squats vs lunges
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I find that squats are great for my entire lower body: quads, glutes, hamstrings, inner thigh (plie squats). I seem to get more quad work with lunges, although lately I have been applying pressure to my active heal during a lunge and have felt a burn in my upper hamstring/glute area.
Lunges are harder on my knees, so I stick mostly with squats...especially when my knee acts up.
Lunges are harder on my knees, so I stick mostly with squats...especially when my knee acts up.
T
trevor
Guest
Squats and lunges(both rear and front) differ in minor details like which stabilizer and antagonist stabilizers are worked with each exercise. All 3 target the quads with the gluteus maximus, adductors, and soleus(lower calf) all being the synergists. The hamstrings and gastrocnemius(upper calf) are the dynamic stabilizers.
However, in weight lifting terms, squats are used as a basic exercise and lunges are considered an auxiliary exercise---generally used to supplement the squats. Squats are the core of a good workout program and in my opinion are necessary.
The doctors and PTs, etc. who tell their clients not to do squats are doing their clients a disservice in my opinion. Unless you have a bad back or some other type of injury, there's no reason not to do squats. But again, it's always easier to tell people not to try things than it is to teach them to do it correctly. Squats and deadlifts are the two most shunned weight exercises(yet the most effective), and coincidentally, the two hardest to get good at doing. There seems to be a correlation there........
A major pet peeve for me....
Anyway, my two cents.
T.
However, in weight lifting terms, squats are used as a basic exercise and lunges are considered an auxiliary exercise---generally used to supplement the squats. Squats are the core of a good workout program and in my opinion are necessary.
The doctors and PTs, etc. who tell their clients not to do squats are doing their clients a disservice in my opinion. Unless you have a bad back or some other type of injury, there's no reason not to do squats. But again, it's always easier to tell people not to try things than it is to teach them to do it correctly. Squats and deadlifts are the two most shunned weight exercises(yet the most effective), and coincidentally, the two hardest to get good at doing. There seems to be a correlation there........
A major pet peeve for me....
Anyway, my two cents.
T.
nancy324
Cathlete
Why do they say not to do squats? I've never had any problems from squats at all and they feel quite safe to me. Lunges, on the other hand, sometimes hurt my knees. The worst lunges are the ones in one of the Body Blast workouts where Cathe puts the 3-lb. dumbbell under her heel. Those put my knees out of commission for a few days and I never did that workout again.
Ugh sometimes you get the most complicated answers for something that's so simple.
My experience, simply from DOING squats & lunges regularly rather than just reading about them, is that lunges target the quads & hams while squats (although working both of those muscle groups) target the glutes more. Again, this comes from experience, not a book or magazine.
My experience, simply from DOING squats & lunges regularly rather than just reading about them, is that lunges target the quads & hams while squats (although working both of those muscle groups) target the glutes more. Again, this comes from experience, not a book or magazine.
T
trevor
Guest
My answer comes
from Kinesiologic data that was measured when the exercises were done correctly. If that makes it complicated, and if that's what was referred to above as complicated, then that's life.
And MY experience is that I feel the glutes more when doing lunges. How the user does the moves has something to do with it as well. If you have knee pain doing lunges, then one should check where the knee ends up on the lead leg during a forward lunge. The knee should never go past the foot. If it does, then you need to make the step forward bigger, AND, this will naturally engage the glutes more and lessen the chance for knee problems with lunges.
Bottom line, they work basically the same muscles. The intensities differ with these two exercises....basic moves tend to give more absolute intensity and aux moves tend to be more relative. You can go heavier with squats as well, which is why the protocol is usually squats as a basic move, lunges as an auxiliary exercise.
One other thing, I DO NOT recommend shoving anything under your feet, such as boards or dumbbells, when doing lunges or squats. That's a very dangerous thing to do IMHO.
T.
from Kinesiologic data that was measured when the exercises were done correctly. If that makes it complicated, and if that's what was referred to above as complicated, then that's life.
And MY experience is that I feel the glutes more when doing lunges. How the user does the moves has something to do with it as well. If you have knee pain doing lunges, then one should check where the knee ends up on the lead leg during a forward lunge. The knee should never go past the foot. If it does, then you need to make the step forward bigger, AND, this will naturally engage the glutes more and lessen the chance for knee problems with lunges.
Bottom line, they work basically the same muscles. The intensities differ with these two exercises....basic moves tend to give more absolute intensity and aux moves tend to be more relative. You can go heavier with squats as well, which is why the protocol is usually squats as a basic move, lunges as an auxiliary exercise.
One other thing, I DO NOT recommend shoving anything under your feet, such as boards or dumbbells, when doing lunges or squats. That's a very dangerous thing to do IMHO.
T.
T
trevor
Guest
Nancy...
good luck with that one. I agree with you but ya know, some people just have to argue everything.
I do more work with weights than probably 99 percent of the people here so I think I know what works and what doesn't work.
T.
good luck with that one. I agree with you but ya know, some people just have to argue everything.
I do more work with weights than probably 99 percent of the people here so I think I know what works and what doesn't work.
T.
Aquajock
Cathlete
MY experience has been that the specific muscle recruitment, and how much that muscle is recruited, depends a great deal on how deep you go into the squat or lunge. The shallower the lowering phase, the more the quads and hams are recruited; the deeper the lowering phase, the more the glutes, adductors and abductors (depending on what you are doing) are recruited. Further, in my experience the degree of quad recruitment between both legs in the traditional lunge depends on how widely split your stance is, and whether you are lunging forward as opposed to up and down; the quads of the supporting leg are recruited much more meaningfully when the split stance isn't as wide, the body above the hip joint is stacked directly over the hips and the lowering phase is strictly up/down.
From my conversations with our own Maribeth Salge, there is still a great deal of controversy in exercise research circles as to the precise recruitment of each of the contributing muscles in the squat and lunge variations, in terms of which, how much and at what phase of the movement the exerciser is in.
A-Jock
From my conversations with our own Maribeth Salge, there is still a great deal of controversy in exercise research circles as to the precise recruitment of each of the contributing muscles in the squat and lunge variations, in terms of which, how much and at what phase of the movement the exerciser is in.
A-Jock
endorphin_junkie
Cathlete
I teach barbell classes and find that participants tend to use bad form on squats far more than on lunges. During squats many want to do this pelvic thrust thing at the top which is going to predispose them to low back injury. At the bottom many don't have the lower leg (gastrocs) flexibility to keep the knees from riding in (like knock-knees) and squat too deep for their biomechanics or they lock their knees at the top. I am a major nag during classes but get great feedback that squats don't hurt (as much}( ) when paying meticulous attention to form. I find that folks catch on to lunges more quickly but definitely like to lean forward to take the challenge off of the rectus femoris, but uh-uh, not in my class!
I don't agree with any therapist or Dr. that pooh-poohs squats (I'm curious, just what kind of shape are these people, drs and therapist/trainers in anyway?). If squats are done with great attention to form they efficiently work the legs, the butt, the heart and the lungs what could be bad about that!!!???
Take Care
Laurie
) when paying meticulous attention to form. I find that folks catch on to lunges more quickly but definitely like to lean forward to take the challenge off of the rectus femoris, but uh-uh, not in my class!I don't agree with any therapist or Dr. that pooh-poohs squats (I'm curious, just what kind of shape are these people, drs and therapist/trainers in anyway?). If squats are done with great attention to form they efficiently work the legs, the butt, the heart and the lungs what could be bad about that!!!???
Take Care
Laurie
I also teach a "pump" class that uses barbells and my observations are very similar to Laurie's. I have to keep a close eye on the class to make sure they are executing the exercise correctly, especially the squats, deadlifts and lunges.
I'm not an expert nor do I have a medical degree, but I also disagree with the therapists & Drs. I've noticed that if the exercise is done correctly, the participants benefit greatly. I wonder if the reason the therapist and Drs are against squats is because they're finding more and more patients performing the exercise improperly which then leads to injury.
I'm not an expert nor do I have a medical degree, but I also disagree with the therapists & Drs. I've noticed that if the exercise is done correctly, the participants benefit greatly. I wonder if the reason the therapist and Drs are against squats is because they're finding more and more patients performing the exercise improperly which then leads to injury.
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trevor
Guest
RE: Nancy...
You give your opinion and at the same time you take off-handed shots at people. For example your comments that basically suggested I just read about these things and do not do them.....
You give your opinion and at the same time you take off-handed shots at people. For example your comments that basically suggested I just read about these things and do not do them.....
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trevor
Guest
RE: My answer comes
Need a dictionary?
Need a dictionary?
kathryn
Cathlete
I think the squats that people are advising NOT to do are the very low squats that bodybuilders/weight lifters sometimes do, with knees out over the toes, and somestimes heels almost off the ground.
Even for someone with "bad knees," there are squat variations that work well, like wall squats and stability ball squats (barriing individual problems and preclude the squating movement).
Even for someone with "bad knees," there are squat variations that work well, like wall squats and stability ball squats (barriing individual problems and preclude the squating movement).