How to do forward lunges
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Stand tall with your feet hip-width apart.
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Engage your core. Brace and tighten your abdominals, lats, paraspinal muscles, hip flexors, and glutes. In the mirror, you should see a neutral spine position and a full-looking belly (contrary to the belief that sucking your stomach in is what engages the core).
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Take a big step forward with your left leg. As you do so, shift your weight forward so your heel hits the floor first. Try this a couple of times to gauge how far you should step for a safe and comfortable lunge.
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Lower your body until your left thigh is parallel to the floor. Ideally, your knee shouldn’t go past your toes. If your mobility allows, lightly tap your right knee on the floor while maintaining your weight on the left leg.
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Press into your left foot and push yourself back into the starting position.
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You can do this exercise continuously on one leg or switch legs every rep.
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Complete 3 sets of 8 reps per leg. As you progress, you can gradually add reps and dumbbells.
Tips for a safe, stable, and muscle-activating lunge
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Maintain the hip-width distance between your feet as you lunge. Trying to lunge while aligning your forefoot and back foot adds unnecessary instability.
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Keep the heel of your front foot firmly planted on the floor throughout the lunge until you are pushing off.
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Start with just your body weight to get a better feel for the exercise. You can increase exercise intensity later.
Support your forward lunges
GenuTrain Knee Brace
If you are recovering from a knee injury or just want to improve your stability, the GenuTrain knee brace can help!
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The patella pad relieves pain and stabilises the kneecap.
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Compression reduces the rate of muscle fatigue and improves your awareness of how you activate your leg muscles.
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The knee brace protects the knee from injury and re-injury.
Other lunge variants to try
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Lunge and twist to contract the glutes for a more intense glute workout
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Walking lunges to test your balance and coordination further
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Step up lunge for a deeper lunge and greater glute engagement
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Slide lunges to test stability and for greater focus on the working leg
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Clock lunges to test balance and coordination, and work more areas of the legs and glutes
