Lunge (Kayle)

 A lunge can refer to any position of the human body where one leg is positioned forward
with knee bent and foot flat on the ground while the other leg is positioned behind. It is
used by athletes in cross-training for sports, by weight-trainers as a fitness exercise, and by
yogis as part of an asana regimen.
 Lunges are a good exercise for strengthening, sculpting and building several
muscles/muscle groups, including the quadriceps (or thighs), the gluteus maximus (or
buttocks) as well as the hamstrings
 A lunge is a single-leg bodyweight exercise that works your hips, glutes, quads, hamstrings,
core, and the hard-to-reach muscles of the inner thigh. Lunges can help you develop lower-
body strength and endurance, and unlike squats, they are highly effective at evening out
muscle imbalances.
Benefits of Lunges (Mac, Alex, Christy)
There are many potential advantages to including lunges in your routine. After some thinking, I
was able to come up with seven lunge benefits (though I might have missed some). Check 'em
out below...

Benefit #1: Lunges Are Versatile

 A big benefit that comes along with doing lunges is that they can be done in a number of
ways and are ideal for fitness levels of all kinds. If you are just a beginner you can do
regular old lunges and you don’t have to do too many of them. If you are slightly more
advanced in your fitness level you can add lunges to some kind of circuit routine, or just
do them in a high intensity nature.
 Also if you are already quite fit and very physically active you can hold some weights or
dumbbells while you do the lunges to add an increased degree of difficulty. You can
even use steps, a box, or even a chair to do some more advanced lunges. Mo matter
what fitness level you are currently at, lunges can be done by all.
 You can start out by doing 3 sets of 10 lunges with about 1 minute of rest in between
and work your way up to doing 5 sets of 20 lunges while holding heavy dumbbells and
also having minimal rest in between sets. Engaging in an exercise that is ideal for slow
progression is a great way to go from flab to fit in no time at all.

Benefit #2: Lunges Build Some Serious Muscle

 The next big advantage that is to be had from doing lunges is that they can greatly
increase your strength. Of course, being exercises that mainly work your legs, lunges are
great for increasing the strength of your calves, hamstrings, glutes, and all of the other
major muscles in your legs, but that is not all.
  One of the most important aspects of lunges is that they train all 3 of your glute
muscles, muscles which are necessary to be able to walk right. Without strong glutes,
walking can be made near impossible over time.
 Doing lunges requires a certain amount of balance, and to achieve that balance you
need to engage your lower back muscles as well as your abdominals to stay upright,
thus also working out your core at the same time and targeting various muscles in your
body at the same time.
 Lunges are really great bodyweight exercises that will strengthen your muscles and tone
them at the same time. If you want some stronger legs and a stronger core, lunges
definitely make for a good choice of exercise. Having stronger muscles will help you in
your everyday life as well. Walking up stairs, running, walking, and lifting up your kids
are all made easier thanks to the virtues of lunging.

Benefit #3: They Can Be Done Anywhere

 One of the things that we really like about lunges is that they can be done anywhere and
at any time. Organized sports force you to show up to a certain place at a certain time,
cardio exercises force you to leave your home to go on a long journey, and working out
at the gym is expensive and makes you have to deal with all of the people there.
 Lunges are great because you can do them in your home during the wee morning hours
or you can do them at a park in the afternoon. If you are a really busy person you can
also do them in your office space during your lunch break.
 You can do lunges in front of your TV or you can do them while you wait for your pasta
to finish cooking. These exercises are very versatile and that is something that is very
beneficial about them, not to mention that you don’t need any special equipment, plus
they are completely free to do as well. Lunges don’t cost you a single thing and that is
something which you should definitely appreciate!

Benefit #4: Increasing Body Symmetry

 The next great benefit you can get from doing lunges is that they can help you even out
muscular imbalances in your body. This is because you do squats independently, or in
other words, you do them one leg at a time, thus allowing you to account for muscle
asymmetries.
 Therefore, if you have a weaker side or one leg that has much more muscle, you can do
more lunges on one side in order to even out the deficit. Nobody wants a crooked or
uneven body and lunges are a great way to fix that problem.
 Moreover, if you’ve suffered from a leg injury such as a broken leg which has left one leg
weaker than the other, lunging is a great way to heal those broken leg problems in no
time at all. If you want a great looking and even body, lunges are definitely a way to go.
Benefit #5: Development of Balance

 Lunges are also an excellent way to develop your balance. This is because lunges are a
classified as a type of exercise known as unilateral training. For example, squats are
known as bilateral exercises, that being because you use both legs at once, thus working
out both of your legs at the same time.
 While that is not necessarily a bad thing, they don’t work to train your balance. Lunges,
on the other hand, are done with one leg at a time, thus requiring you to utilize your
balance and train it in the process.
 You see, balance has to do with your proprioceptors, also known as the parts of your
body which respond to your body’s position in order to counteract weight and position
changes, and ultimately causing you to balance. Lunges train your proprioceptors to
react to positional changes much quicker, this increasing your body’s ability to balance.
 Increased balance is important in life, especially when you’re doing things like walking
on ice, lifting up your baby, or even just walking up stairs. Good balance is a necessary
thing, especially in old age where a slip or fall could mean broken hips.

Benefit #6: Increasing Everyday Function & Flexibility

 Something else that is excellent about doing lunges is that they are a good way to train
for everyday motions. Lunges mimic walking as well as going up stairs, motions which
can get tiring after a while, but with lunges, you can train your legs to be stronger and
do those things easier.
 If you have issues walking or getting up stairs, lunges make for a great way to increase
your ability to do so. A part of the reason for this is because lunges help to increase your
flexibility, especially so in your hip flexors.
 In today’s world where we spend a majority of the time sitting down, our hips can get
very tight and inflexible, something which not only limits our range of motion but can
also cause severe hip problems as we get older.
 Doing lunges on a regular basis is a great way to work out your hip flexors, keep them in
motion, and keep them from getting stiff and inflexible, something which can even
cause severe back pain over time. Even better is the fact that increased flexibility will
also go a long way in improving your sex life too!

Benefit #7: Improving Your Spinal Health

 Another great thing about lunges is that they help to increase the overall health of your
spine, and it’s thanks to something called spinal deloading. There are many exercises
out there, such as doing squats, or most types of weight lifting, all of which serve to load
your spine, or in other words they compress the spins.
 Now this is not necessarily bad in itself, but it isn’t good to only do exercises which load
and compress your spine because over time that can cause damage, pain, and
inflexibility. On the other hand, lunges cause a deloading or decompression of the spine,
thus giving your spine an occasional break and the chance to relax.
  This has the effect of creating a more flexible and pain-free spine, therefore also making
lunges a great choice of exercise for people who tend to suffer from serious back pain.
Lunges also help to decrease back pain because they strengthen other parts of your
body such as your core and legs.
 A stronger core and stronger legs mean that those particular muscles help support you
more, thus taking the strain off of your back and supporting it greatly.

Benefit #8: Improve Your Coordination

 Another thing that lunges are good for is to increase your muscular coordination. Lunges
involve using several muscle groups at once, mainly one leg to lunge, the other leg to
balance, and your core and back to keep you upright.
 Therefore lunging involves using several muscles in unison, all of which have to work in
perfect harmony to successfully execute the exercise at hand. Coordination is another
really important part of life and is necessary for everything from walking and running to
playing sports as well.

Benefit #9: Better Moods & More Self Confidence

 The final thing about lunges that is definitely praiseworthy is that they can surely make
you happier. First off, a well-known fact is that exercising on a regular basis causes your
brain to release neurochemicals.
Thus, lunges and exercising in general is great way to deal with anxiety and depression, not to
mention to feel a sense of accomplishment too. Lunges won’t only make you feel happier
because of brain chemicals, but they will also make you happier because of the simple fact that
they make your booty look much better!

Conclusion (Wag niyo pansinin to)

As you can see, something as simple and inexpensive as doing lunges actually has a great
number of benefits. From increased flexibility, balance, and coordination, to stronger muscles
and a tighter looking butt, the benefits of lunges are endless, too much to pass up on them. If
you haven’t already tried doing lunges, we would recommend that you start immediately. This
exercise is simple, easy, and cheap, plus they can be done anywhere you go. They are a perfect
way to start getting into shape and slowly progress towards that toned body that you have
always wanted!
Types of lunge (Migs, Justin, Rogie)
Front Lunge
It's important to master the basic front lunge first, as it serves as the basis for all other types of
lunges.
Technique: Stand tall with your feet set to hip-width apart. Take a large step forward with one
foot. Flex your lead knee to lower your hips toward the floor. As you lower, you may find you
have the tendency to bend forward at the waist, but you want to keep your torso upright
throughout the entire movement. Continue until your lead knee is bent to 90 degrees and your
back knee is just short of touching the floor. Then, push off the floor with your lead foot and
forcefully extend your lead knee to return your lead foot to its starting position so that you're
standing again. Repeat the exercise, stepping forward with the alternate foot.
Reverse Lunge
Go easy on the knees with this lunge. Stand with feet hip-width apart, engage core, and take a
big step backward. Engage glutes as you bend front knee to lower body so back knee lightly
taps floor while keeping upper body upright. Drive front heel into floor to return to starting
position. Repeat on the other side.
Walking Lunge
Perform a forward lunge—and walk it out! At the low point of the lunge, instead of returning to
starting position, shift weight forward, drive front heel into floor, and rise up as you bring back
foot forward to meet front foot. Reset feet to hip-width apart then repeat on the other side as
you continue to move forward.
Lateral Lunge
From starting position, take a big step to the right with right foot, keeping toes forward and
feet flat on floor. Send hips back to shift weight into right heel as you extend arms in front of
you for balance. Push off right heel to return to starting position then repeat on the other side.
Curtsy Lunge
With hands on hips and feet wider than hip width, step left leg behind right leg. Bend right
knee, engage glutes, and lower body until right thigh is parallel to ground and left knee lightly
taps floor. Drive right foot into ground to rise to starting position then repeat on the other side.
Clock Lunge
Lunge in all four directions on each side. Lunge forward with right foot, lunge laterally with right
foot, reverse lunge on right foot, then curtsy lunge, bringing right foot behind you. Repeat on
the other side.

Walking Lunge
Stretch Perform a walking lunge by stepping right foot forward. At the bottom of the
movement, hover left knee just above floor and twist from the hips to the right over right knee.
(Place hands on knee to help deepen the stretch.) Hold for 2 seconds. Press into right heel and
bring left foot to meet right to return to standing. Repeat on the other side.
Split Lunge Jump
Stand with feet hip-width apart. Instead of stepping, jump into a forward lunge position with
right foot forward. Drive right heel into ground to explosively jump up, switching legs in midair
so you land with left leg forward, and immediately lower to a lunge on the other side. Pump
arms like you're running for momentum.