A simple exercise to strengthen the muscles of the legs, abdomen, buttocks and spine. How to do it correctly and why is it worth including it in your regular training?
Lunges belong to the group of exercises that strengthen specific muscle parts, increase muscle strength and endurance, help maintain the correct ratio of muscle mass to fat tissue, and improve bone density. During lunges, the abdominal muscles, thighs, buttocks, calves, and hamstrings are worked. In addition, the lunges also affect the ability to maintain balance, joint flexibility, even load distribution, correct spine posture, and proper blood circulation in the legs
Systematic exercise helps develop the lower body, which reduces the risk of muscle and joint injuries during intense physical activity. Lunges are also often used as part of rehabilitation or physiotherapy for people struggling with back problems and after lower limb injuries.
In the case of lunges, the correct technique of performing the exercise is definitely more important than the number of repetitions and the intensity of the exercise. The correct positioning of the body reduces the risk of injury and allows you to later increase the load, which in the case of lunges is a very popular variation of this exercise
The starting position for the lunge is standing with your feet hip-width apart. Then you should take a step forward, bend the excursion leg in the knee at an angle of 90 degrees and gently lower the body towards the ground. While performing the lunge, place your hands on your hips to better maintain proper alignment of your entire body.
The stepping foot should be in a position parallel to the knee. At this time, the knee of the other leg should be slightly bent at hip height. While performing the exercise, remember to tense the abdominal muscles and buttocks and maintain a straight spine posture. The head should be the extension of the spine, so that you look straight ahead. Lunges should be performed in series of 15-20 repetitions per leg.
Lunges are an exercise that is often confused with the lunges. In addition to the different technique that distinguishes these two exercises, it is worth knowing that the lunge can be performed in different directions, while the lunges are performed only forward. For this reason, lunges are more versatile
In addition to the traditional variant, lunges can be performed backwards, to the left or to the right, thanks to which the oblique abdominal muscles are engaged in work. An additional variety of the exercise is the introduction of a load to its implementation
The most popular and also the easiest are dumbbells. Their weight can be freely adjusted to the individual capabilities of the athlete, so they are perfect for advanced people in basic exercises and beginners only in exercises with load. With the progress made, dumbbells can be replaced by a barbell, medicine ball, barbell plates or kettlebells.
Introducing a load increases the effect of your workout, builds muscle endurance faster, helps add variety to your daily training sessions, engages more muscle groups such as your arms and shoulders, and speeds up the fat burning process.
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