Lunges Benefits

The lunge is an exercise, which helps to work out lower body muscles which include the gluteal muscles, quadriceps, and hamstrings. These exercises can be performed with and without weights. One must follow the right technique and posture while performing this exercise. Here are the steps for performing the basic lunge exercise.

• For the starting position, stand with your feet shoulder-width apart.
• Take a step forward so that the heel touches the surface first, with the knee bent at an angle of 90 degrees.

• One should try to take one's body as farther and lower as possible, so that the knee of hind leg touches the ground.
• By applying force on the forward leg, body should be lifted, and bought back to its original standing position. Apply force on the forward leg and lift the body, bringing it back to the starting position.

This is a great exercise which helps in strengthening lower body muscles. There are very few leg exercises that are as good as this exercise. There are different variations of this exercise that target various muscles of the body.

Strengthening the quadriceps is one of the important benefits of squats, as well as the lunges.Developing and shaping up the leg mass properly is possible with squats. Muscles in the hips, thighs, and buttocks are strengthened with this workout.

For this exercise, the steps are almost the same as that for forward or backward ones, however, the angle is a bit different. The muscles of the body that are being worked out remain the same (i.e., glutes, quadriceps, hamstrings).

The abdominal and hip muscles too are stretched effectively. Intensity of this exercise can be increased with the help of weights. One can either use dumbbells or barbells in this workout. Use of weights increases the resistance, which in turn increases the strength of muscles.

These are similar to forward lunges. Instead of going back to the original or standing position, this exercise requires the athletes to move forward, step-by-step. The muscles are worked much harder while performing this exercise in comparison to the forward ones. Apart from working out the hamstrings, quads, buttocks, and inner thighs, these also provide the body with a good cardiovascular exercise.

This exercise also helps improve the posture of the body. Lower body muscles are important in maintaining a correct posture. Balance and coordination of the body is greatly improved with this exercise. Working out the different leg muscles brings about the improvement in balance. If weights are also used while performing this exercise, the strength of the muscles of the arms also increases.

The different benefits of lunges mentioned in the article should help understand the importance of this exercise. The aforementioned exercises, if followed might prove beneficial to work out the body in various ways.

Disclaimer: This story is for informative purposes only. Always consult a physician before starting any physical fitness program in order to reduce the risk of injury.