What is a Lunge Exercise?
Want to improve your lower body strength and tone? The lunge is an excellent exercise for that purpose. They are an effective exercise for strengthening the legs, glutes, and core, all of which contribute to better stability and balance.
The hip, knee, and ankle joints are all engaged in a lunge, making it a multi-joint workout. You are engaging many muscle groups simultaneously. If you have knee pain or are nursing an injury, you should probably check in with your doctor before including a lunges workout in your next lower body workout.
Lunge Exercise Benefits
Lunge workouts offer several benefits:
- Lower-body Strength Lunges work your quads, hamstrings, and glutes to strengthen your legs.
- Stability and Coordination: Lunges, which call for balance, are a great way to enhance stability and coordination.
- Lunges assist you in improving your abdominal muscles by using your core muscles.
- Lunges are a great functional workout since they train muscles that are used in everyday activities like walking and stair climbing.
- Lunge exercises are great for balancing out muscle strength in your left and right legs.
10 Different Kinds of Lunges You Can Do
1. Walking Lunges Exercise
Your glutes will get a better workout if you lengthen your lunge stride. It's similar to walking, except that each stride is actually a lunge. This walking lunge exercise packs a serious punch despite its seemingly simple appearance. These will be a huge hit with your lower body.
How to Do Walking Lunges
To begin, ensure that your feet are shoulder-width apart and that you are standing tall. Lunge by stepping forward with one foot and bending both knees so that the back knee is nearly but not quite touching the floor. Hold this position for a second or two, then stand up and step your rear foot forward, landing in front of you, to return to a standard lunge. Carry on advancing while executing a double lunge with your legs.
2. Pendulum Lunge Exercise
The motion of this lunge will mimic that of a swinging pendulum. The pendulum lunge is a test of your balance, strength, and control while seeming like a typical lunge. Can you handle it?
How to Do Pendulum Lunges
From a standing position, lunge forward while balancing on your right leg. Return to standing by driving through your right heel, and then step your right foot back into a lunge. Do all of your reps on one side, then swap. You need to rely only on your core and left foot for balance and control. If you want to give yourself a true test, try doing a forward and backward lunge without letting your foot touch the ground in between.
3. Lunge Twist
Involving your lower body and preparing your core and spine for action, the lunge is a terrific complement to any upcoming warm-up or cool-down. You can increase the difficulty of the twist by holding a medicine ball in each hand.
How to Do Lunge Twist
With your right foot, lunge forward into a basic stance, being careful that your shinbone does not extend past your knee. Keep your upper body straight and twist to the right. Your arms can be at your sides or in front of you, whichever is more relaxed. Turn your torso so that you're facing forward, and then rise up onto your right foot. You should also do a similar movement, this time twisting to the left.
4. Jumping Lunge Exercise
One of our favourite lunge variations and leg exercises is the plyometric, explosive jump lunge. Why? For the simple reason that it always makes my legs and butt hurt and my heart races. Don't be discouraged if it takes longer than usual to build up your repetitions of this complex motion.
How to Do Jumping Lunges
Initiate a lunge with your right foot in front of your left. Hold your abdominals in, go lower for greater power in your lunge jump, explode upwards, switch legs in midair, and land in a left-foot-forward lunge position. You should strive to finish these as quickly and calmly as possible.
5. Pivot Lunge Exercise
Make careful to warm up your lower body and core to prevent injury and prepare them ready to work. This can be accomplished using pivot lunges. This move challenges your leg muscles, abdominal muscles, balance, and ability to change directions. You can take your time and do the rotations at your own pace. Don't ignore the potential of your abs to propel you on a new path.
How to Do Pivot Lunges
You should put your feet together to begin this step. Lean to the side, put your right foot forward, and get into a lunge position. Always make sure your right thigh is level with the floor. Your back knee ought to be hovering just above, not touching, the ground. Lunge forward and then push up and around to the opposite side. Return to a lunge position by bending your knees. Get back up and keep going around in circles.
6. Side Lunge Exercise
To do this kind of side lunges exercise, you must extend your butt to a large degree. When performing a lateral lunge (or side lunge), it is important to keep one leg entirely straight. If the straight leg begins to flex, stop trying to go lower and instead work within your boundaries.
How to Do Side Lunges
Stand with your feet hip-width apart to begin. Put your right foot out to the side and take a big step. Face forward with your whole body, from head to toe. Raise your right leg up. Keep your spine straight and your hips back. You can get back to square one by launching off your right foot. All the reps can be done on one side at a time, or you can switch.
7. Touchdown Lunge Exercise
This one sounds like something you'd see in a football game, but it's actually just a more difficult version of a standard lunge that targets your quads and hamstrings. To return to the starting position after bending so far forward to touch the floor requires a bit more physical effort.
How to Do Touchdown Lunges
Prepare for a lunge by standing with your feet hip-width apart, then stepping forward with one foot before the other and squatting down. Keep your spine in a neutral position and bend forward until your fingertips touch the floor. Engage your leg muscles to help you stand back up. Take a step back from your lunge and switch sides.
8. Lunge Front Kick
This kind is excellent for relieving tension and venting anger. As an added bonus, it helps with both balance and mobility. To deliver a devastating kick, you must fully contract the gluteal muscle of the standing leg. If you're doing reps, finish one side completely before moving on to the other.
How to Do Lunge Front Kick
Step back with your right foot from a standing position to form a standard lunge. Kick your right leg up as you step out of the lunge rather than returning to the beginning position. The first step is to put your right foot down. Keep alternating legs until the set is over.
9. Curtsy Lunge Exercise
This may look graceful, but trust me, you'll feel the effects. It's typical to experience some unsteadiness at the beginning. It's not often that we take a simultaneous backward and sideward step. If you want to strengthen and tone your inner thighs and glutes, this lunge variation is for you. Why do you keep stalling? To the max!
How to Do Curtsy Lunges
Stabilise yourself by standing with your feet hip-width apart and your hands on your hips. Cross your right leg behind your left one and take a strong step back and to the side with your right leg. The right foot should land in front of the other. Kneel down, bringing your left thigh perpendicular to the ground. Engage your core to keep your chest up. Raise yourself back to the initial posture with a strong push. All the reps can be done on one side at a time, or you can switch.
10. Lunge High Knee and Jump
Like the jump lunges, this one raises your heart rate and increases the difficulty of your workout. Even though this advanced lunge version requires more speed, you can modify the pace to suit your fitness level.
How to Do Lunge High Knee and Jump
Initiate a lunge by stepping back with your right foot from a standing position. Press down on the left foot's heel while simultaneously bringing the right knee up to the chest and jumping onto the left foot. You can sprint with this action supported by your arms (opposite arm as leg). After landing, you should focus on resuming a lunge exercise position with your right leg. If you're doing reps, finish one side completely before moving on to the other.
Guidelines for Proper Lunge Form
- Keep your stomach in and your chest out.
- Keep your knee in front of your toes at all times.
- Keep your back knee off the ground.
- Power the movement and maintain your balance by pushing off via the heel (rather than the toe).
- Optional: Increasing the difficulty of the lunge variants is as simple as grabbing some weights.
- It's unrealistic to think that you can or should perform every single type of lunge exercise in a single session. Read over the tips and pick two or three to use in your upcoming session focused on the lower body. Three to five sets of 10 to 30 reps on each leg should be your goal.
