Which foot goes in the strap?

Stand side-on to the anchor and put the foot nearer the anchor in the cradle. The other leg is the standing leg, and it does the squatting.

How is this different from the TRX Lateral Lunge?

In the TRX Lateral Lunge you hold the handles with both feet on the floor and can pull with your arms for help. Here one foot is in the cradle and the hands are free, so the standing leg has to lower and lift you on its own.

Should the suspended leg take any weight?

Only a little. Its job is to slide out and back and help with balance, so keep most of your weight on the standing leg. Pressing down hard into the cradle turns the rep into an easier, assisted version.

Is it harder than a regular lateral lunge?

Usually, yes. Without a far foot to push back from or handles to pull on, it works more like a single-leg squat, and the moving strap adds a balance challenge.

How do I make it harder?

Lower more slowly, pause at the bottom or hold a dumbbell or kettlebell at your chest once you can do every rep with the heel down and the knee over the toes.

TRX Suspended Lateral Lunge

What Is the TRX Suspended Lateral Lunge?

TRX Suspended Lateral Lunge is a compound exercise that primarily targets the quads and glutes and also engages the inner thighs, the hip stabilizers and the core. It is an intermediate-level movement in which one foot rests in the suspension trainer's foot cradle and slides out to the side while the other leg squats down, with the hands free rather than holding the handles.

The standing leg does almost all of the work, so the exercise behaves like a single-leg squat with the free leg guided out sideways by the strap. Because the suspended foot cannot push off the floor and the strap moves with it, the standing hip and the trunk have to keep the pelvis level and the knee lined up over the foot through the whole rep. That makes it a useful way to build single-leg strength and control in the side-to-side direction that forward lunges and squats leave out. U.S. Marine Corps suspension training material teaches it as the TRX Abducted Lunge, one of its foundational lunge patterns.

The quadriceps and gluteus maximus of the standing leg lower and lift the body, and the gluteus medius on that side keeps the knee from drifting inward and the hips from dropping. On the suspended side, the inner thigh muscles are stretched as the leg slides out and help draw it back in on the way up. Compared with the TRX Lateral Lunge, where both feet stay on the floor and the hands can pull on the handles for help, this version removes the upper-body assistance and puts more balance demand on one leg. Compared with the Bodyweight Lateral Lunge, there is no push back from the far foot, so the standing leg has to drive the whole rise.

It suits people who already move well in a lateral lunge and want more single-leg and hip-stability work without adding weight, including field and court athletes and anyone training for steadier side-to-side movement. If it is too hard, build up with the Bodyweight Lateral Lunge and the handle-held TRX Lateral Lunge first, then return to this version with a shallower range and work deeper over time.

Muscles Worked

MuscleActivation

Gluteus Maximus: Primary
Vastus Lateralis: Primary
Vastus Medialis: Primary
Adductor Longus: High
Rectus Femoris: High
Adductor Magnus: Medium
Gluteus Medius: Medium
Biceps Femoris: Low
Erector Spinae: Low
Soleus: Low

Instructions

Lower the straps so the foot cradles hang a few inches off the floor, around mid-calf height, and set the trainer to single-handle mode if your strap allows it.
Stand side-on to the anchor and hook the foot nearer the anchor into the cradle.
Stand tall on the other leg with the foot flat and the toes pointing forward. Keep the suspended leg straight and angled out toward the anchor, with your arms relaxed at your sides.
Bend the standing knee and sit your hips back and down, letting the suspended leg slide farther out to the side while it stays straight.
Reach both arms straight forward to shoulder height as you lower, keeping the chest up with a slight forward lean.
Lower until the standing thigh is about parallel to the floor, or as deep as you can go with the heel down and the knee over the middle toes.
Drive through the whole standing foot to stand back up, drawing the suspended leg back in under control and lowering the arms.
Finish the set, then turn around and repeat with the other foot in the cradle.

Common Mistakes

Knee caving in
Letting the standing knee drift inward instead of tracking over the middle toes puts extra stress on the knee and takes work away from the glutes.
Heel lifting
Rising onto the ball of the standing foot shifts the load forward onto the knee and makes the balance harder to hold.
Dropping the chest
Rounding forward at the bottom loads the lower back and makes it harder to drive back up through the standing leg.
Leaning on the strap
Shifting weight onto the suspended leg and pressing down into the cradle makes the rep easier and takes work away from the standing leg.
Sliding the leg too wide
Forcing the suspended leg out farther than the standing leg can control overstretches the inner thigh and pulls the hips out of line.

Injuries

TRX Suspended Lateral Lunge is a low risk exercise when performed with proper technique. The load is only body weight, but it all goes through one leg while the other foot hangs in a moving strap, so the risks come mostly from poor alignment of the standing knee, from forcing the suspended leg too wide and from losing balance.

The standing knee takes the most stress if it caves inward or if the heel lifts and the knee slides far forward over the toes. Keep the whole foot flat, keep the knee tracking over the middle toes and only go as deep as you can hold that position. The inner thigh of the suspended leg can be strained if the leg is pushed out past a comfortable stretch, so let it slide only as far as the standing leg's depth allows and move slowly through the bottom of the rep. Rounding the back and dropping the chest shifts load onto the lower back, so keep the chest up with the arms reaching forward for balance.

To make it easier, reduce the depth, rest a hand on a wall or sturdy support for balance, or go back to the TRX Lateral Lunge holding the handles or the Bodyweight Lateral Lunge. To make it harder, slow the lowering phase, pause at the bottom or hold a dumbbell or kettlebell at the chest.

Stop the set if you feel sharp pain in the groin or knee, if the standing knee keeps collapsing inward despite a shallower range, or if you cannot keep your balance on the standing leg. Get the foot out of the cradle carefully before stepping away from the strap.

Overview

Primary Focus: Quads and glutes
Equipment: Suspension trainer and body weight
Modality: Strength
Difficulty: Intermediate

Alternative Exercises

Other Names for the TRX Suspended Lateral Lunge

The TRX Suspended Lateral Lunge is also known as:

TRX Abducted Lunge

Frequently Asked Questions

Q: Which foot goes in the strap?: Stand side-on to the anchor and put the foot nearer the anchor in the cradle. The other leg is the standing leg, and it does the squatting.
Q: How is this different from the TRX Lateral Lunge?: In the TRX Lateral Lunge you hold the handles with both feet on the floor and can pull with your arms for help. Here one foot is in the cradle and the hands are free, so the standing leg has to lower and lift you on its own.
Q: Should the suspended leg take any weight?: Only a little. Its job is to slide out and back and help with balance, so keep most of your weight on the standing leg. Pressing down hard into the cradle turns the rep into an easier, assisted version.
Q: Is it harder than a regular lateral lunge?: Usually, yes. Without a far foot to push back from or handles to pull on, it works more like a single-leg squat, and the moving strap adds a balance challenge.
Q: How do I make it harder?: Lower more slowly, pause at the bottom or hold a dumbbell or kettlebell at your chest once you can do every rep with the heel down and the knee over the toes.