Crossover Reverse Lunge

Muscles worked

The muscles under tension are the spinal erectors running either side of the lumbar spine, which hold the spine extended instead of letting it round under load.

A stretch loads them at the far end of the range they normally work in, so the position you hold is itself the resistance.

Other muscle groups are involved too: the abdominals brace the trunk so force can pass between the hips and the shoulders; the abductors stop the knee collapsing inward and hold the pelvis square; the glutes finish hip extension.

The hamstrings and quadriceps take a share of the work as well.

Every exercise for:Lower backAbdominalsAbductorsGlutesHamstrings

How this movement works

Force comes toward the body — you draw a limb, or your own bodyweight, in against whatever resists it. What changes between sessions is how far into the position you can get and hold, not how much is loading it.

It is filed under stretching, so the target is range of motion rather than force — a position you can settle into and breathe in, held long enough for the tissue to give.

What you need

These train the lower back too, using equipment this one does not:

• Deadlift with Bandsbarbell
• Dumbbell Dead Liftsdumbbell
• Hug A Ballexercise ball
• Hyperextensionsbench
• Hyperextensions With No Hyperextension Benchbody only

Difficulty

Listed at intermediate level. It assumes you already own the underlying pattern and can hold position under load — if the position breaks before the target muscle tires, drop back to a beginner variation until it does not.

Of the 35 lower back exercises in this database, 12 are listed at intermediate level.