Lunges And Squats – Workouts Won’t Be Complete Without Them
Jul 17th, 2011 | By Todd Bowman | Category: Legs, Training How To
I’d like to talk a little bit in this article about lower body exercises and the importance of doing squats and lunges.
I see this all the time. Bodybuilders in my gym will incessantly workout their upper body. They’ll focus on chest, triceps and biceps, back, trapezius muscles even forearms. But you know what I never see them doing?….squats or lunges. I never see these guys blowing it up on the squat rack.
And because of that they can only take their gains so far. It’s a crazy concept but if you want to get a big upper body, you need to focus on your thighs, calves, hamstrings and butt. Your quadriceps and gluteus maximus muscles are the largest muscle groups in the body. And as such, they release the most amount of human growth hormone and testosterone when the muscle fibers get torn.
These hormones get released all throughout the body to help the body grow. So if you’re actively working out your pectoral muscles, they’ll grow as a results of this free form testosterone being released into the blood stream.
In order to build a big upper body, you need to have a strong base, your lower body. The foundation is everything. Imagine building a tall building that has no foundation.
Don’t do that to your body. Don’t rob yourself of maximum gains guys.
Lunges and Squats are a very important part of a workout regimen. However, you can’t just jump into them without knowing the basics. If you do you’ll get injured and may even tear a ligament or worse yet break a bone. Then you’re out a year. Or it’ll be a year until you can get to whatever level you’re at right now.
In this video, Craig Ballantyne helps by telling us what we should be doing before we engage ourselves into these exercises. After all, these are not easy exercises.
For beginners, it is crucial that you don’t proceed to doing lunges, even with barbells if you can’t even do them without the dumbbells in proper form.
Basically you’re thighs should come to be parallel to the floor. Your knees should not come over your ankles. You should have a straight back. You should keep your lower back, upper back, sine and head in a straight line 45 degrees from the floor. You should power up through your feet when coming up. You should sit back like you’re sitting in a chair.
Don’t get injured here guys.
For those who have fitness levels next to a couch potato, you should start with split squats. Basically, split squats are similar to stationary lunges. The good thing about it is you can do them while assisted. That means you can hang on to a railing as you go down and up again.
Ask a trainer if you’re doing them right to avoid injuring or pulling the patella in your knee joint. We don’t need any torn tendons here people.
It is important to get a feel of what muscle group you’re working when you start doing squats and lunges. If you can’t feel or determine which muscle groups you’re working, then you have to take your squats and lunges back to the basics.
As you progress, you can do the split squats without assistance and do it with your bodyweight. As you progress, you can start holding on to dumbbells and maybe a medicine ball.
In doing lunges, there is a 3 step progression which Craig Ballantyne recommends.
Start with a reverse lunge because it is a lot easier since your working leg stays stationary. Just slide that foot back and drop down, then come back up.
Then progress with a forward lunge by stepping out forward, larger than a normal step, and make sure you’re stable. Drop your hips down, keeping them straight and push back up to the starting position. Avoid the mistake of keeping on going forward even after you’ve stepped. The key point is just to “drop” your hips. Doing the former can cause you to overload your knee.
After more progress, proceed with diagonal lunges. Unlike the forward lunge, you step out diagonally. This way, you get an additional stretch on your hamstrings.
There you go, a progression from split squats to lunges from Craig Ballantyne.
Lunges and squats are very important in your workout which is why you need to know how to do them properly.
The benefits of doing squats and lunges over a period of time will blow you away. You’ll get a stronger stomach, you’ll burn more fat, you’ll be in better cardiovascular shape, you’ll have better balance, you’ll gain muscle in your upper body, you’ll be stronger on your bench press lifts etc.
If you’re looking for an edge in your athletic or sports endeavors, then you must be doing squats and lunges. Trust me you’re competition is doing them are you?
Start by watching the video below to learn more about these two exercises. Then click the link below that to checkout Turbulence Training and learn how it can help you get that athletic body.
He’s got a full workout program tailored just for you that’s easy to follow along with some amazing meal plans that will help get your swole on.
Watch it now.
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