Squats vs Lunges

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  • grapenutSF
    grapenutSF Posts: 648 Member
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    Also to really hit your butt make sure you go all the way down in the squat, just past parallel.

    like knee to the ground?

    *kitten* to the grass
  • kaylammurphy
    kaylammurphy Posts: 63
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    I do both, sometimes on the same day, but usually if I do them both on the same day I don't do tons of both. Usually I try to do walking lunges when I am at the grocery store so that I get some random extras in there :)
  • Rae6503
    Rae6503 Posts: 6,294 Member
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    Also to really hit your butt make sure you go all the way down in the squat, just past parallel.

    like knee to the ground?

    I just realized "knee to the ground" might be referencing the lunges, and yes, my back knee often touches the ground (but does not rest there) so that my front quad is again parallel. I generally have all my weight on my front leg. I've hurt my knee twice by accidentally letting the back leg take some weight. I do rear-stepping to avoid this now.
  • Elizabeth_C34
    Elizabeth_C34 Posts: 6,376 Member
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    And don't be afraid to go lighter if you have to. Form is very important.

    THIS too!
  • AmberJslimsAWAY
    AmberJslimsAWAY Posts: 2,468 Member
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    Thanks everyone :)
  • cmeade20
    cmeade20 Posts: 1,238 Member
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    I do total body strength training 3 days a week (nonconsecutive gotta let the muscles rest) and I do squats,lunges, sissy squats, dead lifts etc so don't worry about over doing it. If you're main concern is your butt def keep up with the squats and lunges and I'd do deadlifts and bridges too. Anthing good for the hamstring is good for the glute
  • SassyCalyGirl
    SassyCalyGirl Posts: 1,932 Member
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    I do both

    side lunges-forward and backward they all work a different part. Try wall squats with a balance ball-it helps with form. Sumo squats are awesome too!
  • DixiedoesMFP
    DixiedoesMFP Posts: 935 Member
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    Bowlers lunges also help work the little side part of your rear/hip to give it some nice definition. Put most of the weight on the ball of your front foot, sweep your back leg behind you like you just bowled a strike (very little weight on back leg - balance only) and squat.
  • jenniejengin
    jenniejengin Posts: 785 Member
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    bump
  • ChasingSweatandTears
    ChasingSweatandTears Posts: 504 Member
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    Also to really hit your butt make sure you go all the way down in the squat, just past parallel.

    like knee to the ground?

    Go down until your upper leg is parallel to the floor, or just past that.

    how-to-squat-2.jpg

    That's awesome! Do you have more of those? lol
  • Nopedotjpeg
    Nopedotjpeg Posts: 1,806 Member
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    Squats 3x5. They do lots of things, but mostly make me either hate the world or feel very proud of myself depending on the day.
  • Jeff92se
    Jeff92se Posts: 3,369 Member
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    Free weight squats are much more body inclusive than lunges. Takes many more core muscles to not only perform the squat that hit your hams, glutes and quads, but also everything else it takes to support the weight on your back.

    Do both. Squats and deads on heavy day and then consider super setting luncges on an off leg day
  • FlyeredUp
    FlyeredUp Posts: 663 Member
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    I do both squats and lunges once a week on leg day, ( there is no reason to work your legs more than once a week) and both are very important. I do 4 sets of each and 8-10 reps per set. I also do dead lifts but it is better to split up your squats and dead lifts, so I do deads on a different day but also do 4 sets and 8-10 reps per set.
  • Jeff92se
    Jeff92se Posts: 3,369 Member
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    I do squats, powercleans and deads all on the same day. I'm a gluten for punisment I guess. On top of that I superset squats with military dumbell shoulder presses, powercleans to an overhead press and deads with one arm shoulder presses LVOneArmShoulderPress.gif
  • FlyeredUp
    FlyeredUp Posts: 663 Member
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    I do squats, powercleans and deads all on the same day. I'm a gluten for punisment I guess. On top of that I superset squats with military dumbell shoulder presses, powercleans to an overhead press and deads with one arm shoulder presses LVOneArmShoulderPress.gif
    Jeff I am a gluten for punishment aswell! But you will see better results if you split squats and deads up, ( a couple days apart) Below is my leg day work out. I do deads on shoulder & trap day, which is 4 days after leg day, I do 20 sets of shoulders, 8 sets of traps and then 4 sets of deads.

    Squats - 4 sets
    Lunges- 4 sets
    Leg Press- 4 sets
    Leg Curls- 4 sets
    Lying Down Leg Curls- 4 sets ( Hamstrings)
    Standing Calf Raises- 4 sets
    Seated Calf Raises - 4 sets
  • Punktorian
    Punktorian Posts: 224 Member
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    Squats as the primary exercise for sure, assuming they are good freeweight barbell squats. Put aside the muscles worked for a second and consider the central nervous system and overall stability they add. If you only do one, do barbell squats. You can do lunges at a lighter weight as more of an accessory exercise.
  • Jeff92se
    Jeff92se Posts: 3,369 Member
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    I do squats, powercleans and deads all on the same day. I'm a gluten for punisment I guess. On top of that I superset squats with military dumbell shoulder presses, powercleans to an overhead press and deads with one arm shoulder presses LVOneArmShoulderPress.gif
    Jeff I am a gluten for punishment aswell! But you will see better results if you split squats and deads up, ( a couple days apart) Below is my leg day work out. I do deads on shoulder & trap day, which is 3 days after leg day, I do 20 sets of shoulders, 8 sets of traps and then 4 sets of deads.

    Squats - 4 sets
    Lunges- 4 sets
    Leg Press- 4 sets
    Leg Curls- 4 sets
    Lying Down Leg Curls- 4 sets ( Hamstrings)
    Standing Calf Raises- 4 sets
    Seated Calf Raises - 4 sets

    If I get down to my goal weight, pant size, I might consider splitting them up. But I get sore after legs. 2 days after is my most sore days. I'm not really going for max lifts. Although my lifts are improving. I just want to burn max calories while lifting. I only get 2 days to lift. Maybe 3
  • FlyeredUp
    FlyeredUp Posts: 663 Member
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    I do squats, powercleans and deads all on the same day. I'm a gluten for punisment I guess. On top of that I superset squats with military dumbell shoulder presses, powercleans to an overhead press and deads with one arm shoulder presses LVOneArmShoulderPress.gif
    Jeff I am a gluten for punishment aswell! But you will see better results if you split squats and deads up, ( a couple days apart) Below is my leg day work out. I do deads on shoulder & trap day, which is 3 days after leg day, I do 20 sets of shoulders, 8 sets of traps and then 4 sets of deads.

    Squats - 4 sets
    Lunges- 4 sets
    Leg Press- 4 sets
    Leg Curls- 4 sets
    Lying Down Leg Curls- 4 sets ( Hamstrings)
    Standing Calf Raises- 4 sets
    Seated Calf Raises - 4 sets

    If I get down to my goal weight, pant size, I might consider splitting them up. But I get sore after legs. 2 days after is my most sore days. I'm not really going for max lifts. Although my lifts are improving. I just want to burn max calories while lifting. I only get 2 days to lift. Maybe 3
    Hey no problem Jeff!! When you reach your goal let me know if you need any adivce! Also in case your not already doing so, limit your rest between sets to 1 minute to keep your heart rate up (burn more calories)
  • autumnk921
    autumnk921 Posts: 1,376 Member
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    Bump...For reference later
  • FlyeredUp
    FlyeredUp Posts: 663 Member
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    Squats as the primary exercise for sure, assuming they are good freeweight barbell squats. Put aside the muscles worked for a second and consider the central nervous system and overall stability they add. If you only do one, do barbell squats. You can do lunges at a lighter weight as more of an accessory exercise.
    The reason I do squats and deadlifts on different days. If I did them on the same day I would have to do deads at a lighter weight than doing them on a different day.

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