How to Lunge Physiotherapist Video for Pelvic Floor Safe Lunge

Hww to Lunge video‘How to Lunge’ online video teaches you step by step the correct technique and variations for safe effective lunge exercises.

 Please scroll down to view ‘How to Lunge’ video

Read on below for more information about safe lunging with:

  • Correct starting position for safe lunging;
  • Correct technique for how to lunge safely;
  • Tips for pelvic floor safe lunges;
  • How to add variation and progress lunges;
  • Muscle groups worked with a lunge;
  • Common mistakes to avoid when learning how to lunge; and
  • When to be extra cautious with lunging.

‘How to Lunge’ Overview

How to lunge video teaches the following information:

  • How to make your lunges pelvic floor safe
  • How to get the most out of your lunges for hip, thigh and buttock tone and strengthening
  • How to protect and avoid physical injury when lunging
  • Optimise hip bone density with effective lunging
  • How many lunges you need to do for improved strength and tone
  • How often to lunge for strength and tone
  • How to add variety and progress your lunge exercises

Potential Benefits of Lunges

Lunges are an excellent leg, buttock and hip strength exercise.

Safe lunge exercises can assist women with:

  • Weight loss and long-term weight management
  • Leg strength and tone
  • Buttock strength and tone
  • Core muscle stability
  • Balance
  • Hip bone density.

For a complete while body pelvic floor safe exercise strength workout,  refer to Inside Out Strength home exercise DVD with Pelvic Floor Physiotherapist Michelle Kenway.

Video duration: 7 minutes

Pelvic Floor Safe Exercise Saver Pack

Inside Out Strength Saver Pack Download

Inside Out eBook and exercise workout video both available in this cost effective saver pack (download or hardcopy format).

Inside Out eBook and exercise video pack helps you:

  • Lose weight and maintain body weight
  • Safely strengthen and tone
  • Understand unsafe exercises to avoid
  • Choose pelvic floor safe exercises
  • Strengthen your pelvic floor
  • Increase your lean muscle
  • Improve your bone health

Note to ensure the smooth viewing of the video, it is recommended that you press on this play arrow and then when the video starts loading you press the ‘pause’ button until you can see that the entire video has loaded. This will help avoid the video stopping to load while you watch.

Starting Position for Safe Lunge

  1. Long stride stance
  2. Feet facing forward
  3. Feet no winder than hip width apart
  4. Rest weight evenly between front foot and the ball of the back foot
  5. Lift chest
  6. Keep torso upright.

Technique for How to Lunge

  1. Activate pelvic floor muscles prior to lunging and maintain throughout
  2. Look straight ahead
  3. Lower back knee down towards the ground
  4. Front knee stays behind front toes and never moves over the front foot
  5. Body stays upright while lifting and lowering the body
  6. Front knee angles towards the outside of the front foot with the lunge
  7. Push through the heel of the front foot to raise the body back to upright
  8. Breathe out pushing the body back to starting position.

Tips for Pelvic Floor Safe Lunges

  1. Feet no wider than hip width apart
  2. Activate pelvic floor muscles before and during lunge
  3. Keep weight lifted manageable and preferably on hips rather than shoulders
  4. Never strain when lunging
  5. Keep trunk upright throughout
  6. Breath out with the effort of pushing body back up into standing

How to Vary and Progress Lunges

  • Reaching forward lunge with  forward reach of arms to shoulder height with lunge
  • Fit ball lunge with a fit ball (Swiss ball) placed in the curve of the low back
  • Weighted dumbbell lunge with weights on hips
  • Stepping lunge stepping forward into the lunge and returning to standing legs together
  • Small step traveling lunge stepping forward with the lunge
  • Long step traveling lunge progressing forward with each successive lunge

Muscle Groups Exercised with Lunges

  • Front of thighs (quadriceps)
  • Back of things (hamstrings)
  • Buttocks (gluteals)
  • Calf muscles (gastrocs)
  • Hip stabilising muscles (gluteus medius, gluteus minimus)

Tips for Working Leg Muscles Lunging

  1. The longer the lunge, the more the back of thighs (hamstrings) work
  2. The shorter the lunge, the more the front of thighs (quadriceps) work
  3. Pushing back to standing through the front heel increases the muscle activity in the front thigh and buttock

Mistakes to Avoid when Lunging

  • Stride stance not long enough
  • Front knee moving over front toes when lunging
  • Torso leaning forward with lunge
  • Looking at the feet during the lunge
  • Front knee rolling inward during lunge
  • Lunging deeply in the presence of knee pain
  • Breath holding whilst lunging

When to Avoid Lunges

  • With sacroliliac (SIJ) and/or pubic symphysis pain and dysfunction
  • During pregnancy especially during the second trimester and beyond when the pelvic joints are increasingly unstable
  • Immediately following childbirth

When to be Extra Cautious with Lunges

  • With pelvic floor dysfunction including pelvic prolapse and after pelvic floor surgery
  • With pelvic pain or pelvic instability
  • With a history of pelvic instability
  • In the presence of knee or hip pain
  • With poor balance.

Squatting can provide a great alternative leg and buttock strength exercise for women who are unable to lunge owing to discomfort or injury.

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