We have always given you sound fitness advice whether it is how to do squats or even why should you perform animal flow. But many of us still struggle with the most dreaded exercise – lunges. While lunges are extremely effective in meeting your lower body fitness goals, the proper technique and form make all the difference. As such, how can you ace them and make them even better for your health?
To help you out, here’s a guide.
The fundamental body movements like squatting, lunging, hingeing, pushing, pulling, rotating, and walking are known as multi-joint exercises which reflect everyday behaviour. “When we climb stairs, we lunge, when we pull open a door, we row, when we lift a sack of rice off the ground, we deadlift, when we carry shopping bags in our hands and walk to our car, we do loaded carries,” said Varun Rattan, co-founder of The Body Science Academy.
Now, coming to lunges, while they may seem difficult, they challenge your core stability and balance. Stationary lunges are the basic ones, their variation being using weighted dumbbells. Spoorthi S, fitness expert, cult.fit concurred and shared that lunges are a compound exercise that works the quadriceps, hamstrings, glutes, and core. “They are a great way to strengthen and tone your lower body, and they can also help improve balance and coordination. The functional nature of lunges mimics real-life movements, making daily activities easier,” said Spoorthi.
As such, trainer Urmi Kothari from Kinetic Living Movement School suggested some ways to ace lunges as they are a great way to increase difficulty without an increase in weight.
What makes them functional is:
*Balance with a weight overhead*Spatial awareness (how your body moves with respect to the space around it)*Increases mind-to-muscle connection
What helps?
How to do a lunge properly?
According to Kothari, one should follow all the standard rules for lunges like knee aligning with the second toe, pushing through heels, and exhaling on the way up.
Train properly to avoid injury. (Source: Getty Images/Thinkstock
Spoorthi listed the following steps
*To do a lunge, stand with your feet hip-width apart. Step forward with one leg, lowering your body until your front thigh is parallel to the ground.*Your back knee should be bent at a 90-degree angle and your front knee should not go past your toes.*Keep your back straight and your core engaged.*Push back up to the starting position and repeat on the other side.
“The common mistakes to avoid when doing lunges are letting your front knee go past your toes, leaning forward too much, and not engaging your core,” elucidated Spoorthi.
Spoorthi also shared some tips for doing lunges safely and effectively
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*Start with a weight that is challenging but not too heavy.*Focus on form over weight.*Do not do lunges if you have any knee pain.
Mastering lunges takes time, but the results are definitely worth the effort!
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