Are you looking for a great exercise that you can do at home, that also provides some great benefits? Lunges might be exactly what you’re looking for. Lunges have many benefits, are safe to do, and are also easy-to-learn. They should be considered a must-have addition to your workout routines.
Lunges, as an exercise, are just like the word implies. You lunge forward, lower and raise yourself on one foot at a time. This will engage your quads, glutes, hammys, calves, and core muscle groups. These versatile exercises are also great because you can do them anywhere. If you live out of a suitcase, or work from home, lunges can be performed by simply using your own body own weight.
No one single exercise will ever be a fix-all solution to your needs, but lunges can really help anyone from beginners to the most advanced athletes.
Better Balance
Lunges work one side of the body at a time. These are called unilateral exercises. These exercises are fantastic for working on your balance and stability, even more so than squats and dead-lifts. As we get older, we can often have more and more balance issues. Consistently working on your balance will allow you to complete even your normal daily activities a lot more easily. You’ll also notice an improvement in your posture as well.
A little known benefit to lunges is that they mimic our natural walking patterns. This reinforces your gait pattern to challenge your balance to make progress.
Flexible Hips
Lunges, when performed properly, are designed to enhance flexibility where you bend and flex your legs. These areas are called hip flexors. If you sit all day, or are nonactive in general, these muscles can become tight and create lower back pains. Lunges force your hip flexors to strengthen and loosen. If your hip joints are not properly flexed, you’ll experience lots of unnecessary pain.
Improved Coordination
Along with improved balance comes improved coordination. As you lunge forward, you have to control your body and hold your position before returning to start. To accomplish this, your muscles will need to work in unison. Overall, lunges do more than just make you stronger, they improve your coordination, agility and athleticism as well.
Muscles Get Stronger
When it comes to exercises that strengthen the lower body, lunges are right up there with squats. One of the great benefits to doing lunges is that these exercises target multiple muscle groups. These include the ones in your abs, glutes, thighs, hips, and calves. By adding some weights to the movements you can also include the muscles in your arms, chest, and shoulder as well.
Also, by changing the positions of how you perform the lunges, say from the front to side or back, you can alter how these muscles are being activated, making them even stronger.
Don’t miss part two where we cover even more benefits of doing lunges.
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3 Responses
Is squat and lunges the same.which of the two engages the lower body muscle.
No, they’re not the same but very similar. Both engages lower body muscles. What are your fitness goals?
I would say that the lunge is a great exercise for the lower body. It usually works well for strengthening the lower body and muscles groups. It’s a workout that strengthens your leg, improves your core strength, makes your hip flexibility better, and improves the derriere tone. But prior to performing this exertion, you must keep one thing in mind that lunges are susceptible to back injury. Improper technique and body posture normally give the lunge a trigger to give rise to the pain in the joints. Thus, it is imperative for you to learn the key techniques of this movement, and maintain the required position and balance during the execution to perk up the effectiveness and avoid injuries.