‘ACCURACY’ HAS BECOME one of the most common words uttered by Irish athletes in search of greatness in recent years.
It relates, not just to hitting the target with a ball or putting your feet in the right place during competition; it encompasses everything within the daily grind of trying to become fitter, faster, stronger, better.
So, every Tuesday we’ll aim to bring you the best technical advice on an individual exercise that can make all the difference to both your physique and performance. This week, the lunge.
Another week, another exercise that requires nothing but effort and gravity. As with our previous Training Technique advice, these exercises can each be made more difficult with the addition of weights, but the important thing is to first perfect the form.
Lunges are primarily a lower body exercise that will work your thighs, calves, hip flexors, hamstrings and glutes, but also your abdominal and lower back as your upper body works to keep you steady an balances.
Ready? Standing? Wearing clothes that won’t rip? Perfect.
1. What are you staring at?
Before you get down, pick a spot ahead of you to watch while you’re lunging. That will keep your head steady, your neck straight and everything should flow from there.
2. Fix up, look sharp.
Before you start using a weight, do the exercise with your hands on your hips. Engage your abdominal muscles and concentrate on keeping your chest pushed out – Obviously, your back should be straight through all of this.
3. One small step for (wo)man….?
Actually, no. Take a good long step forward so that you feel stretched.
Start off standing with feet hip distance apart and take a step forward. Your feet will not be in a straight line with each other, but instead imagine them on rails the width of your hips.
Bend both front and back knees at the same time as you descend into the lunge.
4. Straight lines.
Just as your feet are kept straight, keep both of your knees facing forward so as you don’t let one buckle out from under you.
At the bottom of your lunge your front shin should be straight with your knee directly over your ankle and your back knee about an inch off the ground. Hold it for two or three seconds.
5. Breath and stop.
While doing the above four steps breath in as you lunge down. When coming up, push down through your forward-placed heel and exhale as you stand, taking your foot back under your torso.
Now repeat for two or three reps of 10. Either by alternating feet with each lunge (you can walk along in a straight line if you have room or return to standing each time) or by doing 10 straight on your right, followed by 10 straight on your left.
Your call, just get the form right before adding weights or a step.
