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beginner · lunge

Setup

Pick a solid box or bench, mid-shin height when you start and knee height when you are used to it. Put your whole foot on it with the toes pointing straight ahead. Once a knee-height box feels easy, you can hold dumbbells at your sides to add load.

Execution

  1. Stand half a step from the box and place your whole working foot on top of it.
  2. Lean your chest forward a little and shift your weight into the heel that is on the box.
  3. Exhale and press through that heel to bring yourself up, standing all the way tall on top.
  4. Inhale and lower the other foot over 2-3 seconds, touching down softly on the ball of the foot.
  5. The lower foot only touches down, it never pushes off; the foot on the box does all the work.
  6. Do all the reps on one side, then switch sides with the same count on each side.

Breathing

Exhale on the way up, inhale on the way down. It lifts the heart rate quickly, so keep the breathing steady instead of holding it.

Quick cues

  • Press through the heel on the box.
  • The bottom foot touches, never pushes.
  • Lean the chest forward slightly.
  • Come down quiet as a cat.
  • Whole foot on the box.

Common faults

  • Fault: Pushing off the bottom foot to hop up

    Fix: Lift the ball of the bottom foot for one beat before you rise, or use a lower box.

  • Fault: Half the foot hanging off the edge of the box

    Fix: Reset the whole foot in the middle of the surface and check it before every rep.

  • Fault: Using a box so tall the hips have to swing sideways

    Fix: Drop to a mid-shin box until you can rise with both hips staying level.

  • Fault: Jumping back down to the floor after each rep

    Fix: Lower under control over 3 seconds, because that is the part that trains the balance.

Equipment

step, bodyweight

Muscle groups

glutes, legs