dreaded lunges

MsRaeJ

I know lunges are great for you legs and buns, but I have the hardest time doing them without my knees hurting. I've been doing Jillina Michaels Target your Trouble Zones and she does a zillion lunges in her circuit training.....backward lunges, forward lunges, side to side lunges, squats.....by the end my knees hurt and not in a good I-got-a-great-workout-kind-of-way, but in a I'm-definitely-doing-something-wrong-kind-of-way. I know you're not supposed to let the knee go over the toes, but I have a hard time getting the right form. I think it's a balance issue with me. Does anyone have any "tricks" for keeping to the right form while doing lunges/squats? I'd love to hear them!

Dafrog

not sure about the lunges, although you can use a chair to help with squats, with arms at side or extended, then work your way up to standing up on one leg, havent tried it this saw it on a healthy special on the Today show or something in that nature. good luck

jmpacheco

i have the same problem. i take a pain pill a little before i do the workouts. but i am pretty sure my knee issues are a result of being overweight.

fuhrmeister

I hate lunges too! My instructor says to make sure each leg is on each side of a "railroad track" meaning your hips stay faceing forward. Rise and fall like a carosel horse. maybe try not to lung as deep until they become more confortable. Good Luck!

m4rty5miff

First off, stand tall with your feet facing forward and together and your weight in the middle of your feet. Put your arms straight at your sides and then bend your elbows and put your hands on your hips. Make sure your head is centered and you're not putting any strain on your neck. Focus on a point in directly in front of you if that helps. This is your starting position. Now you are ready to lunge.

1. Choose one leg and step forward about one to two feet. (The taller you are, the further forward you should go, but don't go so far that you feel you are going to fall over.)
2. Begin bending your front knee until it is over the top of the foot. Never extend it beyond the toes.
3. As you bend this knee, lift the heel of the opposite leg. The knee will be forced to bend as you lunge down.
4. Stop when both knees are at a 90 degree angle with the floor.
5. Shift all of your weight to the balls of your feet, concentrating on your toes. (If you need to step forward more to make this happen without leaning that's fine.)
6. Finally, pull your body back up to the starting position.

You can either leave your foot extended forward and repeat the exercise again or switch to the other leg. Repeating it several times on the same leg is the usual practice. Just make sure to use your muscles, not momentum.

Remember to breathe when you lunge. Holding your breath during the exercise will only make it harder and reduce the effectiveness. Exhale as you lunge down and inhale when you come back up.

Common Mistakes

When you first begin doing lunges, it's easy to make mistakes. These are ones that often occur:

* Leaning forward or to one side instead of keeping the upper body straight
* Using momentum to lift your body, thus not completing the entire lunge
* Putting too much stress on the knee by letting it overlap past the toes
* Looking down, causing a cramp in the neck
* Letting the knees touch the ground instead of just coming close to it

Ask a friend or trainer who knows how to do lunges to watch you complete your first lunge exercise to make sure you're not inadvertently making any of these errors. If you have trouble with leaning to the side, it's okay to lightly hold on to a chair or railing.

MsRaeJ

Wow. Thanks! Great tutorial! I'll have to print that out and have it with me next time and work through a few step by step.

summerblunden

One of the tips I have most success with is to think about lowering the back knee striaght to the ground, don't think about bending the front knee. Make sure your stance is wide enough, and if you have to, hold on to something.

And I actually diagree with m4rty on the weight balance. If your weight is on your toes, you are more likely to bring your knee further forward, and you are stressing the patello-femoral joint. If your weight on your front foot stays on your heel (like, toes off the ground even), you will NOT be able to bring your knee beyond your toes, and you are emphasizing your glutes.