Lunging is a foundational movement pattern. But if you struggle to lunge without pain, you’re not alone.
Unfortunately, many people have been lunging with poor form for years.
Performing countless reps in questionable positions can lead to joint pain and degradation. It certainly won’t make you feel stronger or more confident.
Why does this happen?
Lunges are a staple in fast-paced group exercise classes where there isn’t much time to emphasize using good form. Instructors are usually coaching dozens of people and aren’t able to provide appropriate modifications for everyone.
Some trainers also throw their clients into advanced lunging variations before they’re ready. I know because I used to be one of these trainers! I’ve definitely put clients in questionable positions because I didn’t understand how to adapt my programming to fit the needs of the person in front of me.
In recent years, I’ve spent many hours building a deeper understanding of movements like lunging. I’ve learned that in order to build a strong lunge, most people need to take a step back and build strength in the supporting muscles and joints.
Lunges – especially walking lunges or any barbell-loaded lunges – are not a good fit for many people at their current skill level. But that doesn’t mean you can’t work up to these movements if you’re smarter with your training.
Below are two tips to consider if you want to learn how to do great lunges without all the pain and struggle.
Build your lunges on a solid foundation.
Using a simpler variation of a movement can make all the difference between training with pain and awkwardness and building strength, resiliency, and confidence. This is especially true with complex unilateral movements like lunging.
If lunging hurts, you need to back up and build strength with other related exercises.
The most basic regression of a lunge is a single leg glute bridge. I start here when I’m working with clients who have a lot of knee pain. This movement allows you to practice pushing through one leg without placing as much stress on your joints.
Next, I progress clients to split squats. A split squat is essentially a stationary lunge.
Lunging requires you to step in and out of position, which means you’re decelerating against higher forces. If you can’t demonstrate balance, stability, and strength with split squats, you’re definitely going to struggle with lunging.
Beginning in half kneeling – as shown below – is a great way to establish a strong starting position. You’ll figure out exactly where to place your feet and learn how to produce force from the ground up.
Many people will need to spend a significant amount of time working on split squats before they’re able to safely progress to lunging. Don’t rush through this step!
When they’re ready, I finally get my clients lunging. I always start with reverse lunges because they are the most similar to split squats and are less demanding on the knees.
Eventually, some of my clients to progress to more advanced variations like walking lunges, side lunges, and MAX lunges. However, I’m never in a hurry to move to the next step. You are always better off spending more time with a less complex exercise than trying to do something new and flashy.
Build better core connections.
When you lunge, forces are acting on the body in multiple planes: forward and backward, side to side, and even rotationally.
Many people experience pain during lunging not because their legs are weak, but because their body isn’t stable enough to resist those side and rotational forces.
This is why your knees cave in, your feet roll around, and you fall sideways or lose your balance.
The best way to fix this is through smarter core training.
You need to learn to create more internal stability and build muscular connections that run across your body. This means using exercises that activate your lats, core muscles, and glutes at the same time.
The press out is a great example of this, especially if you perform the exercise in half kneeling (which is the basic position of a lunge). You learn how to use your entire core – including your lats – to stay strong, upright, and balanced while manipulating the position of your limbs.
Another great core exercise to help you with lunging is the lateral drag. You can perform these with a sandbag, kettlebell, or dumbbell. Focus on grabbing the floor with your toes and with the down arm. Go slowly and fight to resist rotation as you drag the weight underneath your body.
I want all my clients to eventually perform some variation of a lunge. But in order to get there without pain, we have to be smart and strategic with our training.
Start by using single-leg variations that place less stress on your joints. Focus on performing each exercise with great form and only move on the next progression when you feel strong and confident at your current level.
Along the way, supplement your lower body training with appropriate core exercises. The best core exercises to help with lunging are those that teach you to resist rotation and connect muscles across different sides of your body.
Utilizing these two tips will make all the difference in how you move and feel when performing lunges and other single-leg exercises.
Want to learn more about building a strong lower body without pain? Check out my free Squat and Deadlift School ebook. I share the exact progressions I use to help clients master these exercises along with tons of videos and written form cues.