypertrophy as an alternative to lunges for bad knees.Â
Holding a dumbbell or kettlebell at chest height encourages an upright torso and shifts the load more toward the quads. It’s easier on the knees than barbell squats, and great for hypertrophy and mobility.
5. Dumbbell Or Kettlebell Sumo Deadlift
Biomechanically, sumo deadlifts are quite different from conventional deadlifts, resulting in different muscle activation of the lower body.
The wide stance and upright posture reduce spinal stress and encourage knee flexion, which lights up the quads. Starting with the concentric portion (the lift) rather than lowering into a rep makes this easier on the knees.
6. Box Squats
Box squats let you control depth and form more precisely. Sitting back onto a box reduces knee travel, takes pressure off your joints, and encourages hip dominance. Start with a higher box and lower it gradually as comfort improves.
How To Train With Bad Knees
Pain is your body’s way of saying something’s wrong. If a movement hurts—stop. Switch to one that doesn’t.
Start light. Even if an exercise feels good, begin with 50% intensity and gradually build up over a few weeks.
Use knee sleeves. These can help warm the joint, offer compression support, and keep your knees tracking properly.
Focus on form. Now’s the time to slow down and really master technique. Perfect mechanics beat heavy weight when dealing with joint pain.
Get evaluated. If pain persists, seek help from a physical therapist or medical professional to identify the root cause.
Doing Lunges With Bad Knees: Never Again
Bad knees don’t mean you have to skip leg day. With these smart lunge alternatives, you can keep building lower body strength while protecting your joints.
That said, don’t forget the root cause. Use these exercises to work around pain—but also take time to fix the mobility, strength, or form issues that started it.
If you want some exercises that can help fix knee pain, check out these 6 resistance band knee exercises.
0 comments