Step behind and across for glutes that pop.
Keep your front knee tracking over your toes and your chest tall through the cross-step.
Adding dumbbells to the curtsy pattern turns a balance drill into a proper leg builder, quads pressing you out of the bottom while the glutes on the front leg handle the crossed-over angle. Holding a dumbbell in each hand at your sides loads the movement without wrecking your balance the way a bar across the back can. It is the natural next step once bodyweight curtsy lunges stop being hard.
One in each hand hanging at your sides. It keeps your centre of gravity low and leaves your torso free to stay tall through the cross-step.
That is the point. The cross-behind step puts the front hip into a position where the glutes have to work hard to control and extend it, so front-leg glute burn means you are doing it right.
Lighter than a split squat. The crossed stance narrows your base, so load only what lets you keep your hips square and the front knee tracking over the toes.
