[2023] How to Practice Dumbbell Lunge Standard Form

Dumbbell lunge exercise It’s basically a step forward and lower body exercise and may not need weights to do it, but if you have weights it will work your legs and butt better. This is an exercise that can be practiced as both a strength exercise and a fat-burning cardio workout.

Information about Dumbbell Lunge exercises

Exercise Type: Strength – Multi-joint (Compound)

Main acting mechanism: Front Thigh (Quad), Back Thigh (Hamstring), Butt (Glute)
Extra muscle: calves (Calves), core (Core), trapezius (Trap), abductors, forearm flexors

Exercise equipment: Dumbbell

Type: Push

Instructions on how to practice Dumbbell Lunge

You will need a relatively large area to comfortably perform this move, especially if you are stepping forward continuously. Choose a dumbbell that weighs enough for you to do a full set. If you’re new to exercise, choose light weights to practice the correct technique first.

• Stand up straight with dumbbells in both hands. Hold dumbbells along your sides, palms facing in, feet slightly wider than shoulders.
• Inhale and step your left foot forward 1 step, landing on the heel.
• Lower your body until your left thigh is parallel to the floor and your right knee is almost touching the floor. The front thighs and shins should be parallel to the floor.
• Note that the left knee should not exceed the toe, and the shin should be perpendicular to the floor.
• Push up on your left heel and stand up straight back to the starting position.
• Repeat until enough reps and switch sides.

Dumbbell Lunges require good balance. If you’re having trouble keeping your balance, start by doing the exercise without weights as you learn the right form.

Also, don’t lift your back foot too far from your toes until you feel the exercise. You will get better the more you practice.

How many weights, reps, and sets to use?

Choose the rep range and weight that’s right for you. As a general rule, for muscle gain, doing 4 sets of 6-12 reps on each side should suffice.

To choose your ideal weight, familiarize yourself with the RPE (rate of perceived exertion) scale. This is a scale of 1 to 10, 10 being maximum exertion, 1 being minimal exertion. To build strength and muscle, at the end of your lunge sets, you want to be around 8/10. This means that in one push, you can complete two more at the end of the set with the weight of your choice.

Benefits of doing Dumbell Lunges

Lower body muscle gain

The first and main benefit of Dumbell Lunges is to increase your lower body muscles.

The quadriceps (or quadriceps) are the main target of the lunge. One of the quadriceps, the rectus femoris muscle, also acts as a hip flexor, pulling the torso toward the thighs.

You use your quadriceps to straighten your knee from a bent position and help keep the kneecap in place. Strong hamstrings improve balance and mobility. You use these muscles when cycling, climbing stairs, and walking (especially uphill).

This multi-joint exercise even uses the gluteus maximus, the adductor of the inner thighs, and the soleus of the calves. Add these together and you get a more functional workout.

Athletes in sports that involve running need to strengthen the quadriceps to balance them with the hamstrings.

Increase Testosterone

Because training your legs with exercises like dumbbell lunges that use multiple muscle groups at once, you’ll see a spike in intensity and therefore a greater testosterone boost than low-impact single-joint exercises. than.

The more muscles involved in a particular exercise, the higher the intensity of that exercise and the more testosterone we see.

Improved balance

The nature of dumbbell lunges one leg at a time means your balance, coordination, and stability will be tested. Good balance is not only important for preventing falls, but it can also improve your energy levels.

When your balance is challenged during a lunge, the stabilizing muscles in your back and legs also come into play.

Enhance bone health

As a weight-bearing exercise, lunges can help maintain bone health.

According to research, better bone health and exercise have been shown to reduce the incidence of falls in the elderly, which suggests that exercise is a good prevention of osteoporosis.

It may also be slightly protective in terms of reducing bone mineral density in people already diagnosed with osteoporosis or bone deficiency.

Fight against muscle imbalance

Dumbbell lunge is a Unilateral form of training, which means you’ll do it side by side, this affects your stabilizers which means your core has to work harder to keep you upright. and balance in motion.

This can also be beneficial for other activities like running and, of course, lifting your weight in a squat rack.

Are Dumbbell Lunges Better Than Squats?

Really, whether it is better or not depends on your needs and goals. The squat is a bilateral movement, which means it uses both legs at the same time, which increases the need for the muscles to change and grow.

However, lunges are unilateral, work harder than one leg, and are capable of resolving power disparities between sides of the body. Fitness Channel’s verdict is to reap the rewards of exponential muscle growth during the day by including both workouts in your gym schedule.

Other variations of the Dumbbell Lunge exercise

Dumbbell Lunge can be performed in many different ways to make it more accessible to beginners or to increase the difficulty of the exercise to increase efficiency.

Bodyweight Lunge

For beginners, just practice Lunge (without using any dumbbells) to perform the movement. It gives newbies better posture and movement control. As you get used to it, you can continue with light dumbbells.

Reverse Lunges

Reverse Lunges are a great exercise to start with if you’ve never done lunges before. Since your center of gravity moves less, they are a little easier to balance.

They also work the glutes and hamstrings a little harder than the forward lunge. Start by standing tall. Always keep your chest up, take a step back with one foot, bending the front knee until the back knee almost touches the ground. Push through the front heel to stand up. Repeat with the other leg

Long Step Dumbbell Lunge

Taking shorter steps forward makes this exercise primarily a quadriceps exercise, but as you take longer steps, the glutes become more active. When taking longer steps, keep your upper body straight and tighten your core.

Change dumbbell position

Dumbbell lunge can also be performed with dumbbells held in front of the shoulders or a barbell over the shoulders, behind the neck. These are more advanced versions and should only be done if you have no problems with the number of balance abilities.

Dumbbell Walking Lunge

Another challenging variation is the Walking Lunge (pictured without dumbbells). Instead of returning to a standing position, bring your back foot forward into another step and continue this movement as you move around the room.

Dumbbell Lunge + Biceps Curl

Take advantage of the dumbbell you’re holding by adding a Biceps Curl while in a lunge position. To do it, step forward in a lunge position, hold the position while folding the dumbbells up, then lower the dumbbells, then return to standing.

Barbell Lunges

If you want to build more muscle and see more progress, switch to the Barbell Lunges move. Placing a barbell on your back makes it harder for your glutes to work.

Start by placing the barbell on the fleshy back of your neck, along your trapezius muscles. Once your core is tight, take a big step back to do Reverse Lunges. As you lift the weights, focus more on technique to make sure your knees are in line with your toes and your feet are in line with your hips.

Landmine Reverse Lunge

Landmine Reverse Lunge is a great way to build muscle with a more comfortable front bar position. Stand up straight, holding the end of the barbell in a central position near your chest with both hands. Step back with one foot, lowering yourself into a deep lunge, before straightening up forcefully and decisively.

Lateral Lunges

You can complete Lateral Lunges with warm weights or dumbbells in a goblet position or with a barbell behind your head. They focus more on the adductors, abductors, and glutes.

Stand up straight with abs tight. Take a big step to the side and bend your knees with your feet slightly turned outward and push your hips back. Keep the other leg straight. Keep your chest lifted and then stand up straight and repeat on the other side.

Overhead Walking Lunge

To add some additional activity to the core and shoulders. Try Overhead Walking Lunges. Start with a dumbbell overhead and arms straight. How to perform lunge movement. Maintain a nice and wide gait, with feet in line with hips. Focus on keeping your core engaged to help you balance. Repeat on the other side.

Suitcase Lunge

Another challenge for your core strength is the Suitcase Lunge. You can try this with a barbell or dumbbell on one side of your body. Lift the dumbbell and let it hang beside you, while you keep your core tight so that your torso stays upright. Complete the Walking Lunge forward and against a swaying or pulling dumbbell that throws you off balance.

Jumping Lunges

If you want to practice Lunges as a fat-burning cardio workout, try Jumping Lunges. Step one foot back and get into a deep lunge, back knee lightly touching the floor. Jump hard on the spot, quickly switching legs in mid-air to land in a lunge position with the back foot forward. Repeat the movement, alternating legs each rep.

5 common mistakes when practicing Dumbbell Lunge

Be aware that these mistakes can lead to injury or reduce the effectiveness of this exercise.

1. Push the knee over the toe

Be careful that the knee of your front leg doesn’t go over your toes as you bend your leg. This can aggravate the knee joint and lead to injury.

2. Leaning forward

Keep your back straight and torso upright as you lower. If you find yourself leaning forward or arching your back, contract your abs before taking a step. Use lighter weights or no weights until you can maintain an upright position.

3. Knee misalignment

The back knee should be in line with your body and toward the floor at the end of the lunge. If you have balance problems or lack of flexibility in your hip flexors or quads, your knee will likely rotate outward or inward.

This can lead to knee pain. If you find yourself doing this, shorten your steps until you are able to perform the right lunge.

4. Incorrect 2-foot width

If your feet are too close together, this puts more force on your knees than on your thighs. If they’re too far apart, you won’t be able to bend your back leg much and your footwork will be less stable. Adjust the width of your feet to find the right distance.

5. Curved back

This is a common mistake in beginners, you should keep in mind that your back must be straight throughout the exercise to avoid back injury, you can ask the coach to adjust or look in the mirror when performing the movement.

Pay attention to safety when performing

Avoid lunges if you have pelvic instability problems or an ankle injury. If you have knee or hip problems, do a shallow lunge instead of a deep lunge and use lighter weights. Keeping the knee from going beyond the toes is important to prevent injury.

If you feel pain in your knees, hips, or ankles, end the exercise. Since the dumbbell crunch requires balance, you can either avoid doing it during your third trimester or do it with one hand in contact with the wall for stability.

If you’re new to exercise, start slow and do only a few repetitions until you’ve strengthened your quads. Then work your way up to two or three sets of 8 to 12 jumps each.