Exercises New and Great

Well we're waiting for another load of the soft fluffy white stuff to precipitate here in New England. It's cold enough without the snow for most, being from Maine I could give a rat's behind, I'll deal with it either way. Today I wanted to show you a video of an exercise I like to incorporate to my client's workouts and give some of you a new challenge or a way to change up your routine.

Off-Set Reverse Lunge (What doe this mean?)

Break it down, off-set means you are holding weight on just one side and using the leg opposite the arm (or hand) you have the weight in. Reverse lunge, simply step back into lunge instead of forward into a lunge.

Technique

Keeping your chest tall, core tight, step back with the foot opposite side of the weight. Don't over step your lunge, but you also probably shouldn't have your knee end up next to your ankle either. Your knee should probably be in the are of 90 degrees and just 2 inches or so off the floor. Don't smash your knee off the floor, but hit your depth to get the full benefit of the exercise.

Why I Like it

I like this variation of the lunge for many reasons, lunges in general are a great way to train the major muscle groups of the leg, glutes, ham and quads. First off I like weighted reverse lunges because it's easier on the knees, being someone that got diagnosed with arthritis in their knees at 19 (I'm not kidding either) I like to try to help my knees, and others, when possible. Forward lunges put pressure on the knee anteriorly from having to decelerate, the only case that is useful in my opinion is athletes, most of which my clients are not.

The off-set part I like because it requires core strength. I'd rather use something that is aimed towards anti-rotation and anti-flexion for core exercises. I'm not a juge fan or sit-ups and crunches, no I don't think unloaded spinal flexion every once in awhile will kill someone, just erring on the safe side, because until I really get to know a clients capabilities I'd rather avoid injury at all costs.

Give this a whirl and let me know if you need any help.

Additional Note: Check out my new YouTube channel here, you might see some familiar faces.