Step wide and sink into one hip to load the legs sideways.
Push your hips back as you lunge and keep the bending knee over your toes, not caving in.
Stepping wide and sinking into one hip loads the quads of the bent leg through a deep, sideways range while the glutes control the hips dropping back. Almost all training happens moving forward and backward, so lateral loading like this fills a genuine gap, building strength in the plane where sports actually happen. The straight trailing leg gets a bonus stretch on every rep.
Direction, and everything that follows from it. Forward lunges load the leg in the plane you already train constantly, side lunges load it laterally, working the hips and legs through a sideways range most programmes never touch.
The hips are not controlling the descent. Sit your hips back as you bend, keep the working knee tracking over the toes, and shorten the step until you can own the position. Depth comes after control.
No, hip and ankle mobility limit depth for most people at first. Work within the range where your chest stays up and your heel stays down, and the depth will build itself over weeks.
