Tune Up Your Lunge Technique

Why do lunges?

Lunges activate multiple muscles in the lower body: The quads and glutes do most of the work, However, many other muscles assist. Inner thigh. Calf. Hamstrings. Various stabilizer muscles both in the lower body as well as your core. With all of this going on, proper setup is key

What are some common setup errors?

• Feet too wide or too narrow
• Stride too short

These setup problems will affect overall lunge posture and prevent activation of the desired muscles. I’ll guess that the most common errors are feet too narrow, and stride too short.

How Do I Setup Correctly?

Here’s a tip from Les Mills on how to get the correct stride length

1. Kneel down on both knees.
2. Lift one leg forward and place your foot on the ground with your knee bent at 90 degrees.
3. Tuck the toes of your back foot under and lift up from this position.

This should place you close to an optimal lunge position. You should be able to rise up and down in this position, keeping your trunk upright, hips square, and your front knee directly above your ankle at the bottom of the lunge.

For correct lunge width, your feet should be hip width apart

How Do I Make Sure That I’m Moving Correctly?

• Keep your chest lifted
• Drop your back knee towards the floor, focusing on moving up and down, not forward and back
• Drive through your front heel to activate glutes. Don’t cheat and push up from your back foot

Here’s an animation showing the movement. Notice how her torso stays tall, and the movement is focused on up and down motion rather than back and forth.

What Are Some Variations?

• Use body weight, a weighted barbell on the upper back, or one or two handweights. If using one, it should be on the same side as the rear leg
• Step backward into a moving lunge
• Use a support to help you keep your balance. Hold onto a countertop or handrail as you lunge, or use a bar held vertically in your front hand to serve as the third leg of a tripod. You can even use a wall by setting up your front foot close to the wall, and using both hands to help you keep stable.