Lunges?

[Tom Mutaffis]

Does anyone here incorporate lunges into their regular training? And do you prefer walking lunges or standing lunges? Dumbbell or Barbell?

I have made good gains in the past with standing lunges onto an aerobic step with a barbell (going relatively heavy) and also doing walking lunges with dumbbells at the end of a session as a 'finisher'.

[Allen Cress]

I do many variations of lunges almost every week unless My knee is bugging me. Some of my variations are single leg walking lunges where you do the same leg for whatever number of reps then do the other side, walking lunges with a 1 sec pause at bottom, Single leg reverse lunge in Smith machine, and a lot more.

Single leg work is important in lower body training to keep balance in the muscle and build knee stabilization as long as keep form strict

[tom183]

Travelling lunges with a dumbell in each hand are my preference and are regularly part of my lower body sessions.

[Matthew Bryduck]

Tom,

Ever tried Bulgarian split squats?

[Allen Cress]

Split squat are a great movement, although different from lunges due to less impact and much less power expression.

A great variation of split squats is to hold 1 DB while doing them. Holding it with one hand will isolate either your VMO or vatus lateralis depending on which hand you are holding the DB. Place the non-weight holding hand behind the head for even more activation.

[Matthew Bryduck]

I really have gotten great leg development without lunges. Lunges kill my feet because I've had an issue with them since I was a child.

[chris mason]

One concern I have with lunges is most people do them such that there is a lot of force absorbed by the knees. I DO think if done right they are a great exercise.

[mrelwooddowd]

I always do them on leg day since I realized they hit my glutes better than anything. They're also one of those whole body misery kind of movements for me.

[Brian Hopper]

I enjoy doing lunges even though I don't perform them as often as I would like. My choice would be walking lunges with either a cambered bar or a SSB. I've also done them a few times with a DB instead of using a barbell.

[Whoopipally]

I'm a fan of reverse barbell lunges and split squats(where you have one leg on a bench). I feel it takes some load off the knees.

[danki]

Im a big fan of lunges. My quads dont get a ton of work during deadlifts or even squats. But when I do walking lunges, my quads get worked very hard. Oddly enough, split squats become more of a glute/hamstring movement for me. But ya, for heavier weights, I like split squats or reverse lunges, and for lighter weights, I like walking lunges or stepups.

[Matthew Bryduck]

I have spent quite some time devising the ultimate leg torture. I suggest pre-exhausting your legs before squatting. I do this by doing 4 sets of leg extensions till failure and then squatting. This will put a brand new perspective on leg training.

Matt

[Tom Mutaffis]

Thank you for all of the feedback on lunges and split squats; it is interesting to see how everyone utilizes these movements in their training. I am going to have to try some of the variations that were mentioned here.

[Behemoth]

Lunges > squats imo

[Matthew Bryduck]

Agreed, High volume heavy squats will make your legs grow!

[Brian Hopper]

Agreed, High volume heavy squats will make your legs grow!

X2