The most effective lunges for the buttocks are a technique performed at home. Side lunges with a barbell for girls What are side lunges

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Beautiful shape of legs, hips and buttocks is achieved by regularly performing a series of exercises. Some of them are aimed at increasing volume muscle fibers, some - for burning fat, stretching muscles, etc.

There is no need to give up any type, especially for girls. But there are basic exercises, and one of them is lunges. In this review, we will look at side lunges (aka side lunges).

What muscles work?

At the same time, the quadriceps, adductor femoral and soleus muscles are loaded;

Hamstrings and calf muscles perform an auxiliary function;

A whole series of muscles ranging from the deltoids to the toe extensors work in synergy to stabilize the body.

Peculiarities

Exercises that develop the muscles of the lower body are varied. And, therefore, it is worth adding any nuance, and all the muscles listed above are loaded in a different ratio. Thus, lunges with legs to the side allow you to work those areas that are almost not used during classic squats and swings.

Namely, they are at risk of injury and, being weak, limit our physical capabilities. Examples of such areas: stabilizer hip joint, inner thigh. The side lunge is one way to physiologically load them. For greater motivation, we recommend working out not alone, but surrounded by friends or fitness groups, as suggested by https://everydayfitness.com.ua/balzaka_dlya_vzroslykh_gruppovye_programmy, this promotes development.

Execution technique

From the classic starting position “feet shoulder-width apart”, step one foot wide to the side – inhale. Knee bent leg should not protrude above the toe; the body may be slightly forward, but without tilting. The center of gravity falls strictly on the heel of the supporting leg, you feel the tension of all the thigh muscles.

The leg extended to the side is straight. Hold your hands as you feel comfortable: put them behind your head, in front of you, folded together or on your hips.

The toe of the supporting leg should point to the side, the knee should be pointing in the same direction as the toe, the heel should be pressed to the floor, this is very important.

Using the muscles, not the knee ligaments, straighten your leg and return to initial position- exhale.

With each leg, do the number of repetitions that is maximum for you now. Lunges on your left leg will allow you to rest your right leg a little, and do this several times. It is the duration of the load that decides, as in any exercise. If you find it difficult to do a series of lunges on one leg, simply alternate legs.

Execution options

An option that will allow you to expand the range of load: after lunging and returning to the starting position, continue to stand on your supporting leg, bend the other at the knee and lift it in front of you. Do ten repetitions on each leg.

A simple and logical way to make the exercise more difficult is to use dumbbells. Lunges with dumbbells to the sides are technically no different, the load on the buttocks will simply be greater. It is convenient to work when your arms with dumbbells are bent and raised to your shoulders. You can take one heavier dumbbell or a weight plate and hold it in front of your chest. Another option is to lower both hands and hold the weight, as in a sumo squat.

If you want a more synergistic load, perform lunges and curls at the same time - at the same time you will pump up your biceps.

An option for those who are trained is lateral lunges with a barbell. In the starting position, the barbell is on your shoulders, your legs are spread wide, your toes are pointing to the sides. Lower your body to the side, bending one leg - inhale. Return to the starting position - exhale.

Possible mistakes

• When an exercise involves your knees, incorrect technique automatically means you are at risk for pain. Sometimes a person does not even understand what he is doing wrong, but either endures pain or avoids the exercise itself. You need to check yourself in front of a mirror: your back is always straight, your body does not go too far forward, your knee does not extend beyond, your pelvis is pulled back, but does not fall too low.
• Don't start your lunge by bending your knee; your hip goes out first. If you are doing everything correctly, but you have severe pain in the knees, then this exercise is not recommended for you. And only the doctor will tell you why.
• You should not look at the floor, because this provokes an incorrect position of the back. Look straight ahead.
• Even if you want to take a step further, you shouldn’t, because it will be a different type of load. In addition, you will have to jerk back to the starting position, and this is wrong. In this case, it is recommended not to combine dynamic lunges with stretching. back surface hips, and do this consistently throughout the workout. That is, first power load, and then - .
• And, of course, there is no need to use weights without completing basic technique to perfection.

Information for women

We talked about how to do it correctly. Now let’s comment on such a painful topic for many women as problem areas. There is an opinion that lateral lunges are indispensable for the formation of strong female gluteal muscles and correction of the “breeches” area, if problems in this area are predictable.

But muscles should not be confused with subcutaneous fat- these are completely different substances. If you do 50 lunges on each leg and stop there, you'll be wasting your effort. And even if you use weights and barbells and do lunges every day, you won't lose weight.

Most modern girls and women suffer from figure-related problems. Often the reason for this is a sedentary lifestyle and poor nutrition, sometimes it is the genetic component of human nature. By the way, many people refer to the last fact, especially those who are too lazy to work on themselves, on their body. The ideology of modern man is based on the following principles: work - in the office, leisure - in the restaurant. As you understand, for physical activities and active entertainment is given very little time, or is not provided at all.

All this can be figuratively combined into the main reason for education excess weight- passive lifestyle. The less we expose our body to active movements, the more freedom we give to fat cells. The buttocks, thighs and abdomen are most at risk. It is in these areas of the female body that one has to observe external problems.

In order not to bring yourself to such a neglected state and to be charming to men for as long as possible, you need to engage in physical activity. As for the most attractive buttocks and thighs, lunges and squats have always been considered the most effective exercises for training them. Today we will pay attention only to lunges, talk about different variations of this exercise, the technique of performing it and other subtleties.

Lunge technique

In the field of fitness, there are many variations of this exercise, depending on what muscle groups emphasis was placed. For example, there is a different “arsenal” of lunges for training legs, and another for hips and buttocks. At the same time, all are characterized by a single execution technique.

All human movements during lunges must be correct, otherwise there is a high risk of injury to the working muscles. Tendon strain and knee injury will make it impossible to continue training. You may have to forget about exercising for a long time, so you can’t expect any positive changes for your figure.

Inexperienced athletes who have only recently acquired the meaning of the word “training” complain of knee pain after performing lunges, usually the next day. There is no need to worry too much about this; most likely, this is a reaction of the joint to unusual loads. If this is the case, the pain should disappear after 2-3 days. When your muscles get used to it, you will forget about this unpleasant phenomenon. Who knows, maybe for long years This is only the first time in life that the organism has undergone such movements.

The purpose of lunges and correct technique execution is easy to describe. The exercise is both easy to understand and easy to perform, but at the same time very effective. During the load, the following muscle groups are worked out: gluteal (maximum and quadriceps) and femoral (posterior and middle). Lunges can be performed with or without weights. It is clear that in the second case you will have to strain much less, but here a more technical execution is required, since “muscle memory” is being developed. That is, an exercise without extra weight, this is a kind of preparation for a more intense load, which is the result of a person’s progress in training.

The majority of lunge variations are performed in a vertical position, with the legs spread shoulder-width apart. The entire execution process can be divided into two stages. In the first one you need to perform a squat, in the second - a push. A correct squat is done like this: we put one leg forward with a wide step, and bend the other at the knee and lower it almost to the level of the floor, without touching it, while simultaneously lifting the heel from the floor surface.

Correct lunge technique

The bend angle of the knee of the extended leg should be approximately 90 degrees. This is the final position, you need to fixate in it for a few seconds and then push off with the muscles of the front leg. We take the starting position, and change legs, carry out similar movements. At first, the optimal load for each leg is 10 repetitions.

Lunge Variations

Experienced athletes are familiar with an exercise called “Bulgarian lunges.” They consider this type of lunge to be “the pinnacle of excellence” and are more inclined only to do them during training. The difference between classic and Bulgarian lunges is based on three criteria: the use of additional weight, body position, and breathing technique. The essence of the technique is as follows: straight stand, legs moved together, knees touching. The hands are occupied with dumbbells with optimal working weight and hang along the body. How the hands behave further is not particularly important.

The lunge is done while inhaling, and you cannot use any physical effort, as this will lead to following the wrong technique. Do a squat, just as it was in the classic version, and then a push. The main load falls on the front leg.

Lunges from a bench

It’s easy to guess that you’ll need a bench to perform the exercise. Place it behind you, accept it vertical position, legs together. Throw one leg back and secure your toe on the edge of the bench. The heel should look at the ceiling without exceeding the vertical level of the edge of the elevation. Distribute the center of gravity so that it is possible to maintain balance on one leg for a long time. Next, everything is as usual, we do a squat, and then a push.

Lunge on a bench with dumbbells

Lunges with a pancake

This is a variation of the previous lunge variation, there is absolutely nothing new in the technique, it is similar. The only difference is that you will need a barbell plate to perform it. The exercise is unlikely to be able to be performed by a beginner, since a certain preparation is desirable here. A right angle should form at the knee of the thrown leg, and the shin of the other leg should form a parallel with the floor. Take a pancake of optimal working weight in your hands and press it to your stomach. In this position, first a squat is done, and then a push, for each leg separately. Number of repetitions – 5-8 repetitions.

Lunges from riding breeches

The technique is similar to side lunges. Stand straight, put your feet together, arms extended forward so that your palms are folded together. You can bend your arms slightly at the elbows, this will help reduce the load on the joint and make the exercise easier. Lunge deeply to your side until your ankle touches your knee and your feet are parallel to each other.

Lunges on the steppe

Step is a subject sports equipment, a plastic elevation that is often used not only for lunges, but also for other exercises. Stand straight, place one foot on a raised platform and the other on the floor. Take a pair of weights in your hands with a weight corresponding to your physical fitness. You need to lunge to the sides, first with one leg, then with the other leg. In the initial position, the thrown back leg should be slightly bent at the knee. The essence of the technique is that you need to tighten your body weight by straightening your leg on the steppe and immediately alternate with the other leg. The workout is considered complete if 3-4 sets of 15-25 repetitions have been completed for both legs in total.

Technique for performing "Bulgarian" lunges

Side lunges are one of the most popular exercises for the hips and buttocks. Exist various options This movement is adapted for beginners and advanced athletes.

Anatomy exercises

What muscles are used by lateral lunges? Unlike classic ones, side lunges allow you to additionally work out inner surface hips and middle gluteal muscles.

If we analyze the work of the main muscles during the movement, we get the following:

• The initial abduction of the leg to the side is the gluteus medius and minimus muscles.
• Squat on the abducted leg - hamstrings.
• Squat rise (extension) – quadriceps (extends the knee), gluteus maximus (extends the hip).
• Returning the leg back to the body is the adductor muscle.

Additionally, the calves, abdominal and lower back muscles work.

Separately, it should be said about the outer surface of the thigh and the riding breeches area. Side lunges are often used to correct this problem area. We should be clear here. Fat deposits do not disappear due to muscle training as such. To get rid of them, an energy deficit is necessary, which, in particular, can be created intense workout muscles.

But 70% of success depends on reducing caloric intake. The complexity of the impact exercise on the riding breeches zone is also due to the fact that the outer surface of the thigh is not a muscle, but a tendon, on top of which there is fat.

You should train in a fat-burning mode to lose weight on your thighs. That is, with a large number of repetitions (from 20), at an above-average pace. Number of approaches – from 3. Cardio exercise will be an excellent help for speeding up metabolism. For visible and fast weight loss It is advisable to do cardio for 30–40 minutes 3–4 times a week.

If your goal is to improve the shape of your legs and buttocks, left-right lunges are a great tool, as they involve several muscle groups at once. Use 8-12 reps, slow pace and preferably additional burden. Number of approaches – 3–4.

Execution technique

Side lunges are performed from a standing position, with feet shoulder-width apart.

1. Spread your toes slightly apart and straighten your back. You can bend your elbows in front of your chest, place your palms on your belt, or extend them along your body - whichever is more convenient for you. Tighten your abs. The knees are soft, the stance is springy.
2. As you inhale, take a wide step with your left foot to the side. Bend your working knee slightly, gently lower your foot to the floor, transfer the center of gravity to this leg and squat until right angle in the knee. Try to keep your back straight. Only light is allowed. The second leg is absolutely straight - extended to the side.
3. As you exhale, vigorously straighten your knee and return to the starting position. You should feel your glutes and quadriceps working.

Do the desired number of repetitions with each leg. Take a break by doing some light muscle stretching and do 1-2 more sets.

Complication options

Practice shows that side lunges are quite easy to master. It is possible that after a few months you will notice that when performing the exercise without weight, you no longer feel the necessary muscle work. This indicates that it's time for you to move on to a more difficult version of lunges.

In addition to increasing the number of approaches, in a good way To increase the load is the use of weights. The lateral lunge with dumbbells is performed exactly the same as the classic version of the exercise. You can lower your arms along your body, raise them to your shoulders, or take one heavier dumbbell and hold it bent arms in front of the chest.

You can combine lunges with biceps curls. In this case, dumbbells are taken reverse grip. In the starting position, your arms are extended down in front of you. When performing a lunge, you bend your arms, bringing the dumbbells closer to your chest.

You can also do . In this case, you additionally load your back and abs. In addition, this movement with weight on the shoulders helps develop a sense of balance.

Lunges with a barbell are the most effective option this exercise for muscle development. But it’s better to start training with regular lunges. This way you will master the technique and be able to avoid many mistakes. Once you have mastered the movement and your muscles have strengthened, you can do lunges with additional weight.

Correcting errors

Lunges count basic exercise, they are recommended for everyone from beginners to experienced athletes. To achieve maximum results, you should exclude all possible mistakes and hone your movement technique:

• Do the exercise smoothly. Sudden movements prevent the muscles from reaching peak contraction and can cause knee injury.
• Look straight ahead and don't slouch. Rounding the back and lower back can negatively affect the condition of the spine.
• Don't lean your body forward too much, don't push your knee past your toe line, and don't lower your pelvis below knee level. Usually these mistakes are made simultaneously, because if you make one, others will automatically happen. For this reason, pay attention to the position of your torso, pelvis and knees.
• Don't take too short or too long a step. You will have difficulty maintaining your balance, making the movement less effective.

Try doing the exercise in front of a mirror. This way you can better control your actions.

Incorrect technique is especially dangerous when you are working with dumbbells or a barbell. If you do weight training incorrectly, you will not only fail to achieve good results, but you may also get injured.

Regularly performing side lunges strengthens the muscles of the lower body. You can combine them with regular lunges, squats and other exercises for the legs and buttocks.

What you need

Barbell Lateral Lunge is an unusual exercise for developing the muscles of the legs and buttocks. Unlike classic lunges with a barbell or dumbbells, the main part of the load here falls on the lateral quadriceps and gluteal muscles. The hamstrings and adductor muscles are much less involved in the movement.

It is recommended to perform lateral lunges with a barbell rather than dumbbells. This will make it easier for you to control the position of your body, and you will not lean forward too much, which will allow you to better focus on working the target muscle group.

In this article we will look at how to do this exercise correctly and what its regular performance will give us.

What muscles work?

Let's start with what muscles work when performing lunges with a barbell to the sides.

• The main muscle groups worked: quadriceps (mainly lateral and medial bundles) and gluteal muscles.
• Indirect load falls on the hamstrings and adductor muscles.
• The stabilizers of the body in movement are the spinal extensors and abdominal muscles.



Benefits and contraindications

Benefits of exercise

Lunges with a barbell to the sides are one of the few exercises by performing which you can focus the load on outside quadriceps. Many athletes involved in fitness and bodybuilding develop a certain disproportion: the inner surface of the thigh is well developed, and outer part the quadriceps falls out of the overall picture. The leg muscles look disproportionate.

To correct this, you need to pay more attention to exercises that locally load the lateral head of the quadriceps, such as lateral lunges with a barbell, leg press with narrow setting legs or squats in a Smith machine with narrow legs. Such an approach to training will help recruit muscle mass, increase strength indicators and improvement of the relief.

Contraindications

However, due to medical contraindications This exercise is not suitable for all athletes. Side lunges have a strong impact on knee-joint and ligaments. People who have suffered cruciate ligament injuries often experience pain and discomfort when performing it. In addition, such exercises are highly not recommended for persons with serious chronic diseases such as tendinitis, bursitis or osteochondrosis.

Lunges with a barbell to the sides are a fairly safe and convenient exercise from a biomechanical point of view, but some athletes manage to get injured doing it. In 99% of cases this happens due to non-compliance with the technique of working with heavy weights. You should work here with a comfortable weight, with which you can perform at least 10 repetitions on each leg without compromising your technique. Strength records and huge working weights are completely useless here.

Side lunge technique

The technique for performing the exercise is as follows:

1. Remove the barbell from the racks or lift it above you and place it on trapezius muscles as with regular squats.
2. Starting position: back straight, legs parallel to each other, pelvis moved slightly back, gaze directed forward. We hold the barbell with our hands, holding it slightly wider than shoulder level.
3. Inhale and step to the side with one leg. Step length is about 40-50 centimeters. There is no need to take a wider step, otherwise it will be more difficult for you to maintain your balance. The main technical subtlety here is the position of the foot. If you turn your foot 45 degrees, you can easily squat to full amplitude, but most of the load will shift to the inner thigh. If you don’t turn your foot at all, then it’s not a fact that you will be able to squat really deeply and completely contract the quadriceps - many people simply do not have enough flexibility for this. Therefore, it is recommended to place your foot at a very slight angle - about 10-15 degrees. This way you can perform full range of lunges without experiencing discomfort in your knee joints.
4. Exhaling, we stand up and return to the starting position. The key here is to keep your hip in the same plane as your foot. You cannot “turn” your knee inward. You can do lateral lunges with each leg in turn, or you can first do the planned number, for example, with your left leg, and then repeat the same thing with your right leg. Choose the option that you like best.

As everyone has already understood, in this material we will talk about exercises under the general name “lunges”. Those who have worked out in the gym at least a few times have heard a lot about this. Walking with lunges still occupies a leading position in the list of exercises aimed at achieving attractive shapes.

In addition to this type, there are several more modifications of lunges, among them the following:

• side lunges;
• oblique lunges;
• cross lunges;
• diagonal lunges;
• reverse lunges.

Each type, naturally, has its own technique of execution. For the fair sex, this exercise is beyond praise, since it can perform not one, but several functions: give elasticity to the buttocks, strengthen muscles front thigh, and inner part rear At regular implementation, you can see the results pretty quickly. You will feel how your tone has increased certain muscles, and how the shape of the femoral region has changed.

It’s quite difficult to come up with an alternative to lunges; no, it can be replaced with something, but not so effective and practical at the same time. Lunges are the standard exercise for female buttocks; they can be performed equally productively both in the gym and at home.

Along with the ease of execution technique, lunges are characterized by many small nuances that cannot be avoided. Thanks to their use, the athlete gets the opportunity to adjust the load depending on his physical capabilities and expected results.

One of the varieties of lunges is “Bulgarian lunges”

Cross lunges are suitable for beginners and experienced athletes. For experienced girls they can be a good tool for supporting the desired shape that has already been achieved.

Side lunges

To perform lateral lunges, you need to have a pair of dumbbells or a short barbell available. In the first case, dumbbells should be held at shoulder level. The starting position is a straight stance, legs together. Then the right leg is pushed forward a step slightly to the side and squatted with the same leg. Left leg at the same time it remains straight, it does not come off the floor and does not bend. Compliance with the correctness of this technique is very important, without this it will be impossible to achieve the desired result. You will only waste your time. After the muscles of the right leg have succumbed to the load, the starting position is taken and the same operations are carried out with the left leg.

Try to take steps to the side as wide as possible, so the effect on the muscles will be much noticeable. The farther your leg is, the more stress will be placed on your hips. But it is precisely their development that is aimed this exercise. At the same time, a wide step will help reduce the load on the knee joint. The optimal load for beginners is 10 times on each leg, the number of approaches is 3, the pause between them is 4-5 minutes. Over time, you need to constantly increase the load; add a few more approaches or repetitions for each leg.

While performing lateral lunges, the torso should remain motionless, constantly in a level stance, that is, when bending over, you do not need to pull this area of ​​the body with you. Correct execution ensures that the exercise involves only the muscles of the thighs and legs, and not the muscles of the back.

Side lunges at home

Walking with lunges

Here you cannot do without additional accessories in the form of a pair of dumbbells. To complete this, you will need a little free space so that you can take a few steps forward. At home, a hallway is a great place to do this exercise. The working weight per arm is different for everyone, it depends on the level of human muscle development, but, in general, it ranges from 2-8 kg.

You can take steps in different ways; we will pay attention only to the two most popular varieties.

The first option is to place the back foot close to the front foot with each movement. In the second option, the back leg immediately moves forward. From the point of view of the complexity of execution, the latter method wins, since the performer hardly rests, but immediately moves on to the next movement. In addition, it is more effective by obtaining the maximum possible (with such operating weight) load. The exercise is performed in series, first 10 steps in one direction, and then in the opposite direction, for a total of 20 steps. In a not so long room, the steps are distributed in a slightly different way.

The load on the hips can be increased individually. The effectiveness of the workout will be much better if you hold your back leg in the lower position for a few seconds during each forward lunge. Also, no one is stopping you from increasing the number of approaches. In any case, this will definitely have a positive effect on the result.

Instructions for walking with lunges

Alternating forward lunges

A short barbell is used as power equipment. But this is only at the beginning, when you get used to it, you can gradually hang the pancakes. If there is no barbell, and this happens quite often, the exercise is performed using a dumbbell. Weight is selected according to level physical training a specific person.

So let's get started. Take the starting position - your legs are moved together, the bar is placed evenly on your shoulders so that the same load falls on each side (if dumbbells are used, they are picked up and held at waist level). Make the first lunge with your right foot, then with your left foot. Always fixate in the lower position for 4-5 seconds, then tense your muscles and return to the starting position. Pushing and any similar uncontrolled movements should not take place, do everything slowly and moderately. Improper execution will only waste time, not the desired result. physical fitness. At first, ten repetitions on each leg are enough. Then the number of approaches can be increased.

Alternating jumps and lunges

Sports and periodical exercise stress will provide a person with beauty and health. Just half an hour of exercise a day will allow you to achieve attractive shapes and maintain them for as long as possible. Try to develop and implement complex training, aimed at developing and working not only the muscles of the thigh and buttocks, but also other groups. Good luck to you and stunning results!