Four Lunges to Tone Your Legs

If you've been following these tips for even a short time you know it's no secret - I love lunges. Beginner or advanced, young or not-so-young, for improving quality of life or improving sports performance - lunges are for you. There have been mixed messages about lunges; realize that we are doing some form of them all day, every day. The key is to do them with good form and to ensure we strengthen the muscles around the knee joint as much as possible, and with proper progression. Here is a quick example of four tried-and-true lunges:

Four different types of lunges:

1. Stationary Lunge

   Place one leg in front of you and one leg behind you and lower yourself down, keeping your front knee over your ankle and behind the toes, until the top part of your leg is about parallel with the floor. Slowly raise yourself back up and repeat.

2. Forward Lunge

   Start with your feet side-by-side and step forward with one leg, keeping the other back in the starting spot, and lower yourself down, keeping your front knee over your ankle and behind the toes, until the top part of your leg is about parallel with the floor. Slowly raise yourself back up and back into your starting position and repeat.

3. Backward Lunge

   Start with your feet side-by-side and step backward with one leg, keeping the other forward in the starting spot, and lower yourself down, keeping your front knee over your ankle and behind the toes, until the top part of your leg is about parallel with the floor. Slowly raise yourself back up and back into your starting position and repeat.

4. Lateral Lunge

   Start with your feet side-by-side and step directly to the side about 1/2 body length with one leg, keeping the other foot in the starting spot, and lower yourself down, keeping your front knee over your ankle and behind the toes, until the top part of your leg is about parallel with the floor. Slowly raise yourself back up and back into your starting position and repeat.

Do one of these variations with one leg for about 30-60 seconds, then switch legs. Try mixing in multiple variations to keep your workouts fresh and interesting.

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