For seasoned lifters, leg day is either a day to look forward to, or a day to dread to the very core of your being. Put simply, you either love leg day or hate it. No matter your feelings on leg day, however, it has to be done, and your legs have to be trained.
This is where it pays to choose the right exercises and follow the proper routine. Today we’re looking at several benefits of lunges, so you can probably guess which exercise we’ve recommending today. As you know, training your legs is one of the longest, hardest, most arduous processes in existence.
And as for the leg DOMS you experience the next day, well, the less said about that, the better. If you’re sick and tired of squatting, and you simply can’t face yet another leg extension or leg press, how about incorporating lunges into your leg training routine? Here’s a look at 17 fantastic benefits of lunges that are guaranteed to ramp up your leg day.
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There Are Many Different Variations Of Lunges To Choose From
One of the most significant benefits associated with lunges, is the fact that they offer you so many different varieties to choose from. As you are probably aware, leg training is difficult, and when you’re faced with limited options in terms of which exercises you can do, it’s tough to find new ways of keeping things fresh and exciting. One of the best things about lunges is the fact that they offer you so many different variations to choose from.
You can make stationary lunges, walking lunges, lunges with barbells across your back, lunges with kettlebells or dumbbells by your side, and more besides. This variation when training means that you don’t get bored, and you can also shock the leg muscles more and keep them guessing.
Improve Your Functionality
Another fantastic reason to consider walking lunges is the fact that they have been found to help improve and promote functionality. According to strongchap.com, Lunges are useful because they mimic certain actions and movements which you will need to perform in everyday life.
Whether you’re bending down to pick something up off of the ground, or doing a spot of DIY at home and need to kneel down to get to the floor, lunges will help to promote functionality which will carry over into everyday life. This means that everyday life will become that little bit easier thanks to lunges.
Lunges Help To Improve Your Balance
Another of the excellent benefits of lunges that we’re going to be looking at today is the fact that they promote better balance. When you perform lunges, you are basically balancing all of your weight on one foot at a time, and the more you do them, the better your balance will become as a result.
Lunges will work your core stabilizer muscles and improve your balance dramatically. The end result is much higher levels of balance and coordination, which will help you out in numerous aspects of life in and out of the gym.
No Equipment Needed
Now, if you want to perform walking lunges with a barbell on your back, or dumbbells or kettlebells at your sides, that’s perfectly fine, and it’s a great way of really blasting the legs. However, if you don’t have access to free weights, or if you simply do not wish to use free weights, you don’t have to when lunging. You see, lunges can be made using nothing but your own body weight for resistance. Simply lunge forwards on one leg, bring it back, repeat with the next, and so on, and so forth.
Can Be Done Anywhere
As you have probably guessed from the benefit above because lunges can be made with no equipment and no weights at all, they can pretty much be done anywhere that has a little open space. When discussing the many benefits of lunges, another real selling point associated with this exercise is the fact that lunges can be made anywhere, at any time.
So, if the weather is beautiful and you don’t want to head to the gym, why not head outside and bust out a few sets of walking lunges on your own backyard? You can do them at work, at the park, in a hotel room, your garage, your front room, or anywhere else for that matter. If space really is limited, then rather than walking lunges, you can simply make stationary lunges instead.
Symmetrical Gains
When training with weights, building a symmetrical physique is essential when it comes to aesthetics and looking desirable. If you’re out of proportion and have a right side that is much bigger than your left, this will detract from your physique and leave you looking out of proportion and non-aesthetic. One of the best things about walking lunges is the fact that they allow you to train your left leg just as intensely as your right leg.
You literally do the exact same movement with the exact same amount of resistance on both legs, for the precise exact amount of sets and reps. This means that both legs get trained equally as effectively, so you can keep your leg gains symmetrical and keep your wheels in proportion with one another.
Look Awesome In Shorts
Let’s face it, we all want to look and feel our best, and during the summer, wearing shorts will likely become very appealing. If you want to really rock the shorts look this next summer, be sure to incorporate plenty of lunges into your weekly leg training routine.
Build Up Your Legs
As you have probably guessed by now, one of the most significant benefits of lunges is the fact that they help you to really bring up your legs. Lunges are one of the most effective leg exercises in existence.
Performing this exercise allows you to hit your quads, your glutes, your hamstrings, and even your calves, all with the same movement. For anybody looking to bring up their legs and add muscle mass and definition to the legs, lunges are an exercise that you can’t afford to overlook.
Lunges Are A Kick-Ass Compound Exercise
A compound exercise is one which will allow you to work several muscle groups in your body all at the same time. This is in contract to an isolation exercise, which basically means that you isolate specific muscle groups and train them solely with certain exercises. Compounds are great for mass, strength, and fat burning because you are working harder than if you were focussing on just one muscle instead.
Lunges Help You To Burn Fat
As we just touched upon above, another of the fantastic benefits of lunges that we’re going to be covering today is the fact that they promote fat loss. You see, lunges are very physically demanding. You work a lot of muscles when you do this exercise, and as a result, you will burn off a lot of calories.
If you’re looking to shed those stubborn pounds and tone everything up, don’t assume that the treadmill is the only thing that will help you to obliterate body fat. It turns out that lunges are fantastic compounds for fat loss, meaning that they’ll help you to get that little bit leaner when performing them regularly.
Better Butt
Want to tone up your glutes and build a butt that even a Kardashian would be envious of? If so, then squats aren’t the only exercise that you should be doing on leg day. It turns out that one of the most significant benefits of performing lunges is the fact that they’re so great for shaping and toning the glute muscles. If you want a shapely, toned, and sculpted butt with buns of steel to match, lunges are the perfect exercise to do the next time you hit the gym.
Better Hip Flexibility
As we grow older, we often find that the hips are one of the most commonly affected parts of the anatomy. This is why older people usually require hip replacement surgeries. Having poor hip flexibility can be a precursor to hip issues later on in life. Besides which, reduced hip mobility also means that you’ll be more likely to struggle in day to day living.
Lunges could be the solution. One of the most significant benefits of lunges is the fact that they’re so fantastic for hip mobility and flexibility. Lunges help to promote flexibility within the hip flexor muscles, which in turn gives more flexibility and movement to the hips, thighs, and even your core.
Lunges Will Give Your Spine A Break
A lot of leg exercises, squats, for example, can be detrimental when it comes to the health of your back and spine. We know that these exercises are beneficial for training the legs, but the biggest problem is the fact that they have been found to put extra stress and strain onto the spine.
This could, in turn, lead to more serious back-related conditions later on in life, such as a compressed or slipped disc. Lunges, however, are ideal for giving the spine a rest, especially if you perform them with no additional weights or equipment.
Lunges Will Improve Your Mental Health
Believe it or not, but lunges could be the solution for all of that additional stress and strain that you’ve found yourself under as of late. Lunges are as great a form of exercise as any other exercise, and as a result, you’ll find that they promote the production and secretin of chemical receptors and neurotransmitters in the body, such as dopamine, which are known as endorphins.
Endorphins are what we secrete when our adrenaline is up and when we exercise. Endorphins help us to feel happy, they lift our spirits, they give us energy, and they put us in a fantastic mood and boost our self-confidence. If you find that you’re feeling down and your mental health is suffering, lunges are the perfect solution.
Lunges Are Simple To Do
Another reason why seasoned lifters and athletes alike, all seem to incorporate lunges into their training routines is because lunges are simple to do. They’re straightforward to learn, and once you have nailed your technique, you’ll certainly never forget to make a lunge. For those new to the world of leg training, and exercise in general for that matter, lunges are the perfect exercise, to begin with.
Stronger Bones
As far as the benefits of lunges are concerned, yet another reason to consider making more lunges is because of the fact that lunges promote stronger bones: lunges, and other forms of resistance-based exercise help to increase bone mineral density. The higher your BMD levels are, the bigger, stronger, and healthier your bones will be a result.
Lunges Will Help You To Run Faster
Not only do lunges increase muscle mass in your legs, but they also help to improve leg flexibility and mobility, while working fast-twitch muscle fibers in the quads and hamstrings. These fibers help to generate explosive speed and power, and so the more of them you target, the faster you can run. If you want to give Usain Bolt a run for his money at the 100-meter sprint, lunges are exercises you need to be doing.
That is pretty much it when it comes to the benefits of lunges, so we think we’ll call it a day. Hopefully, you’ve found the content listed above informative and useful, and if so, we hope that you’ll be making more lunges the next time you’re due to training legs.
If you are interested in even more lifestyle-related articles and information from us here at Bit Rebels, then we have a lot to choose from.
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