Stand tall, step back, and steal extra range.
Keep your front shin vertical and weight in the front heel, not the back toes.
Starting on a low platform means your back knee travels below your front foot, so the front leg lowers and lifts through more range than a standard lunge allows. That extra depth puts the quads under a longer stretch at the bottom, with the glutes joining in to drive you back up onto the step. It is a smart pick when bodyweight lunges have stopped feeling hard and you want more work without adding load.
Start with a low step or a couple of stacked plates, around two to four inches. The deficit only helps if you can control the full depth, so build height gradually rather than chasing it.
Range. Your back knee drops below the level of your front foot, so the front leg works through a deeper stretch and has further to climb on the way up. Same movement, more honest reps.
Let it hover just off the floor or kiss it lightly. Crashing down unloads the working leg and steals the tension you stepped onto the platform to create.
