A great addition to your exercise routine are side lunges. They don’t require any special equipment and can be done just about anywhere. One of the key benefits of of side lunges are to improve your balance, which can be helpful in your everyday life and activities. Keeping good balance is important, especially as people grow older. Good balance can make daily activities easier and help prevent falls and injuries. In this article, we’ll explain how to properly do a side lunge and discuss how they can benefit you.
What are side lunges and how do you properly do them? You’ll need to stand in an area where you can move from side to side. Start in a standing position, with your feet hips wide apart and feet facing forward. Shift your weight to your right foot, until your shinbone is vertical to the floor and your left leg is almost at full extension. Exhale and return your foot to standing position. Repeat with the other leg.
While doing side lunges, be careful not to extend your legs too far. If your knee is falling inside the foot that is placed, then you have gone too far. In this case, just shorten the width of your extension. Make sure to breathe in when extending your leg and exhale as you return to the starting position. To get the full benefits, engage your core and balance your torso and hips. And make sure your spine and upper body remain erect. When starting a routine, a good schedule is to do 2-3 sets of 10-15 repetitions on each side. Try to do your side lunges 1-3 times per week for maximum results. Check out our fitness expert’s instructional video:
Side lunges can really improve your overall balance and stability, as well as strengthen your hips and thighs. Improved balance can affect you in several ways. First, it can help prevent falls, which becomes increasingly important as we age. This means a lower chance of hip injury and can also increase your confidence to participate in activities such as bowling, golf, walking or hiking or anything that requires movement. This exercise can also improve your posture, which can deteriorate with a more sedentary lifestyle. Poor posture can lead to hunched shoulders or limited upper back mobility. If you do get injured, having strong balance can help aid in fast recovery times during rehabilitation. Finally, everyday routines can also require good balance such as walking, going up and down stairs, carrying packages or getting up and down from a chair.
This exercise also helps in weight loss and works on almost every muscle in your legs including quadriceps, glutes, hamstrings and calves. It also helps improve knee health and stability, which can prevent injuries as you perform more strenuous activities and participate in more active sports.
There are other exercises that work well with side lunges to strengthen your lower body. Squats and reverse lunges are great to add to your routine.