Pete RohlederLunges are everybody’s go-to exercise for the legs. But are all lunges created equal? Today I will discuss how unique the lunge pattern is, common errors to avoid while performing this exercise, and how to modify it to target the specific muscles you want to develop. I’ll also provide you with 3 of my favorite lunge exercise variations to optimize your efforts. Let’s get started!
Lunges 101
What’s up, movers!
So today, we’re talking about lunges, also known as Split Squats. And this is one of those exercises you either love or hate. If you hate them, usually the reason is that you either have difficulty performing it or aren’t entirely executing the pattern correctly to target the muscles you want.
Each lunge pattern is unique due to the nature of the position, so even subtle changes to the pattern will change the muscles that contribute to it. I hope that today you’ll better understand the lunge pattern and how to modify it to make it work for your goals.
Lunges: Not in Parallel
Understanding the lunge’s complexity is important because it differs from most other compound movements.
Almost every other compound movement is bilateral and occurs in parallel, like the squat or the hinge, meaning both legs do the same thing.
The lunge, however, is a split stance, with one leg in an extended position and the other flexed. This stance alone requires significant control and coordination to execute correctly.
Further, the joint moments, or forces at the joints, occur in opposite directions due to this split stance, so the hip flexors of the rear leg and the hip extensors of the front leg must work simultaneously during a repetition.
Closed vs. Functional Kinetic Chain
When the lunge is performed in a static position, it is considered a closed kinetic chain. But if you change your base of support, like performing a walking lunge, it becomes a functional kinetic chain, alternating between an open and closed kinetic chain.
If you want to learn more about kinetic chains, check out my podcast episode, #8 or the show notes page at moretomovement.com/episode8.
This changes the dynamics of not only mobility needed at the hips but stability and force transfer through the hips.
The great thing about the lunge exercise is that it engages the glutes, hamstrings, hip flexors, and quadriceps, regardless of the style you choose.
However, if you understand the mechanics of the pattern, you can modify the position to target specific muscles to a greater degree based on your goals. Muscle activation is influenced by trunk position, stride length, and movement mechanics, so it’s essential to know how each of these can make an impact.
Lunge Variations to Target Specific Muscles
Trunk Position
Let’s start with the trunk position.
Most lunges are performed with an upright, vertical posture stacked over the hips. This position will target all muscles involved but tend to target the quadriceps more than the glutes and hamstrings.
But if we flex the trunk slightly, meaning we have a slightly forward lean, we change our center of mass and recruit more posterior chain muscles during the lunge, specifically the glutes and hamstrings.
So immediately, we can determine what area we want to focus on and change our trunk posture to target that area. But it doesn’t stop there. Our stride length and, consequently, our shin angle will also determine muscle activation.
Stride Length
It’s no secret that lunges can stress the patellofemoral joint, or knee, in both legs during a lunge. So, we must weigh our goals versus our risk of increased stress on our knees before modifying our shin angles.
Let me explain.
If I take a giant stride, with my feet wide and far apart, my shin angle will be vertical. This vertical shin position will emphasize the glute and hamstring more, so if my goal is to target the glutes, this would be the best stance.
However, this wide stride will result in more significant stress on the back or trail knee than the front or lead knee.
The opposite holds true as well. If my stride is short, the lead leg knee will move past my toes, emphasizing my quadriceps during the lunge.
Now I know some of you might be shaking your head with your knees passing toes. Still, I assure you that the literature indicates that it is safe if the angle is not excessive, you have the appropriate mobility and strength, and you do not have pre-existing injuries.
However, the angled shin position puts more stress on the lead knee than the trail knee. So you have the decision to make. Either position will put stress on the knees.
You need to determine the safest lunge variation for you or your client based on training status and joint integrity, as well as the goal of the exercise. Every exercise has a risk-to-reward ratio, and weighing all the mitigating factors before selecting exercises is essential. Like I always say, train with purpose and intent.
Mobility
Finally, mechanics play a significant role as well. Many things influence mechanics, but I’ll focus on mobility and the center of mass.
With lunges, mobility will be a limiting factor, especially if you cannot descend to the angle needed to target specific muscles.
With lunges, the most limited muscle group tends to be hip flexors. If the anterior hip is tight, it will hinder your ability to fully extend the back leg, compromising hip and trunk position and limiting the range of motion.
As I’ve said, the lunge will engage all the muscles we’ve discussed, but the deeper you go, the more posterior muscles get involved. So if you cannot get to a deep angle, you’ll limit your glute engagement.
Center of Mass
Further, the center of mass is essential. We talked about the center of mass through the trunk position, but where we emphasize pressure through the ground can influence the lunge.
The lunge should have about 75% of your weight distributed to the lead leg and the other 25% to the support trail leg. But, if we change the ratio and put more emphasis on the trail leg, it changes the shear stress of the trail knee and the muscle activation. It focuses significantly on the hip flexors and quadriceps of the trail leg during eccentric and concentric phases, which, if done purposefully, could be beneficial.
Further, where we apply pressure through our foot can impact muscle activation. Ideally, we should push through the midsole of our foot, with a balance of both the front and back. But, if we shift our pressure to our toes, we emphasize the anterior chain or quadriceps more, and if we shift our pressure to our heels, more posterior chain, glutes, and hamstrings will kick in.
Again, this is fine if done purposefully, but I often see this done not with intent but due to a lack of mobility at the ankle. This mobility issue makes the decision for you, which could be why you’re not getting what you want out of your lunges. Addressing mechanics can be super helpful in improving your outcomes.
Lunge Variation Review
So, let’s review this.
If we want more anterior chain (quadriceps):
- upright, vertical torso, or
- short stride, so the knee slightly moves over the toes, or
- push through your toes during the lunge.
If we want more posterior chain (glutes and hamstrings):
- slightly flexed torso, or
- long stride with a vertical shin, or
- push through your heels, or
- aim for depth during the lunge.
Common Lunge Movement Errors
Now, the goal is to have an ideal movement, but let’s be honest, we all have some flaws.
Here are a few movement errors to look out for, so you can proactively address these limitations to get the most out of your training efforts.
Poor balance and coordination
The split stance can be difficult for some due to the required hip and trunk stability. Watch for excessive mediolateral (side to side), anteroposterior (front to back), or rotational movement and address balance and core activation.
Poor joint range of motion
I spoke about this previously, but observe both legs, not just the lead leg. Often, poor big toe flexion of the trail leg will prevent the appropriate position and create a compensated pattern to the body.
Over-pronation of the foot and valgus knee
Viewing from the front, overpronation or valgus knee is observed when the middle of the foot collapses and moves toward the ground, and the knee follows.
The knee should be stacked over the foot, but with this malalignment, the knee will be inward or have a valgus effect. This can be due to flat feet, tight gastrocnemius/soleus complex (calf muscles), or a weak glute complex at the hip. If you observe this, it may be wise to improve the mobility of the foot and ankle and increase the strength of the gluteus medius muscle.
External or Internal rotation of the trail foot
The trail leg is crucial for maintaining the support and integrity of the movement. If there is a lack of stability in the trail leg, it could influence hip or trunk stability. Ideally, the trail foot should be flexed at the big toe, with the heel pointing toward the ceiling.
When we see the trail foot rotate during the lunge, it typically indicates the issue is at the hips. It could be a lack of balance, tight hip flexors, or tight hip rotators preventing the hips from staying neutral and balanced. If you see this, check those muscles for range of motion and mobility to ensure proper position during the lunge.
Horizontal displacement
This is when the body moves forward, not down, during the lunge, as if the person is rocking back and forth. This is often attributed to more mobility than strength, specifically tight calves, tight hip flexors, and poor hip strength and balance. The best thing to do is to adjust the stride length and descent depth to a level that promotes good technique and control. From there, you can continually improve the things contributing to this pattern. Technique and control always come first. Its sets the foundation for success.
Okay, so you have insight into how to modify the lunge pattern to fit your needs and know what to look out for regarding movement discrepancies. Let me share my favorite three lunge exercises to optimize this pattern development.
3 High-Impact Lunge Exercises
Deficit Lunge
This is my go-to lunge for glute and hamstring development since it emphasizes those muscles.
This lunge focuses on elevating the lead leg to allow more depth. With more depth of the lead leg, you can lengthen and load the posterior chain muscles to a greater degree, really challenging the glutes and hamstring.
The degree of elevation depends on a couple of things—first, your mobility. If you do not have the mobility to get into deep hip flexion, you’ll want to avoid a high platform.
Secondly, your limb length plays a role because you still want to maintain proper form and control. Typically, the taller you are, the more elevation you’ll need to hit the appropriate ROM for this exercise. You can use plyo boxes, but I like to stack plates to the height I prefer. Remember, this isn’t a step-up exercise; the front leg must be elevated enough to allow a deeper descent of the lead leg. I use bumper plates because they’re thicker and less likely to slip due to the rubber coating.
Setup an Execution
To execute, ensure you maintain a vertical shin to optimize the load of the posterior chain. Since the front leg is elevated, you may hinder your descent if you have a flexed trunk, so I also suggest an upright trunk.
Avoid touching the back knee to the ground. That goes for any lunge variation because it could disrupt the muscle tension or allow for a short rest. Stop an inch or two from the ground, and focus your weight distribution on the lead leg. This is a great posterior chain lunge variation, so give it a try.
Single Kettlebell Front Rack Contralateral Lunge
Minus the long name, this exercise is excellent at engaging both the anterior and posterior chain, with the addition of challenging balance, core engagement, and hip stability.
I’ve discussed this before in my episode on muscle slings, but it’s worth revisiting. When in a single-leg stance, whether lunging, climbing stairs, or walking, our pelvis must stabilize and remain as neutral as possible in all the planes of movement, sagittal, frontal, and transverse. Any excessive movement in either of these planes will cause force, tension, and alignment compensations, leading to a reduced range of motion, muscular imbalance through the hips or trunk, decreased neuromuscular control, and impact movement efficiency or performance, or even increase the risk of injury.
The common observable weakness is a hip drop (also known as a Trendelenburg sign) of the opposite hip during the stance phase, and the typical culprit is a weak gluteus medius.
Studies have indicated that a contralateral load during lunging engages and challenges the gluteus medius to a high degree, hence why I love this exercise.
This lunge significantly challenges the glute med to engage and stabilize while targeting both anterior and posterior chain muscles.
Further, this contralateral load overloads one side of the body, forcing the trunk and core musculature to brace and engage to maintain a neutral spine, so this is a balance and core exercise as well.
Setup and Execution
Set this up with a front rack position with the kettlebell by putting your hand through the window of the kettlebell and gripping the handle so the bell is on the back of your hand and tucked between your forearm and upper arm at shoulder level.
Assume the split stance, with the lead leg opposite the front-racked kettlebell. So, if you’re holding the kettlebell with your right hand, your left leg will be the lead leg.
Select the stride you want based on your goal, but for this exercise, I suggest a stride that keeps your shin vertical and an upright, vertical trunk.
As you descend, focus on staying balanced and keeping a neutral spine, and keep an emphasis on keeping your knee aligned over your foot. This is challenging on multiple levels, so give it a shot!
TKE (terminal knee extension) Split Squat
This is my favorite to overload the quads. It combines the anterior-focused lunge pattern with a resisted terminal knee extension at the end of the concentric action, really targeting the quads.
Setup and Execution
You’ll need a heavy or monster band anchored to something sturdy in front of you at knee height, so the band should be parallel to the floor.
Step into the band with your lead leg and put it right beneath the knee.
Step back far enough that there is tension on the band; it should feel like your leg wants to pull forward.
The tension is up to you, but remember, you need to keep the tension the entire time. Then, you’ll perform a lunge, but make sure to make it anterior chain focused by maintaining an upright trunk and a shorter stride to create an angled shin.
As you descend, let your knee move over your toes slightly to load the quadriceps. The band may help pull the knee forward, so ensure you don’t allow your body to move forward. Your body should move in a vertical pattern as your knee flexes forward.
Here’s the kicker.
As you ascend out of the lunge, focus on fully extending the lead leg against the band’s resistance. So, push your knee back again the resistance. This is resisted knee extension and will put significant emphasis on the quadriceps. It’s like adding a knee extension exercise to the lunge and is a dynamic combo to target the quadriceps.
Check out these variations below:
Conclusion
All right! So hopefully, you have a newfound appreciation for the lunge pattern and ways to fine-tune it to get the exercise to work for you. Hopefully, I’ve convinced you to join Team Lunge, but if not, maybe at least you’ve gained some ways to make the lunge more appropriate for your goals!
Thanks so much for tuning in. It means the world to me, and I appreciate you.
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I look forward to chatting with you next time!
Take care of yourselves, and remember, wherever you are, keep moving.
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Pete Rohleder
