LUNGES! Are they hurting your knees? Keep reading!

How do I do lunges without hurting my knees?

To start learning the proper form, you may want to hold onto something to keep yourself safe.

Start with your feet a slightly wider than your natural width apart, one foot in front of the other with both toes pointing forward. The back toe will have a strong tendency to turn out because that is your body’s natural response to help balance yourself. But, keep it forward.

You will keep your back tall and abs tight, and bend both knees. The back knee will get about 1-2 inches from the floor when your front leg is parallel with the floor. Getting the front leg parallel to the floor is something to work toward with a lunge, so it may not be appropriate for you if you are just beginning.

Make sure you never bend the front leg so much the knee comes out over the toes. Now, press back up to your starting position, concentrating slightly more on the front leg to get you up. If you press up too hard with the back leg, you are working more of that leg’s calf muscle instead of your front leg’s hamstrings, quadriceps, and glutes.

3 of the biggest mistakes with lunges

3 of the biggest mistakes I see people make while performing lunges are:

• Taking too small of a step forward to start the lunge. This small step almost ensures that the knee will bend first and end up over your toes. Take a wider step and begin bending the hip slightly before your knee.
• Turning the back hip and foot out for stability. Keep both hips and feet forward.
• Bending the chest forward over the front leg. That adds stress to the knee.

Don’t forget to:

• Keep the chest back to help you work your core.
• Keep your abs tight. This will provide you with stability.
• Check yourself in the mirror to see if you’re doing your lunges safely and effectively.   
  

Now, take these skills and practice, practice, practice! Check our schedule and join us for a class soon!