The lunge mainly stimulates the gluteus maximus and quadriceps muscles (women can use this action to burn excess fat in the buttocks). Unfortunately, many bodybuilders' movements are irregular, so that the training effect is not obvious.
Lunges should be considered a strength training exercise, performed with heavy weight and no more than 8 reps per set, 4 reps per leg. Many people like to take a big step forward when practicing to show their ability. You don't have to do this, but the squat range should be large to fully stretch the muscle fibers. Use the shoulder barbell, step out of the support, keep your torso tense, step forward with your right leg appropriately (it is required that the knee joint does not exceed the toes when squatting), squat until your right thigh is parallel to the ground, and then squat back up. This action requires high strength, coordination, and flexibility. It is the first choice strength training action for competitive athletes because it enables people to have strong body control and strength qualities.
Many bodybuilding enthusiasts like to choose marching lunges, but the training effect is not very good. The reason is that the squatting process stimulates the leg muscles the most and has the best effect, while the Tingjin lunge skips this process and does not need to consume more energy to control the barbell. It is recommended that you consider the lunge as a second type of squat.
One more point, don't take a big step to show off when training. This will increase the pressure on the knee joint and make it easy to fall. Everyone's body structure restricts the trajectory of movements. If you force yourself to complete unnatural movements, it is easy to cause problems.
Action essentials:
1. Hold a dumbbell in each hand with your straight arms hanging naturally at your side or with a barbell on your shoulder. Hold the dumbbells in both hands with your elbows bent and placed on your shoulders. Stand with your feet hip-width apart, look forward, lift your chest, draw in your abdomen and tighten your waist.
2. Take a step forward with one foot and squat down so that the knee joint and ankle joint are on the same vertical line. Straighten the other leg back and distribute the weight evenly on both legs. Lower your hips, bend your back legs and squat down until your knees are close to the ground, then pause and return to the original path.
Note:
1. The upper body should always remain upright and the center of gravity should be vertically downward. The body cannot lean back or forward. When squatting vertically, the front leg and calf are perpendicular to the ground, the knees should not exceed the toes.
2. The role of lunges is also reflected in the muscle exercises used to maintain body balance when doing this action. Therefore, the initial imbalance of the body is the entry point of exercise and should be paid attention to.
3. The span should not be too small to avoid instability of the center of gravity and limited leg movement. When the span is large, the hind legs should be kept as straight as possible during the squat; when the span is small, the front legs should not be exercised. The knees can be pushed forward.
4. During the lunge squat movement, the muscles exercised at different spans of the legs are different. The larger the span, the more emphasis is placed on the quadriceps, biceps femoris and gluteus maximus muscles at the same time. Xiao Yue focused on exercising his quadriceps muscles.