HOW TO LUNGE CORRECTLY
To perform a basic, stationary lunge, start by standing with a neutral spine and engage the abdominal muscles to prepare for movement.
Step forward with one leg, placing the foot down to form a right angle in the front knee.
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The knee of the front leg tracks inline with the front toes and the back foot has the toes pointing forward and the heel lifted off the floor.
The back knee should hover above the floor and bend enough to form a straight line from the knee up to the hips and shoulders.
The spine remains upright and in a neutral position, with good posture and the chest lifted.
There should be limited forward leaning in the torso, with no slouching or rounding of the spine.
To return to a standing position, push through the heel and back two-thirds of the front foot, being careful never to move your body weight into the front toes.
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Fig 1. A perfect lunge form assures that the targeted muscles are activated correctly and trained effectively. Perfecting a lunge form with a client during an outdoor training session.
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INTRODUCTION – LUNGE BENEFITS and APPLICATIONS
The lunge is a powerful and functional exercise, with many potential benefits and applications to daily life activities, making it a fundamental movement in any training program (13).
Lunges are an asymmetrical action and help to develop both strength and dynamic flexibility (flexibility displayed throughout a movement), sculpt the lower body musculature, as well as improve core stabilisation and balance (2, 10).
By utilising large muscle groups, lunging also has a positive effect on metabolic activity and therefore, burns lots of calories and can assist with weight loss.
Although lunges involve all of the muscles in the lower body and many of the core muscles, during the upward or lifting phase of the movement, there is simultaneous extension of the hip and knee joints, and thus, the prime movers, or the muscles primarily responsible for the concentric movement, are the hip extensors and the knee extensors (4, 7, 14).
The hip extensors are the muscles that work to extend the hip and include the gluteus maximus and the hamstrings.
The knee extensors, or the muscles responsible for extending the knee joint, are the four muscles of the quadriceps.
There are also several muscles recruited secondarily and for assistance in stabilisation throughout the lunge movement, including the calf muscles, the hip adductors, or inner thighs (the muscles that bring the legs together), the abductors (the muscles that lift the legs laterally, or to the sides) and the core muscles, such as the spinal erectors and the abdominals, which work to support the spine in an upright position (7, 20).
Using proper form while lunging, and maintaining a balance between mobility and stability in the musculature, is critical in order to avoid overuse or training-related injuries.
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FORWARD LUNGES WITH ARMS REACHING OVERHEAD
This variation of the basic lunge incorporates an upper-body component to the exercise, which creates more of a full-body movement.
In a forward lunge with the arms reaching overhead, oxygen must be delivered to both the lower and upper body muscles, which increases the calorie expenditure of the exercise.
Fig 2. Coaching outdoor a client using a swiss ball with forward lunge and arms reaching overhead.
Also, simultaneous movement from both the arms and the legs requires increased activation of the core musculature in order to maintain balance and stability throughout the exercise (2, 5).
Performing this version of a lunge is essentially the same as executing a standard, stationary lunge, however, there is also an additional movement with the arms.
As the leading leg steps forward and the knees bend down into the basic lunge shape, both arms are raised and extended above the head.
The arms should remain shoulder-width apart throughout the movement, with the palms facing towards each other.
The arms are returned and lowered to their original position, back down by the sides of the body, as the front leg lifts back up to meet the back leg.
The movement of the legs and arms should coordinate and occur in unison. An elite Personal trainer Wimbledon based provides you with personalised support so, you achieve your fitness goals in less time without any injury risks.
ANATOMY OF A LUNGE
The lunge is considered a compound exercise because it involves the hip, knee and ankle joints and recruits multiple major muscle groups at the same time (5, 14).
The lowering, or eccentric, phase of a lunge requires the contraction of the gluteal muscles, the hamstrings and the quadriceps in order to descend the body in a controlled fashion.
In the ascension or upward phase of the lunge movement, the gluteal muscles, hamstrings and quadriceps of the forward leg concentrically contract in order to straighten the knee and bring the body back into a standing position (11, 20).
LUNGES AND THE HIPS AND THIGHS
Lunges are extremely effective for strengthening the hip muscles, specifically the gluteus maximus, which is the largest muscle in the buttocks.
During the concentric muscular contraction in a lunge (when lifting back up to a standing position from the downward phase of the movement), the gluteus maximus functions as the primary hip extensor.
When larger steps are taken in a lunge, this muscle is isolated and targeted even more intensely (4, 7, 17).
The gluteus medius is a smaller hip muscle located in the buttocks and functions as the main stabilizer of the femur, or thighbone, and the pelvis during a lunge.
Lunges are unilateral exercises (movements that focus on a single limb), because the front leg supports a majority of the body weight, while the back leg is mostly used for stability and balance.
Performing single-leg movements requires significant muscular control from the gluteus medius, in order to keep the pelvis level and maintain knee stability.
The gluteus medius works to properly align the patella, or kneecap, and ensures the knee does not collapse inwards.
Weakness in the gluteus medius can lead to the knees knocking together, which puts excessive strain on the medial collateral ligament, or MCL, of the knee (3, 6).
Lunging also strongly involves the adductor, or inner thigh, muscles, particularly the adductor magnus, which is the largest adductor muscle.
Through the lunge movement, the adductors function as stabilisers for the hip and knee joints to encourage proper alignment (1, 14).
Additionally, the hamstring muscles, comprised of the semimembranosus, semitendinosus and biceps femoris, work in the lunge movement by assisting the gluteus maximus in hip extension and functioning as dynamic stabilisers (muscles that work to stabilise two joints) for the hip and knee.
In the concentric phase of the movement, the quadriceps muscles, composed of the rectus femoris, vastus lateralis, vastus medialis and vastus intermedius, all work together to extend the knee joint (4, 17).
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The hamstrings and the rectus femoris, the largest quadriceps muscle that extends from the pelvis to the patella in the knee, are biarticular muscles, meaning they cross both the hip and knee joints.
Due to the fact that these muscles articulate with both joints, they contract at the same time during the ascension phase of a lunge, as both the knee and the hip are extended.
This concurrent contraction is known as Lombard’s Paradox and results in both muscles remaining approximately the same length throughout the movement (12,18).
LUNGES AND THE KNEES AND ANKLES
When performing a lunge, the knees should point in the same direction as the ankles and align with the second toe, particularly in the front foot, in order to prevent increased force on the tendons and ligaments of the knee (1).
Furthermore, to protect the knee from increased torque, it is generally suggested that the leading knee should not travel past the toes throughout a lunge.
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When the knee goes excessively forward over the front toes, it is also an indicator that momentum is present in the movement, which lessens the degree of muscular involvement (17).
The knee moving beyond the toes, however, can often be attributed to factors such as variable limb lengths (in the tibia and/or fibula or the femur bones), and therefore the restriction of natural knee movement in a lunge can compromise the positioning of the spine and often results in a forward leaning torso, which is more likely to cause excessive stress on the hips and increased loading on the lower back (1, 5, 7).
The calf muscles, the gastrocnemius and soleus, have different functions in a lunge.
In the back leg, while lowering into a lunge, the soleus performs plantarflexion at the ankle joint in order to bring the heel off the floor, while the gastrocnemius (the larger calf muscle) mainly works to stabilize the knee joint and assist in knee flexion when lunging.
Ankle stabilisation is required during a lunge, which is primarily carried out by the tibialis anterior, the muscle located on the front of the shinbone (17).
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LUNGES AND THE CORE
The core muscles, including the erector spinae (a group of muscles that straighten the spine into an upright position), quadratus lumborum (a deep abdominal muscle that laterally flexes the spine) and oblique muscles (the abdominal muscles responsible for flexing and rotating the spine), function as stabilisers in a lunge exercise, supporting the spine in a rigid, upright position throughout the movement.
The hip muscles and abdominals also assist with knee stabilisation during weight-bearing activities such as a lunge, and therefore, inadequate core stability can lead to misalignment in the knee joint during a lunge, which in turn, can result in injury (8).
CONTRAINDICTIONS
Individuals experiencing anterior knee pain, or ‘runner’s knee’ (clinically referred to as patellofemoral pain syndrome, or PFPS), should not perform lunges, due to the possibility of increased strain on the patella tendon during a lunge.
PFPS is the presence of pain in front of the knee, typically caused by muscular imbalances or poor alignment of the hips, knees and ankles, and results in the improper tracking of the kneecap.
PFPS may also be associated with other conditions, such as iliotibial band syndrome (inflammation of the band of connective tissue that runs along the outer thigh and knee) or patellar tendinitis (collagen degeneration in the patella tendon) (9).
There is an increased risk of strain to the MCL during a lunge, and therefore, the movement should be avoiding by individuals with existing MCL tears.
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Additionally, lunges are not recommended for people who have undergone total knee arthroplasty, in order to prevent further trauma to the knee joint (3).
Furthermore, there are particular knee injuries that could be exasperated by lunging, due to the high risk of knee strain in the lunge movement.
Individuals with conditions such as osteoarthritis (degeneration of the cartilage in the patella or femur), osteochondritis (inflammation of the cartilage or bones of the knee joint), acute knee ligament sprains or tears, or bursitis (inflammation in the small, fluid-filled sacs that cushion the knee joint) should not perform lunges.
The knee joint is placed under higher forces in a deeper lunge, and therefore, discretion should be used when determining the appropriate depth of a lunge.
Smaller ranges of motion or partial lunges may be more appropriate for certain individuals in order to reduce the load on the knee joint (9).
LUNGE VARIATIONS TUTORIAL
Lunges are a versatile exercise that can be performed in multiple directions and planes of motion, in order to increase the functionality of the movement (13).
There are numerous variations to the basic lunge, some more complex and difficult than others, with each version of the exercise challenging the body in a different way, providing unique benefits and targeting specific muscles (5).
The type of lunge performed should be selected and incorporated into a training program based on the fitness goals and capabilities of the individual.
WALKING LUNGES
Walking lunges are a series of lunge movements performed consecutively and involve the same muscles as a basic lunge.
However, compared with the standard, stationary lunge, walking lunges target the legs in a more highly individual manner.
In the walking version of a lunge, the muscles in the leading leg, including the gluteals, hamstrings and quadriceps, are maximally recruited for the concentric phase of the movement, in order to bring the body back up to a standing position, and there is minimal contraction of the back leg, making the movement more similar to a single-leg exercise.
Additionally, from a functional standpoint, travelling lunges more closely imitate actions from daily life, like walking up or down stairs (13).
To execute a set of walking lunges, begin by stepping forward with one leg, flexing the knees and descending the hips toward the ground.
Go down until the back knee nearly reaches the floor, keeping the spine in an upright position and tracking the front knee inline with the front toes.
To lift the body back up, drive through the heel of the front foot, extend both knees and step forward with the back foot.
Repeat the lunge using the opposite leg, and continuously alternate the legs while traversing a given space.
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WALKING LUNGES WITH DUMBBELLS
This variation of the basic lunge exercise involves holding a pair of dumbbells in the hands, with the arms hanging down by the sides of the body and the palms of the hands facing the outer hips and thighs.
Otherwise, the movement is accomplished in the same way as a standard walking lunge; however, in this version, the upper trapezius (the muscles located in the neck and top of the shoulders that work to elevate the shoulder blade) and levator scapulae (muscles in the neck that also function to raise the shoulder blade) are utilised as stabilising muscles (20).
Due to the fact that there is additional volume present in this variation of the lunge, there is also a greater aerobic component and an opportunity for increased muscular development and strength.
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There are also increased energy demands when adding dumbbells to a walking lunge, resulting in a higher caloric expenditure (17, 19).
There should be a progression in the load carried during a walking lunge with dumbbells, in order to minimise the risk of injury and maintain proper form and alignment throughout the exercise.
LEG STATIC LUNGE TO JUMP
The leg static lunge to jump exercise is a plyometric type of movement, or movement that involves high intensity, explosive jumping.
Plyometrics target the fast-twitch muscle fibers (muscle fibers that fire quickly and are used to produce fast, powerful movements) and thus, improve the efficiency of muscular contractions, which subsequently contributes to enhanced power and speed (10, 15,19).
To perform this variation of the lunge, start with the legs split apart, in the distance appropriate for executing a basic stationary lunge.
Hands can either be placed on hips or behind the head. Bend both knees to approximately 90 degrees, lowering into the downward phase of a basic lunge position.
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Next, powerfully push off the balls of the feet, jumping upward and extending through both knee joints.
Contract the abdominals and in a controlled fashion, softly land both feet on the ground, simultaneously bringing the legs back in the lunge position, with the knees bending to about 90 degrees.
BODY WEIGHT JUMPING LUNGES
Jumping lunges are an advanced version of the leg static lunge to jump exercise.
Instead of repeating the jumping action with the same positioning of the legs, jumping legs requires that the legs switch positions during the jumping phase of the movement (15).
Start by standing with good posture and the feet staggered apart, with one foot slightly in front of the other.
There should be a slight bend in the knees and the core should be engaged to prepare for movement.
To jump, push off of both feet, switching the leg position in mid-air, and landing softly, in a basic lunge position, with the opposite leg in front.
Repeat this movement continuously, alternating the front leg with each repetition.
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LATERAL LUNGES
Lateral lunges are lunges that are performed by stepping out to the side and provide movement in a different plane of motion.
Lateral movements help to improve mobility and balance by building strength in the hip abductor and adductor muscles (2).
A lateral lunge begins in a standing position, with the feet about hip-distance apart.
Next, step one leg out to the side and shift the weight of the body over the leg that is stepping out, bending the knee to form a 90-degree angle.
The stationary leg should remain straight and both feet should stay flat on the floor and grounded. Sit the hips down and back into the lunge.
The torso may hinge forward slightly at the hips, but the spine should remain as neutral as possible.
In a lateral lunge, the groin is in a highly stretched position, and thus, the body should be lowered slowly in order to prevent training-related injuries to the inner thigh muscles.
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The depth of the lunge should be adjusted based on the degree of groin flexibility.
To bring the body back to a standing position, push off the heel of the bent leg and return the leg to meet the stationary leg.
Throughout the movement, body weight should be back in the heels, the knees should track in the same direction as the toes and the arms can be used to assist with balance.
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REFERENCES
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- Behm, DG and Chaouachi, A. A review of the acute effects of static and dynamic stretching on performance. European Journal of Applied Physiology. 111: 2633-2651, 2011.
- Bell, DR, Padua, DA, and Clark, MA. Muscle strength and flexibility characteristics of people displaying excessive medial knee displacement. Archives of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation. 89: 1323-1328, 2008.
- Boudreau, SN, Dwyer, MK, Mattacola, CG, Lattermann, C, Uhl, TL, and McKeon, JM. Hip-muscle activation during the lunge, single-leg squat, and step-up-and-over exercises. Journal of Sport Rehabilitation. 18: 91-103, 2009.
- Coburn, JW and Malek, MH. NSCA’s Essentials of Personal Training – Second Edition. Champaign, IL: Human Kinetics Publishers, 2007.
- Distefano, LJ, Blackburn, JT, Marshall, SW, and Padua, DA. Gluteal muscle activation during common therapeutic exercises. Journal of Orthopaedic and Sports Physical Therapy. 39(7): 532-540, 2009.
- Escamilla, RF, Lander, JE, and Garhammer, J. Biomechanics of powerlifting and weightlifting exercises. In: Exercise and Sport science. Garrett, WE and Kirkendall, DT, eds. Philadelphia, PA: Lippincott Williams and Wilkins, 2000. pp. 585-615.
- Ekstrom, RA, Donatelli, RA, and Carp, KC. Electromyographic analysis of core trunk, hip, and thigh muscles during nine rehabilitation exercises. Journal of Orthopaedic and Sports Physical Therapy. 37(12): 754-762, 2007.
- Fredericson, M and Yoon, K. Physical examination and patellofemoral pain syndrome. American Journal of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation. 85(3): 234-243, 2006.
- Hartigan, EH, Lawrence, M, Bisson, BM, Torgerson, E, and Knight, RC. Relationship of the functional movement screen in-line lunge to power, speed, and balance measures. Sports Health: A Multidisciplinary Approach. 6(3): 197-202, 2014.
- Higbie, EJ, Cureton, KJ, Warren, GL, and Prior, BM. Effects of concentric and eccentric training on muscle strength, cross-sectional area and neural activation. Journal of Applied Physiology. 81(5): 2173-2181, 1996.
- Jonhagen, S, Ackermann, P, and Saartok, T. Forward lunge: a training study of eccentric exercises of the lower limbs. Journal of Strength and Conditioning Research. 23(3): 972-978, 2009.
- Kritz, M, Cronin, J, and Hume, P. Using the body weight forward lunge to screen an athlete’s lunge pattern. Strength and Conditioning Journal. 31(6): 15-24, 2009.
- McCurdy, K and Conner, C. Unilateral support resistance training incorporating the hip and knee. Strength and Conditioning Journal. 25(2): 45-51, 2003.
- Patel, NN. Plyometric training: A review article. International Journal of Current Research and Review 6.15: 33-37, 2014.
- Reiman, MP, Bolgla, LA, and Loudon, JK. A literature review of studies evaluating gluteus maximus and gluteus medius activation during rehabilitation exercises. Physiotherapy Theory and Practice. 28(4): 257-268, 2012.
- Riemann, BL, Lapinski, S, Smith, L, and Davies, G. Biomechanical analysis of the anterior lunge during four external-load conditions. Journal of Athletic Training. 47(4): 372-378, 2012.
- Straube, A and Fornusek, C. A biomechanical cause of low power production during FES cycling of subjects with SCI. Journal of NeuroEngineering and Rehabilitation. 11:123, 2014.
- Turner, G and Barker, K. Exercise selection to develop optimal explosive lunge movements for world-standard squash. Strength and Conditioning Journal. 36(4): 36-42, 2014.
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