Alternating Dumbbell Lunges
When executed properly the lunge is a very beneficial single leg exercise that provides a challenge to even the strongest individuals. The dumbbell lunge challenges not only leg strength but also grip and core strength when done with heavy enough weights or for high enough reps. There’s also a lateral hip stability element to the lunge in that it requires some balance side to side and gets some good eccentric glute activation on the lead leg when done under control and with the right amount of external rotation. We use lunge variations quite a bit with our personal training and sports performance clients because we always want to have soe form of single leg exercise in just about every workout, and the lunge is one that can be modified enought that just about anyone can do it but it can also be challenging for anyone. Keep these cues in mind next time you’re doing lunges yourself.
-Front foot should be flat on the ground with pressure on the heel, especially in the eccentric phase (when you’re lowering your knee toward the ground). One of the most common mistakes that people make is to put all of the pressure on the ball of their foot.
-Step into a 90 degree angles at both knees.
-Keep your shoulders squeezed back and your chest up tall.
-Don’t let your knee collapse to the inside of your foot, when you look down at your knee it should be directly over your foot or even slightly outside it.