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How TO Do Lunges

When I lived New York, I used to go out and train at the local track by the East River. It’s such a random spot. There’s an old school, outdoor gym that draws all kinds of interesting people.

Anyway, this one time I spotted a young chick, working out with her terribly out-of-shape grandfather.

And this guy, dead set, had the worst form ever…

The scariest exercise they did?

Walking Lunges.

I seriously thought he was about to fall over. He couldn’t walk, let alone do waking lunges.

It got me thinking.

You know, this guy is not the only one. I see people goofing up the lunge all day long.

You know the lunge is an excellent functional exercise to train your legs and glutes. But it’s not a beginner move. Plenty of things can go wrong just doing a basic lunge… So forget the walking variation for now.

That’s right. Unless you have every progression down, this exercise is not for you, because it requires a high level single leg lower body strength and core stability.

Doing “hard”, progressed exercises will only accelerate your results if you do them correctly. Otherwise, you’re more likely to be heading to the ER.

7 rules to better lunges

Rule 1: Choose the right progression

This is number one for a reason, because I think it’s most important for getting results. Check your ego at the door, especially if you’ve just come back to training after a layoff.

If you’re not sure, always start at Level One and work your way towards to most advanced lunge progression.

Here is a quick progression playlist I use:
(1) Split Squat
(2) Reverse Lunge
(3) Offset Lunge
(4) Forward Lunge
(5) Walking Lunges

As you can see, forward and walking lunges are more advanced moves.

Once you conquer the basic lunge progressions, you can try these variations:

Rule 2: Bodyweight First (Always)

Before you stack a load of weights, make sure your form is excellent and you can move through a full range of motion with bodyweight only.

There is nothing worse than grabbing dumbbells or a barbell that is clearly too heavy, and shortening your range so much that you lose the full benefits of the exercise.

If bodyweight is tricky, use the TRX for additional support.

Rule 3: If You Feel Pain in Your Knee – STOP!

You should NOT feel knee pain when you do a lunge. Excessive burning and pain is not a good sign. Stop before you do serious damage to yourself.

There are different types of pain due to working out – the pain of intensity (and mental anguish) and the pain of injury.

Rule 4: Know your weakness

No one has perfect alignment so one leg will always be stronger than the other. Unless of course you’re superhuman…

Tight hip flexors and weak glutes on one leg will feed any muscle imbalance in your hip region. Add numerous sets of lunges onto that, and you’re asking for trouble.

To avoid this, make sure you warm up before every workout. You can follow this progression of ROLL, STRETCH and FIRE.
- Foam roll your glutes and quads
- Stretch your hip flexors
- Single leg glute bridges (get your glutes firing)

If you have a known imbalance, work on doing additional sets with that particular leg.

Rule 5: Push Your Weight Through Your Heel

You know the lunge is a complex move, but this simple trick always helps to get the most important muscle on fire – your glutes.

A big mistake I see with beginners is not pushing the weight off the right part of your foot.

It’s important to concentrate the weight in the heel of your foot as you drive off (back to starting position), not your toes. This will allow you to maximize glute involvement.

Rule 6: Train Your Core

What has core training got to do with a tough lower body exercise?

Everything.

When doing a lunge, your entire upper body is supported by the weight of one leg. If your core strength sucks, good luck keeping yourself upright.

You need a strong core with excellent stability to help you nail the lunge.

The reason so many people struggle with lunges is because it requires a complex integration of your core with your lower body. Like I mentioned before, it’s not a simple move, but an essential one for daily life.

If you train “legs” by doing isolated exercises on machines, like the leg extension, hamstring curl and hip abductor/adductor, you’re missing out on the core integration.

It’s just another reason to work on the plank and skip the crunches. Doing thousands of crunches might help you build six pack abs, but won’t help you improve your core stability.

Rule 7: Regression

Don’t be afraid to take a small step back in order to go forward. Progress isn’t always about making an exercise “harder”. You can challenge yourself and make progress by doing more reps, or doing a timed set.

There is nothing wrong with taking a step back and regressing the move – especially if you haven’t done any lunges in a while.

The Final Word

There you have it. Follow these rules and you’ll be lunging like a champion.

Let me know your favorite lunge variations in the comments box below.

If you want more bodyweight exercises that sculpt and tone your entire body in as little as 4 minutes, check this out:

http://fatlossaccelerators.com/free-workout-routines/ 

You’ll get 6 FREE workout routines that you can do anywhere, anytime. I think you’ll be surprised how much you can sweat in just 4 minutes exercise!

Have an awesome day,

 

Kate Vidulich

Exercise Physiologist

 

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