Anatomy of a lunge

The lunge is probably one of the most versatile exercises in our strength training toolbox. It gives you the highest return on your investment. It is also the most frequently incorrect exercise. Lunges can be a problem for knee health, especially when you lack the glute, hip, and posterior chain strength to perform this move properly.

Some of the benefits of performing lunges are:

  • strengthen glutes, quads, and hamstrings
  • improves posture
  • develops core strength and stability
  • improves balance and coordination

The lunge is one of our primary patterns. This is a movement that is stored in our brain from early development. Unfortunately, although we are born connected with this pattern of movement, over time we lose the ability to perform it correctly.

How to perform a lunge correctly:

Start with an upright posture. Think about getting as tall as possible. This will involve the core muscles. Staying tight, take a long step and land on your heel. Lower yourself under control until your back knee almost touches the ground. Again, standing tall and straight, kick your heel back to the starting position. A good lunge when done correctly should look effortless and smooth. You should not see jerky movements in your upper body when you return to the starting position.

A longer lunge stride will work your glutes, hamstrings, and posterior chain more. A short stride will emphasize the quadriceps. Personally, I prefer the long stride as it is also safer on the knee.

Some common flaws seen in a lunge:

Forward Bend: This can be caused by tight hip flexors or quadriceps. Or it can be as simple as being lazy and not working to maintain strong upper body posture at all times. If you are in a rush to complete the exercise, you may not be concentrating on staying upright and this allows the body to lean. Take your time and reestablish your posture before each rep.

Knees sink – If a person has weak glutes, they cannot adequately stabilize or slow down the movement of the hip. This causes the knees to buckle. That’s where glute activation exercises (bridges, tube walking) come in. You’ll see there’s a reason to walk around with those damn tubes around your feet!

Foot sneaks in – This is often seen in conjunction with the knees moving. Usually a muscle imbalance in the lower leg will cause this (tight calf muscles) and weak anterior tibia muscles. These are the reasons we do the calf stretch, ankle mobility work (specifically the toes up) before and after workouts.

Improper landing – Landing on the toes or pushing off with the toes is usually due to weak muscles around the hip. If you lack the strength in your glutes and posterior chain to return to the starting position, then you will push your toes using more of your quadriceps muscles. Focus on pushing with your heel, not your toes.

Lunge variations and progressions:

The lunge is an exercise that can start very basic and progress to very complex and difficult. Typical lunge progressions are:

  • static lunge (or split squat)
  • reverse lunge
  • forward lunge
  • walking lunge
  • rotating lunges.

The progression per load for this exercise is:

  • bodyweight lunges
  • lunges holding dumbbells
  • barbell back lunges
  • overhead lunges.

There is also a multitude of variety with the lunge. Once normal progression has occurred, lunges can be performed in a number of different ways:

  • forward lunge
  • side lunge
  • lunge walking with twist
  • walk overhead
  • rotating lunges

Hopefully this will help you understand the dynamics behind the lunge and help you focus on getting it as correct as possible the next time you’re in the gym.

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