Lunges... my nemesis

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tracieangeletti
tracieangeletti Posts: 432 Member
in Fitness and Exercise
Today was leg day in my new strength training program. I'm doing a program from the book Thinner Leaner Stronger. I was so proud of myself for doing my squats in the squat rack, as this had me terrified, but when it came to the barbell lunges I was too off balance. I have MS so I have balance issues. Tried them in the Smith machine and it was an epic fail. I couldn't seem to get the mechanics of it right. Tried with dumbbells, as I have been doing, but spend most of my time trying not to lose balance and fall over. This seems to be the one exercise that gives me the most trouble. I am sorta at a loss as what to do about it. Leg day only calls for three exercises the barbell squat, barbell lunges, and Romanian deadlifts. So if I cut out lunges I'm only doing two exercises. I intend on practicing lunges without weights but that won't help much with strength gains. So I was thinking of maybe adding barbell sumo squats but can't even find any info to see if this is even an acceptable move. Should sumo squats even be done with the barbell? Really would appreciate any suggestions!

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  • imtrinat
    imtrinat Posts: 153 Member
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    My thoughts are to start with no weight just to get the form down. Then, add dumbbells. Use 5 lbs, 10 lbs, whatever you can manage. Hold them to your sides. That may help with the balance issues.
  • estrange22
    estrange22 Posts: 210 Member
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    Try a leg press! Also, get into the lunge position and try to hold it with your arms out for 10 seconds each time. You can "pulse" in that position and it will help with strength until you get your balance down....I had to do that before I could do single leg deadlifts with a kettlebell and it helped me focus on my balance.
  • StrongAtLast
    StrongAtLast Posts: 137 Member
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    Doing body weight lunges is NOT a waste of time. Start small. Eventually you will get your balance on the lunges.
    Hang onto the wall or a pole if you have to.
    Try backward lunges or walking lunges. I find these both easier then forward lunges (as far as balance)
    I've always struggled w/balance on lunges, but finally now, I'm finding that I have more balance with them, and with everyday activities.
  • tom_olech
    tom_olech Posts: 139 Member
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    If you have balance issues, ignore the dumbbells and focus on doing body weight lunges with you arms raised to the side. Raising you arms increases the range of your center of gravity and makes balancing easier....also, its pretty hard to keep your arms raised for an extended period of time, so you will sneak a nice deltoid workout in there too
  • khyman
    khyman Posts: 28 Member
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    What helped me was using the assist of a cable pull machine (I think that is what it is called) - something where you have cables on each side coming down from above. I did my lunges with that and it assisted me with my balance.
  • Monica_SanDiego
    Monica_SanDiego Posts: 15 Member
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    You can also try walking lunges on a treadmill .. set the belt to ultra slow (1.0) hold onto the sides and see if you can do walking lunges.

    Monica.
  • NovemberJune
    NovemberJune Posts: 2,525 Member
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    Mostly just here to say great job -- first day in the squat rack! :happy:

    I'm also curious to see what people say. I think I would start with body weight lunges and go slowly from there.

    I wonder if you could do split squats instead? http://www.exrx.net/WeightExercises/Quadriceps/BBSplitSquat.html
  • katy_trail
    katy_trail Posts: 1,992 Member
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    if you're referring to barbell walking lunges, try the standing version instead.
    I find barbell lunges or split squats which are almost the same thing,
    easier to balance than the DB version. Start with just the bar if you need to.
    Work on form, then add weight as you're ready.
  • tracieangeletti
    tracieangeletti Posts: 432 Member
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    Will these unweighted lunges take away the benefits of the program? I intend to keep practicing them but should I sub another weighted leg exercise in place of the barbell lunges and just practice the lunges as an "extra" exercise on leg day? If I added another round of barbell squats for a total of 6 sets of 10 reps instead of the 3 sets it calls for be too many squats?
  • tracieangeletti
    tracieangeletti Posts: 432 Member
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    If you have balance issues, ignore the dumbbells and focus on doing body weight lunges with you arms raised to the side. Raising you arms increases the range of your center of gravity and makes balancing easier....also, its pretty hard to keep your arms raised for an extended period of time, so you will sneak a nice deltoid workout in there too

    Ohhh, gonna have to try this!!
  • bcorbin34
    bcorbin34 Posts: 13 Member
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    I do think lunges can be easier using the Smith machine, but it does take some practice. Wondering if your at the gym doing them if they have someone to help you work on form and stance for them. I would think for adding weight that would the easier one to use if you want to stick to lunges. Though I did like the suggestion to practice lunges without weights and then work up from there. You do use your body weight with lunges and squats so it is not like your not doing anything without the extra weight.

    Good Luck.
  • UpEarly
    UpEarly Posts: 2,555 Member
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    You can also try lunges while holding a broom/mop handle in one hand and hold a dumbbell in the other. When my mom was in physical therapy and had both balance and strength problems, her physio used the prop to help her build up to where she could lunge on her own.

    Edited: I found a little photo that demonstrates what I mean!

    ]http://www.collagevideo.com/images/videos\Workout_dowel.jpg
  • tracieangeletti
    tracieangeletti Posts: 432 Member
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    You can also try lunges while holding a broom/mop handle in one hand and hold a dumbbell in the other. When my mom was in physical therapy and had both balance and strength problems, her physio used the prop to help her build up to where she could lunge on her own.

    I asked someone about doing them that way and they looked at me silly. I thought it made sense but I'm new to all this so I just assumed I was wrong. Maybe they were... lol
  • UpEarly
    UpEarly Posts: 2,555 Member
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    You can also try lunges while holding a broom/mop handle in one hand and hold a dumbbell in the other. When my mom was in physical therapy and had both balance and strength problems, her physio used the prop to help her build up to where she could lunge on her own.

    I asked someone about doing them that way and they looked at me silly. I thought it made sense but I'm new to all this so I just assumed I was wrong. Maybe they were... lol

    I think they probably just didn't know! They're actually pretty common for beginners, people coming back from sports injuries and people with balance issues.

    A little more info - http://www.collagevideo.com/searchresultsaccessory.aspx?item=9919
  • tracieangeletti
    tracieangeletti Posts: 432 Member
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    Mostly just here to say great job -- first day in the squat rack! :happy:

    I'm also curious to see what people say. I think I would start with body weight lunges and go slowly from there.

    I wonder if you could do split squats instead? http://www.exrx.net/WeightExercises/Quadriceps/BBSplitSquat.html

    Thank you sooo much! Using the squat rack was a big deal for me. I was so afraid of it that I put off trying a new program for several months because of my fear. This week I've done deadlifts, bench presses, and a bunch of other new lifts for the first time. Feel like a "real" lifter! Lol
  • tracieangeletti
    tracieangeletti Posts: 432 Member
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    You are not going to believe this but I went to the website the book suggests, it's the author of the books site, and he answered my lunge problem! He suggested more squats!!!! Front squats which look pretty hard to do but at least I know I can sub squats for lunges without much harm done! :-)

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