Arnold Schwarzenegger reaches thousands of fitness enthusiasts around the world with his motivational Pump Club, and if you think that his teachings might be limited to pumping iron, you’ll be pleased to know that the Terminator star is just as excited about form and function as he is about muscle gains. This was illustrated in a recent Instagram post, where the Austrian Oak showed on how to lunge.
Why should we implement lunges into our workouts?
Lunges offer an array of benefits such as building strength while toning. They are a resistance exercise that serve to improve your coordination and mobility, taxing your glutes, quadriceps, hamstrings, hips and calves along the way. And, you’ll even call on your core to help stabilize yourself.
How to execute the forward lunge
In his video, Arnie put his colleague; coach Ketch through his paces with the forward lunge, also known as the stationary lunge. To perform the move for yourself, standup and keep your upper body straight with the core engaged. Bend your knees and lower your body towards the floor, ending in a split stance with one foot approximately 2-3 feet ahead of the other. Then push back to the starting position, keeping your weight planted on the heel of the front foot.
Arnold Schwarzenegger’s advice on lunges
“Keep the chest out,” explained the seven-time Mr Olympia. “And push back, really hard,” he added. “That’s how the thighs grow. That’s how you build the thighs and the strength in the thighs.” To increase the challenge of the lunge, Arnie had coach Ketch take a bigger step forward, this requires greater force to be exerted in order to return to the starting position. “The tension should be on your front leg. If you need help with balance, don’t be afraid to hold onto something with one hand to maximize stability,” read the caption that accompanied the video. “And, if full range of motion hurts, find your sweet spot. There’s no shame in lowering your body less as you build up strength or work around injuries.”
If you haven’t tried lunges in a while, you may be surprised at how challenging they are. You can also progress to holding a dumbbell or a kettlebell to make the movement more advanced.
