Lunge off a platform for extra range and burn.
Control the descent into the deficit, the extra range loads the front leg harder.
Standing on a platform lets the back leg drop below your front foot, so the front quad lowers through a deeper stretch than any flat-ground lunge before driving you back up. The glutes control the hips through that extended bottom range, which is exactly where most lunges cut off. With dumbbells in hand it becomes a serious single-leg strength builder rather than just a mobility drill.
Two to four inches does the job for most people. The platform is only useful if you can control the deepest inch of the rep, so pick a height you own, not the tallest box in the gym.
Extra range at the bottom, which is the hardest and most productive part of the rep. If flat-ground reverse lunges feel comfortable at your current dumbbells, the deficit makes the same load work harder before you go heavier.
Lower until it nearly grazes the floor, then drive up. Bouncing off the ground unloads the front leg at the exact moment the deficit is supposed to be earning its keep.
