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What they are and how they are performed
Also called lunges or leg lunges, lunges are bodyweight exercises that greatly strengthen the lower limbs and help to find a stable position of the hips and pelvis. Generally they belong to crossfit, a discipline that corresponds to a real patented training system created by Greg Glassman in the 70s. The whole body is involved, although most of the effort focus on the legs.
But how lunges are performed? Start from a standing position with feet parallel to shoulder width, hands on hips. Step forward with the right leg and bend over the knee, forming an angle of 90 ° and touching the floor with the knee of the left leg. The shin must remain vertical. Be careful not to let the knee of the supporting leg go in. Then it is repeated with the other leg if alternated or with the same leg for 10 or 15 repetitions and then switch to the other leg. The core remains active at all times and the knee should not go beyond the toe of the lunging leg.
The trunk should not be bent over the hips and the head should not be arched back, but the torso must remain straight and stable. Do not bring your feet together in the same line, keep the distance equal to the width of the hips, in order to maintain balance. They can be done by going forward, backward or jumping, but there technique must remain correct. Excellent solution to understand if you are doing the front lunge correctly: recover from the side or look in the mirror in the sagittal plane. You have to stretch the buttocks well, just as a sensation to be sought as you lower yourself. To recover, you have to contract them in an important and decisive way. A small anteversion (ed. Forward tilting movement that accentuates the lumbar curvature) should be made of the pelvis when you go down and you can watch the tip of the foot as it sinks, it allows you to understand if you are doing it well.
Muscles involved and variants
This exercise is also great for i beginners and do not put too much load on the knees if done correctly. If you want to increase the load, you can use tools such as the barbell on the back or dumbbells or kettlebells in the hand (they become the so-called weighted lunge). There is also the variant Lunge Walk where you go to solicit, in addition to the buttocks and quadriceps: once the position is reached, the feet are brought closer and the same movement is repeated with the other leg to stimulate the quadriceps, hamstring and buttocks. In summary, we go from length to length being sure to have free frontal space. If the lunge is performed deeply, the muscles are fully activated.
Also very stressed are all the muscles of the posterior region of the leg. If, on the other hand, you want to develop the back of the buttocks and legs, the Bulgarian lunges: they are performed using a bench or a low stool on which the tip of the foot of the rear leg rests. The quadriceps are also heavily stressed and the challenge of muscle stability increases.
If you want to work the muscles of the inner thigh in an important way, they are excellent side lunges. From the standing position and the legs apart, the back straight and the feet parallel, with the sole of the foot adhering to the ground, one takes a large step to the side with the left leg always keeping the torso straight and lowers until the knee of the right leg is not bent about 90 °. Then you push your body up again with your left foot, then return to the starting position. The hips must be lowered well, the back remains straight and the abdomen active, like in a squat, to be sure not to put all the weight on the knee. They can be done 15 reps per leg or alternate pushing well from the feet and contracting the gluteal area.
Finally, in general, we remind you that, in addition to the buttocks and thigh muscles, the stabilizing muscles of the ankle are also strongly stressed by this type of exercise and these are fundamental muscles for the well-being of the foot and for a correct step and overall posture.
Benefits
The leg muscles also need to be activated and stimulated often in order to enjoy good circulation and avoid water retention problems. If you often stand up – for example at work – you risk swelling and heaviness and it becomes very important to find at least 2 or 3 workouts per week in which to devote to the legs. It strengthens and tones the entire gluteal area and quadriceps.
This exercise improves the whole flexibility ed equilibrium and general body, as well as allowing you to burn a lot of calories and therefore lose weight. A full-fledged multi-joint exercise that guarantees a total body work and an improvement in overall strength. For those unfamiliar with the exercise it is worth starting with 10 reps per leg and then increasing the reps. If you want to lose weight quickly, once you have understood the execution, the lunges can be accompanied by cardiovascular exercises (the so-called cardio workouts) or by HIIT training (also known as High-Intensity Intermittent Exercise (HIIE) or workouts that include the alternation between periods of short and intense anaerobic exercise with periods of active recovery based on less intense aerobic activity to be carried out consecutively on the same exercise.
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