How to do lunges correctly

Squats are great for beginners to learn first, while lunges take more coordination and balance to learn. Squats will help build overall muscle mass while also improving performance and strength. Lunges are great to define and shape the legs and glutes, while also improving balance, coordination, and stability.

Lunge Basics

Squeeze your glutes as you raise and lower your body. It’s ok to lean forward a little if you need to for balance, but generally try to remain straight and think of your body as raising and lowering straight up and down. Your knee should not jut out past your ankle when you bend your front leg.

The lunge is unique from other movements like the squat in that it demands great hip mobility! Poor training techniques, overuse of abdominal exercises and lack of stretching all contribute to stiff hips. And once you add hours of sitting on top of this you will tighten up more than just your hip flexors.

Knee pain during lunges can come from two sources: improper form or a muscle imbalance. If you have weak glute (butt) muscles, and your butt isn’t doing the work it should, your knee won’t be able to stay aligned over the middle of your foot. Keep an eye out to see if your knee bends inward as you deepen into a lunge.

You probably shouldn’t do more than 4 or 5 sets of lunges in a day in order to reduce your risk of overtraining the muscles in your legs and to prevent severe soreness.