Why lunges are bad for you

Bend your front knee to lower your body into the lunge until your front thigh is parallel to the floor, pause for a second, then engage both legs to stand. Keep your feet in place, and complete all reps on one side, then switch. Hold your chest high and keep your pelvis neutral and your torso straight and upright throughout the movement.

Your body should move up and down vertically, rather than shift back and forth. The wall prevents your front knee from going beyond your toes. Stick with it until you have an understanding of the movement, then try it again away from the wall. Volume: Three sets of ten reps on each leg.

Rest for one to two minutes between sets. What it does: Strengthens the same muscles as the stationary lunge while adding movement to train balance. Engage your core and square your hips. Step forward between two to three feet in distance, depending on your height , landing first with the heel, then the forefoot to soften the impact but always keep the front heel down.

In one smooth, continuous motion, sink your hips to lower into the lunge until your front thigh is parallel to the floor. Be mindful that your front knee does not dive inward or go beyond your toes. Pause for a second, then engage both legs to stand, and bring the rear leg forward to meet the other. Start with body weight only in a forward direction, then try the move walking backward for an extra challenge.

Progress by holding a dumbbell or kettlebell on each side. Leg extensions fit the bill. The result of this is shearing force. Because the quads are contracting on their own, their shortening through tension will have an impact on the knee. Rather than stressing the ligaments in this fashion, a better alternative would be to incorporate compound movements like squatting, deadlifting and even the leg press, in order to encourage a co-contraction from surrounding muscles so a balance is promoted and knee strain and counterstrain is kept to a minimum.

For access to exclusive gear videos, celebrity interviews, and more, subscribe on YouTube! Upright Rows Why it Sucks: The upright row is another example of a baring load from an internally rotated shoulder position — exposing a lot of undesired weakness. Do this instead: Initiating the lift with leg drive and turning the upright row into a high pull allows a lifter to use more weight and move it more explosively, all while placing less strain on the shoulder joint.

Curtsy Lunges In this movement the knee travels across the body vs. Do this instead: Keep things in line with forward and reverse lunges.

The photo further down below will clearly show you the angle of force and in which angle the knee is receiving that force. Ok, so how do you get safely back up to standing position with the weight pounding down on you? Ask yourself: when doing in place forward lunges, does the full weight, or part of the weight—depending on how explosive you can get—pound down on my back knee during the return to standing?

If you answer no, stop, no need to read further. The reverse lunge helps your knee stay safe because your weight plus the added weight can always be kept on your front leg, i.

But I love my front lunges you say! This happens because the knee bends without the hip extending in proportion, which occurs in normal movements. This causes a force that rips apart the knee as if snapping an object in two. Unfortunately to keep your balance, you have to place some weight on this leg and this invite this force. The ideal exercise for the lower body balances the front and back forces that affect the knees, hips, and their muscles. If you fail to step far enough, you place shearing forces on the knee.

If you lunge too far, the hip bares too much of the load. Striking a balance seems tough due to the lack of exactness in how far you lunge plus the instability. You may also step with your feet too close together horizontally. This shortens the adductors of the inner thigh and may cause you to lose your balance.

With a barbell squat , you keep your stance constant and avoid these problems. Using a barbell on the lunge brings risks since you have nowhere but the floor to dump the weight if you fail on a rep. The load possible through dumbbells is limited by the grip. The instability inherent in the exercise also further limits the weight. A squat or trap bar dead-lift allow more weight and better safety features that protect you when you fail.