HELP! static lunges

[xxx_dana_xxx]

hi everyone!

im fairly new to cathe, tho ive been using the firm for about a year now


i LOVE LOVE LOVE cathe, but i find im having a VERY hard time with the static lunges. i THINK i have the right form, but i find i can barely do them at all with weights, its odd because i can do squats with 40 pounds no problem


question: is it better to do all the sets with no weights, or to use weights but not be able to do the whole static lunge sequence?


any advice would be much appreciated

thanks


dana

;-)

 

[clareMc]

Cathe's static lunges are killers, and partly because she does loads of reps and "low ends" that really burn the muscles.

Your best bet is to master them with no weights at all to begin with. Once you can do this and feel like singing a song throughout, then add 5 pound dumbells. Once you can do the whole sequence at this weight, increasr to 8, then 10, etc, 'til you are right where you want to be.

You should find your endurance builds quickly if you do them twice per week. There will be a burn and there always is, to tell you the truth, and you have to grit your teeth and bear with as much of it as you can as your endurance builds.

The burn is different from outright pain. Obviously with pain, you stop immediately.

Clare

 

[40something]

You are right in understanding that correct form is more important than adding weights to the lunges. Make sure that your knee is not extending over your toes on the leg that is forward in the lunge. The lunge should be a straight "up-down" movement of your body and nothing should be leaning/tilted forward which would throw off your center of gravity when doing the lunge. Your forward leg should form a 90 degree angle when you are on the lower end of performing the lunge. Make sure you are keeping your weight in your heel also, not pushing off with your toes (on the forward leg).

As Clare already said, doing the lunges regularly, and correctly, will build endurance. But I would not add any weight until you can complete the lunge sets without difficulty. Then start out gradually adding weight, maybe even starting off with 2 or 3 pound weights.

Everyone's body is different and one move may be easier for some and more difficult for other's. It all comes in time so just be patient, take it slow and easy so you avoid injuries and soon enough you will be doing those lunges with 20 pounds of weight.

Another suggestion is to add using stairs to your daily routine if that is at all possible...like at your work or when you're parking in a ramp. Stairs are great for the legs. When I use an escalator I don't ride on it, I walk on it...every bit of leg work helps!

 

[xxx_dana_xxx]

thanks a bunch for the help


i think its mostly fear of this move for some reason--sounds like i have the form right so ill keep plugging along, my quads are getting too built up anyway, im getting that tight-jeans-around-the-thigh-still-loose-in-the-waist thing