How and Why you should do Reverse Lunges
With this exercise, you will be able to build real strength, everlasting endurance, and secure your stability with glutes, quads, and core.
Reverse Lunges is probably my least favorite exercise but probably the most effective exercise you can do. Reverse lunges are used for stability, mobility, coordination, balance, core strength and stability, endurance, strength, and building power.
Working Muscles
Reverse Lunges may seem like just a strict lower-body exercise but it works your whole entire body. When your body is in a staggering stance this ignites your core to start working. The core has to stabilize between finding it’s balance and gravity pulling it down. Oh and by the way your glutes and quads will be screaming “Uncle”.
Why you should do Reverse Lunges
For starters, this is a unilateral movement (meaning this uses one side of the body at a time), this helps the body find its imbalances and focus on increasing your stability.
Increases your power in your front leg, making you have to drive your lower body vertical and forward at the same time. You should think of this as chasing your kids around the front yard or sprinting in your flag football league.
While focusing on one leg at a time you develop endurance in the working leg, I can feel my legs shaking now!
Builds functional strength in your quads in glutes that will help you when advancing to more challenging exercises like single deadlifts, step-ups, and pistol squats.
When should you do Reverse Lunges?
Just add them to your next leg day and see if you're just a little wobbly afterward. Or you can also add them to one of your full-body routines. Try doing 3 sets of 10 to 12 reps, focusing on controlling the movement and get the most out of the exercise.
How to perform
Start with your feet shoulder-width apart and your hands on the outside of your hips or hands in front of your chest. Step one leg back at your stride length. Keep your back foot heel off the ground and stay on the ball of the toe on the back leg.
You want to shift your weight to a neutral position, meaning your weight should be distributed evenly between your two legs. Your back leg should make a 90-degree angle when lowering your body.
Lower your body towards the ground and let your back knee hover over the ground.
Contract your glutes and drive up through your front quad. Focus on driving your front leg out, make sure that the front knee doesn’t cave in.
Step forward back to the starting position, and repeat until you have completed all the reps on that one leg.
The Easy Way
You can always cut the number of reps and sets or do alternating legs to give your legs a break.
The Hard Way
Resistance always makes exercise more challenging. You can also add more reps, sets, time under tension, and shorten the rest time in between sets. If you are really looking for a challenge, change the workout, and do a Bulgarian squat. A Bulgarian squat is a reverse lunge with your back leg elevated.
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