How to Do a Walking Lunge – Lunges exercises video

How to Do a Walking Lunge. Stand straight, feet together, and take a controlled step forward with your right foot, lowering your hips toward the floor by bending both knees to a 90-degree angle. The back knee should be facing forward but not touching the ground, and your front knee should be directly above the ankle.

Source: CrossFit®

Step by step instructions

As a bodyweight exercise, you need very little to get started with swing walking. Most importantly, you need a large open space where you can make at least 6 wide strides in a row. The more room you have, the more lungs you can take up without having to turn around. Parks, gyms, and open hallways are all good options, but even an open living room will suffice.

1. Stand with your feet hip-width apart. Check your posture before you begin – your torso should be straight and tall, centered on your body, shoulders back, and your chin lifted. Look forward.
2. Take a wide step forward with your right foot — place your right foot about two feet forward, allowing your left heel to naturally lift as you step forward. You may want to rest your hands on your hips or swing your arms naturally — elbows bent at 90 degrees — as you take each step.
3. Keep your core engaged and upright. Bend both knees and lower your back knees toward the floor. Stop right before it hits down. Inhale during the lowering (or eccentric) phase of the exercise.
4. Press firmly through your right heel and extend your right knee to stand up as you lift your left foot off the ground, swinging your left foot forward to place your right foot about two feet in front. Avoid leaning your torso forward away from your hips when doing this step. . Exhale when standing up (concentric phase of the exercise).
5. Continue stepping forward with each lunge, alternating sides as you do. If you find yourself losing balance while walking, pause at the beginning of each lunge while your feet are side by side. Collect your balance, then continue.
6. Finish your set by bringing your back foot to your front foot on the final lunge.

Common mistake

Compound exercises that use multiple muscle groups often come with common pitfalls and mistakes – mainly because there are so many joints involved, you’re prone to sagging in form or not realizing you’re doing it wrong. where. The lungs are one of the biggest culprits, and form tends to be most affected when you’re feeling tired.

Take your time and pay attention. If you can, do the exercise in front of a mirror until you’re comfortable with it so you can spot mistakes as they happen.

Feet too close together when walking

Pay attention to where your feet are as you take each step forward. You want your feet to be about hip-width apart (or slightly wider) to provide a good base of support for balance and stability.

If your feet are too close together, where the heel of your front foot aligns with the toes of the back foot, you’re more likely to lose balance. As you step forward, your stride width should feel natural — as if you were simply taking longer strides with your normal gait.

If you take the forward steps as if you were walking on a sling, with one foot in front of the other, you will make the exercise more difficult and you are changing your gait accordingly. Difficulty maintaining proper alignment.

Taking steps that are too long

Another common mistake is overstating. Yes, during the swing your steps should be longer than usual, but they shouldn’t be so long that you create an uncomfortable tension through your groin as you lower your back knee to the floor.

Take long strides instead, but place your front foot only about two or two and a half feet from your back foot. As you perform the lunge, both knees should be able to form a roughly 90-degree angle at the end of the move.

Lean forward from the hips

While walking haphazardly, you are constantly moving forward and there is a tendency for your torso to start leaning forward to “help” you shift as you plunge. This usually happens when you’re trying to pick up speed during a set and you’re using the momentum of your forward lean to help you steer with each beat. It also often happens if you over-run — taking longer steps than necessary for each run.

The problem is that you detract from your workout and can end up with low back pain if you’re not careful. Slow down and pay attention to your chest as you walk—don’t start leaning toward the ground. Keep your abs and major muscles active and try to keep your torso perpendicular to the floor throughout each rep. Looking ahead, with your eyes on the wall in front of you, can also help.

Raise the front heel while shaking

Another common mistake (pun intended) when you’re moving too fast while walking around is your tendency to lift your front heel off the floor as you bend your knee and lower yourself toward the floor. The problem is that this causes the alignment of your front leg to be off, putting more strain on your knee.

You want to keep your front heel in place throughout the entire lunge — your shins almost perpendicular to the floor, knees in line with your heels — allowing only your front heel to lift after you took the next step forward to the next iteration.

Slow down and check your form at the end and top of each move – ask yourself if your heels are still in contact with the floor – and check to make sure your front knee extends past the toes. Paying attention and taking your time is the best way to identify and resolve this issue.

Align the front knee

A final mistake common to all lunge forms is the alignment of the knees before you perform the lunge. The knee should be in line with the toes throughout the exercise. Some people tend to let their knees “cave” inward (known as the knee curve), toward the midline of the body, increasing the chance of knee pain or injury.

Slow and steady wins this race. Take the time as you lower your back knee to the ground and watch the knee before you lower and stand. If you notice your knees shifting inward, try to work the muscles in your hips and buttocks to pull your knees in line with your toes.

Modifications and Variations

There are nearly endless opportunities for modification and variation when doing walking leg swings. Start with these options.

Need a modification?

If you want to try swing walking, but your balance is a bit slow, stop with your feet between each forward stride. In other words, after performing a lunge forward with your right foot, as you stand up, bring your left foot forward and place it on the ground hip-width apart from your right foot. Pause here, making sure you have good balance, then continue to step your left foot forward to perform the swing on the opposite side. Think of it as the “bride’s walk” of walking around.

Want to join a challenge?

The easiest way to make swing walking more difficult is to add weights to the exercise. Simply grab a set of dumbbells or a couple of warm dumbbells and hold one in each hand as you perform the move. Take your time and move correctly to make sure you’re staying in perfect shape while taking on this extra challenge.

If you feel like you need an even bigger challenge, hold a dumbbell in each hand, arms extended overhead for the entire set. This overhead walking lunge variation requires greater core engagement while also burning your shoulders and arms in the process.

Safety and Precautions

As a bodyweight exercise, as long as you pay attention to your form, walking leg swings should be pretty safe for most people. Remember to keep your abs and lower back tight – this will help with balance and reduce the chance of tipping over.

It is quite common for people with knee pain to struggle with their lungs. Consider trying the exercise with a smaller range of motion — only lowering a few inches with each basket — if deeper lunges cause pain. You can also try upgrading as a modification. Stepping on the knee tends to be easier while targeting the same muscle groups due to the change in the angle of the movement (stepping up and lifting your body to meet the first leg, instead of stepping forward and Lower your body into a crouching position).

Lunges are a great lower body exercise that is sure to cause a natural “burning” sensation in your working muscles when your muscles are tired. This is normal. What is not normal is any sharpness or pain when shooting. If you experience sudden pain that is not related to the muscles that are working normally, stop the exercise.