One More Rep: Lunges!
Ahhh lunges… you either love ’em or hate ’em. But let’s face it, they are one helluva a good way to target your legs.
Three reasons you should be doing lunges in your strength routine:
- Lunges mimic several of our daily movement patterns from kneeling down to help a child or tie your shoe to simply walking. Building strength through lunges will help you move better (and safer) throughout your day.
- Lunges also train muscular imbalances. In a squat your stronger leg can dominate, but in a lunge you work one leg at a time forcing you to build strength independently in each leg.
- Lunges challenge your balance and stabilizing muscles (including your core) important for total strength and injury prevention.
Now this isn’t to say squats and other leg exercises aren’t important too – just make sure lunges are working their way into your training routine.
Below are some trainer tips to get one more rep for a better lunge!
- Step forward with toes pointing straight ahead
- Lengthen up tall through your spine
- Tighten core & lift your chest
- Knee over toes – keep the knee stable & minimize side-to-side movement
- Drive through your front heel, keeping your weight out of your front toes
- Start with body weight lunges to focus on technique
