The lunge is undoubtedly one of the best exercises you’ll ever do.

It’s simply the best exercise for targeting your glutes, quads and hamstrings. You glutes and hamstrings work to control the down-phase and your quads drive the up-phase.

If you’re a runner, the lunge is an ideal exercise to strengthen your stride. If you’re not, it will give you buns of steel and legs to die for. Everyone’s a winner!

Like all the best exercises, the lunge is not overly basic in its movement. Get it wrong and the wrong muscles will be doing all the work and you’ll leave yourself open to injury.

So, this week let’s go through the nitty gritty of the lunge technique. It’ll have you getting the most out of this great exercise.

Next week, I’ll take you through a number of the great lunge variations so you’ll continue to get great results for the long term.

Now, get lunging.

Basic Lunge Technique

Getting into Position:
• Stand with your feet shoulder-width apart.
• Imagine you’re on parallel train tracks. As you step forward, keep to one “track” for each foot.
• Take one good stride forward.
• Raise your back heel off the ground while taking most of your bodyweight through the heel of your front foot (in fact, wiggle the toes of your front foot).
• Ensure your torso is upright and your tummy is braced (draw in the area underneath your belly button).
• Look at the horizon.
• Keep your arms by your sides, not on your hips or waist.

Lunge Movement
• Maintaining torso posture, lower your back knee to just off the ground.
• Your front knee does not move forward past your mid-foot.
• Your back knee, at the lowest point of the movement, is behind your hips.
• Keep your weight through the heel of your front foot as your lower and rise.
• Lower slowly and with control, and rise all the way up.
• At the bottom of the movement, you should be able to see only your big toe inside your front knee. Don’t let your front knee move from side to side.
• At the bottom of the movement, your back knee should be in line with your back hip. Don’t allow it to drift out to the side.

Common Mistakes
• Leaning forward with your upper body, as if someone is pushing you from behind
• Rocking backward, as if you’re waterskiing
• Not lunging far enough forward, forcing you into a cramped position
• Allowing the front knee to drift away from the line of the second toe
• Allowing the back knee to drift outside the line of the hip