Frontal lunge
Main muscle worked: Quadriceps, adductors, gluteus maximus
It is a knee dominant lunge which places more tension on your quadriceps.
- Stand with legs in hip-width apart.
- Take a step forward with one leg as you bend the other leg knee in a controlled movement. Let your weight to fall on your forward leg. Drive your hip down until the front foot knee is touching or almost touching the floor and your front thigh is almost parallel to the floor. Keep your back straight and keep your balance.
- Raise your body back as pushing your weight through the ball of your front foot (between the toe and the arch of foot) and pull the leg back to the original position.
Perform 8-12 reps each side for 2-3 sets.
Tips: Avoid bouncing your body to perform this exercise.
Note: This exercise challenges your balance and cannot handle heavy loads like squat. Quadriceps work harder with shorter lunge and glutes work harder with longer lunge. By leaning your torso forward, you can engage your glutes muscle more.
Reverse lunge
Main muscle worked: Quadriceps, adductors, gluteus maximus, hamstrings
It is a hip dominant lunge which places more tension on your glutes.
- Stand with legs in hip-width apart.
- Take a step backward with one leg as you bend the front leg knee in a controlled movement. Drive your hip down until the rear foot knee is touching or almost touching the floor and your front thigh is almost parallel to the floor. Keep your back straight and keep your balance.
- Raise your body back as majority of your weight is on you front leg heel. Pull the leg back to the original position.
Perform 8-12 reps each side for 2-3 sets.
Tips: Make sure not to kick the floor back to the original position but pull the leg back with your supported leg strength instead. Avoid bouncing your body to perform this exercise.
Note: This exercise challenges your balance and cannot handle heavy loads like squat. Quadriceps work harder with shorter lunge and glutes work harder with longer lunge. By leaning your torso forward, you can engage your glutes muscle more.
Curtsy lunge
Main muscle worked: Quadriceps, adductors, gluteus maximus, hamstrings
It is a hip dominant lunge which places tension on your glutes. Furthermore, this lunge also gives you a deep stretch on your glutes.
- Stand with your legs in shoulder width.
- Take a step backward with one leg and cross the other leg as you bend the front leg knee in a controlled movement. Drive your hip down until the rear foot knee is touching or almost touching the floor and your front thigh is almost parallel to the floor. Keep your back straight and keep your balance.
- Raise your body back as majority of your weight is on your front leg heel. Pull the leg back to the original position.
Perform 8-12 reps each side for 2-3 sets.
Tips: When you drive your leg back to the original position, let your driven leg slightly touch the floor and then take a step backward for the next rep. In this way, you can focus on putting the majority of your weight on your front leg.