Lunge - The Correct Lunge

Hi Team - Today's exercise is a lunge.  They're a great way to target hips, quadriceps, glutes and hamstrings.  Difficulty levels range from beginner to elite athlete.

Below are the precautions you should take while performing a squat:

Precaution Rules:
1. Shoulders stay down and back at all times.
2. Chin stays away from the chest - focus on a point at least 3 feet on front of you
3. Look for your front toe as you lunge forward - helps keep good form

Easy, right? Now that we got that out of the way, let's discuss the steps to complete a lunge - the correct way.

Lunge
1. Stand tall - plant your feet into the ground and align your spin from hips to the top of your head
2. Step forward with one leg - keep in mind Precaution Rules #1-#3 - and dropping the back knee to the ground.  Remember, you will not want to lean forward.
3. Optional - If you're holding hand weights, try adding a bicep curl or lateral raise while dropping the knee down
4. Push off the front foot and return back to your starting position.

Complete Lunge Steps #1-#4 on the opposite leg and repeat.

In the above picture, Kelly can (1) see her front toe, (2) keeps her knee directly above her ankle, (3) shoulders stay down and back, (4) gaze looks forward, and (5) she is in the perfect position to drop the back knee to the ground.

How can you increase difficulty while performing a static lunge? Weights, walk forward, walk backwards, add a twist or add some Russian hops just like my 5 minute boot camp.

  Enjoy this exercise of the day! How did you increase the difficulty level?