This classic move requires both power and co-ordination, both of which are vital for sports.
Had Neil Armstrong spent a little more time down the NASA gym doing lunges he might well have been able to take more than a small step when he reached the Moon’s surface. How much further mankind would have advanced as a result, who knows, but it’s certainly worth avoiding Armstrong’s error by ensuring the lunge is a staple of your own exercise regime.
What Muscles Do Lunges Train?
Lunges are compound exercises that work multiple muscle groups at once. The movement works the muscles in the hips, glutes and legs to make them stronger, more balanced and more flexible in ways that are highly helpful in a variety of sports as well as everyday life.
Few leg exercises, if any, can match the lunge when it comes to functional benefits. When your powerful stride ensures you nab the last slice of cake ahead of your dumbfounded colleagues, tip your hat to the lunge.
How To Lunge
From a standing start, step forward with one leg and lower your hips until both knees are bent at a 90-degree angle. Keep your front knee above your ankle, rather than pushed out in front of it, and try to avoid your back knee touching the ground. As for your upper body, keep your back straight, your shoulders relaxed and your chin up. Make sure your core is engaged throughout the movement.
Then, when you’re pushing back up to the starting position, do so through your heels.
Aim for 20 lunges on both legs, or do them for a minute on each side, making sure the form on each and every lunge is perfect.
Form Tips
Like any exercise, the lunge will only make your body fitter and stronger if you perform it properly. It is a challenging exercise to get right – it requires balance, co-ordination and good posture, as well as muscle strength – so make sure you always keep to the following to keep each rep perfect.
Keep your chin up
This will correct your posture so you don’t end up staring down at your leading foot, which makes balancing more difficult.
Keep your chest up
This will ensure your upper body stays upright, which helps you lunge forwards and back smoothly, as well as keeping your spine in its natural alignment.
Brace your core
This will keep your upper body tight, improving your ability to lower into a lunge without falling over, and work your abs harder.
Tense your glutes
Do this just before you begin each rep to make sure you’re recruiting your buttocks and hamstrings, the two main muscle groups responsible for the movement.
Lunge Variations
Once you’ve mastered the standard lunge take a moment to pat yourself on the back, then move on to one of these variations.
Reverse lunge
A lot of lunge variations involve moving in different directions, but since you’ve mastered the standard lunge, let’s start on the sagittal plane (that’s forwards and backwards). Take a big step backwards and lower until both knees are bent at 90°, then push back up. Why go backwards? Well, the same muscles are involved as in a standard lunge, but by pushing back up and forwards in the second half of the movement the reverse lunge provides a closer approximation of the movements you’ll undertake in sport, so it helps to build functional power.
Side lunge
Another new direction to lunge in – two new directions in fact, because you have two sides to play with here. The side or lateral lunge is another move that mimics the movements of sports like football and rugby, where moving only forwards and backwards would make you a liability to your team, and it also enlists some extra muscles in your inner and outer thighs. From a standing position, take a big step to the side and lower until the knee on your leading leg is bent at 90°, keeping your trailing leg straight. Then push back up.
Clock lunge
Once you’ve nailed the form for forward, reverse and side lunges, put them all together and complete a clock lunge. Lunge forwards, to one sidem backwards and to the other side sequentially to hit the 12, 3, 6, and 9 hour marks on a clock face.
Walking lunge
If staying stationary starts to make you feel like a rat in a cage, take your lunge on the road (or over there at least) with the walking version of the exercise. Lunge forwards as normal, but instead of pushing back up move your back leg forwards so you go straight into another lunge, keeping your torso as low as possible as you move. The challenge of staying low and balanced as you move will help improve your core stability as well as strengthening your leg muscles. You can also do a walking reverse lunge, but there’s an obvious disadvantage to that – you can’t see where you’re going.
Jump lunge
The jump lunge is the most advanced variation here, but it’s still an exercise that almost anyone will be able to do once they’ve got to grips with the standard version. Start by stepping forwards into a classic lunge, but instead of pushing back up, power into the air by driving off your front foot and switch your legs in midair so you land ready to drop into another lunge on the opposite leg. This version of the lunge helps build explosive power in your legs and is a must-do move for runners looking to increase their speed.
Curtsy lunge
Stand with your feet shoulder-width apart. Step backwards with your right leg but bring your foot across to the other side of your body as you lower, finishing with the toes and ball of your right foot on the ground. Push through your left heel to return to standing. Complete all the reps on one side, then swap legs.
Pulse lunge
Lunge forwards as normal, then hold that position. Ensuring you remain balanced and keeping both feet on the floor, slowly rise straight up, then lower again. Pulse for 20 to 30 seconds on one leg, then switch.
Weighted lunge
The easiest way to increase both the difficulty and the benefit of a standard lunge is to add some weight. Hold a dumbbell in each hand by your sides or your shoulders, or clutch a kettlebell or sandbell to your chest as you lunge. If you plan on using a barbell, make sure you’re confident with the move and can keep your knees in line with your toes throughout. No matter the weight, pay attention to where you position it – you want the weight centred so you’re balanced. You can also add weight to all the lunge variations below once you’ve mastered the bodyweight versions of the exercises.
Lunge with overhead press
One step harder than the weighted lunge is the lunge with overhead press. Hold two dumbbells by your shoulders with palms facing. Perform a forward lunge and once your knees are bent at 90° press the dumbbells up. Reverse the movements to return to the start, alternating legs with each rep.
Lunge to step-up
You will need a box for this exercise, but that’s the least of your worries. This lunge-to-step-up is going to get your legs working on all kinds of levels – literally.
Stand in front of a box, then take a large step backwards to find your starting position. Perform a forward lunge towards the box, then push through the heel on your front foot and as you rise bring your back foot forwards and use it to step onto the box. Drive up so you end standing on the box.
Slowly step down and go straight into a reverse lunge to the starting position, one lunge’s distance from the box again.
Written by Nick Harris-Fry for Coach and legally licensed through the Matcha publisher network. Please direct all licensing questions to legal@getmatcha.com.