I have been reading conflicting information. Are the main muscles worked by reverse lunges the quadriceps or the hamstrings and glues?
Thank you!
Yosevu
What muscles is the lunge supposed to target?
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Re: What muscles is the lunge supposed to target?
I know regular lunges usually make my hamstrings sore.
Re: What muscles is the lunge supposed to target?
Glutes, hip flexors, and quadriceps.
Re: What muscles is the lunge supposed to target?
MattSxvx wrote:Glutes, hip flexors, and quadriceps.
Hip flexors? Well obviously most or all leg exercises are going to work your hip flexors to some degree, but these are tiny muscles that are not meant to be very strong and strengthening them can have counter productive effect as far as my understanding reaches (they get jammed in there quite easily)
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Re: What muscles is the lunge supposed to target?
adam v wrote:strengthening them can have counter productive effect as far as my understanding reaches (they get jammed in there quite easily)
Please explain?
Re: What muscles is the lunge supposed to target?
Quads, glutes, and calves (soleus).
http://www.exrx.net/WeightExercises/Qua ... Lunge.html
You might feel it in your hip flexors as well, but the work should really be done by your legs and glutes. If anything, hip flexors will matter for flexibility and depth of the lunge.
http://www.exrx.net/WeightExercises/Qua ... Lunge.html
You might feel it in your hip flexors as well, but the work should really be done by your legs and glutes. If anything, hip flexors will matter for flexibility and depth of the lunge.
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Bruce
Bruce
Re: What muscles is the lunge supposed to target?
carrot topless wrote:adam v wrote:strengthening them can have counter productive effect as far as my understanding reaches (they get jammed in there quite easily)
Please explain?
strengthening actually isn't the problem, it's enlarging them, the two usually go together though.
the reason it's bad is, that the hip flexors if overgrown will get "jammed" and it will torque your hips (aka pelvic tilt).
that was explained to me by a personal trainer (with the help of an anatomy book which really shows exactly how and where it happens)
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Re: What muscles is the lunge supposed to target?
Pelvic tilt is a very small repercussion for something highly, highly unlikely to ever happen.
Re: What muscles is the lunge supposed to target?
Also, pelvic tilt doesn't occur simply when the hip flexors get large. Otherwise, anyone with a lot of core and lower-body strength would have issues. It occurs when there's an imbalance in the hip/leg muscles (or genetic abnormalities, but that's out-of-scope). If the flexors and extensors are kept fairly balanced, pelvic tilt shouldn't be an issue. Lunges certainly aren't going to cause any problems.
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Bruce
Bruce
Re: What muscles is the lunge supposed to target?
carrot topless wrote:Pelvic tilt is a very small repercussion for something highly, highly unlikely to ever happen.
perhaps i should have been clearer but in my first post i was implying that the hip flexors are not one of the muscles that really gets "trained" when doing lunges, or at least they shouldn't (it is my understanding that they are under much stress if you lunge while leaning forward with your upper body, and that this specific form mistake will cause them to shorten, and to get bigger).
blabbate wrote:Also, pelvic tilt doesn't occur simply when the hip flexors get large. Otherwise, anyone with a lot of core and lower-body strength would have issues. It occurs when there's an imbalance in the hip/leg muscles (or genetic abnormalities, but that's out-of-scope). If the flexors and extensors are kept fairly balanced, pelvic tilt shouldn't be an issue. Lunges certainly aren't going to cause any problems.
obviously, when the muscles are balanced you should have no stance issues.
however, the hip flexors as far as i know, can get "jammed" if they are shortened and get large enough.
also, i haven't said a thing against lunges, they are a great exercise.
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