*The purpose of standing on an elevated surface when performing this exercise is to allow your knee to travel further down – an increased range of motion. This will make the exercise more challenging.

• Start off standing with both feet on a step or elevated surface of about 4-6 inches.
• Have a barbell placed across your upper back and hold onto the bar.
• Take a step back with either your left or right leg, land on your toes, then bend both knees to lower yourself until your back knee is just short of touching the ground.
• When you reach the bottom of the movement, bother your front and back knee should create a 90-degree angle or close to a 90-degree angle.
• Push back up and bring you back foot forward so both feet are back onto the elevated surface.
• Repeat again using the same leg, or you can alternate legs with each repetition.

• You can emphasize different areas of the thighs by taking slightly wider or slightly shorter strides.
• Wider strides will emphasize the hamstrings and glutes.
• Short strides will emphasize the quadriceps.
• When pushing off to come back up, think about pushing off your heel on the front leg.
  
• Balance and stability can become an issue. It can be an awkward feeling stepping backward and lunging, especially off an elevated surface. So, it may help to move a bit slower. When you move too fast it can be difficult to maintain control.