Lunges are the perfect exercise to whip your thighs, butt and even abs into shape. There are so many unique ways to perform lunges that they should be a part of everyone’s workout schedule.

The danger when exercising is repetition.This is when you begin to plateau. However, you can bust through any plateau by changing things up slightly. You don’t want your body getting comfortable – you are looking for challenge.

Variation in your workouts is crucial to fitness success and because lunges offer so many varieties you’ll never be bored and each one will challenge you in a different way.

Like all exercises, lunges take practice to perform correctly so practice the basics until you feel comfortable enough to move onto something more challenging. If you have access to a mirror it really helps to watch yourself perform in front of one until you feel you have the form down and correct.

Basic Lunge:

Head facing forward, shoulders high as you step out

Lower the back knee towards the ground but not touching the ground. The front knee should be directly over the ankle.

Push off your front foot back to where you started

Walking Lunge:

This exercise tones your butt and your thighs.

Similar to the basic lunge, but rather than push off your front foot as you do with the basic lunge to return back to where you began, you push up to bring the back leg to the front.

Perform one step and repeat

Side Lunge:

Once you feel strong enough and stable enough with your basic lunge moves, you can move into more advanced and challenging lunges such as the side lunge which requires both hip and groin flexibility.

Stand with your chest high, head facing forward with feet shoulder width apart.

Take a large step to one side and bend that knee while keeping the other knee straight.

Focus on pushing the hips back as if you were going to sit down on something and keep the foot of the bent leg flat to the ground.

Reverse Lunge:

The reverse lunge is slightly easier on the knee joints.

Rather than stepping forward, step backwards and lower that leg down towards the ground.

Return to where you started and repeat the process with the other leg.

Pulses:

These are innocent and simple looking enough but after a few reps your legs will scream a different tune!

Begin with a wide stance, head and shoulders facing forward.

Bend the legs into a basic lunge and then straighten them up again.

Complete as set of reps before moving onto the other side.

Lunge Jumps:

Looking for that “burn” to tighten and tone your butt? Look no further than this killer exercise.

Begin with a wide lunge stance and lower into a lunge.

Powerfully jump up and switch legs so that you land back in a lunge with the other leg out front.

Lateral Lunge Jumps:

After you have mastered the basic lunge jump, move onto the more challenging lateral lunge jump.

While lunge jumping, slowly and gently move sideways.

This lunge exercise not only give your muscles a workout, but gets your brain involved in the process thus improving muscle – brain communication and balance.

Long Lunges:

This lunge should follow similar rules to the basic lunge but differs in execution.

Stretch your lunge out as far as possible but rather than lowering the back leg towards the ground keep it somewhat straight.

Reverse Walking Lunges:

Like the name implies, these are walking lunges only done in reverse.

Reverse the lunge by pushing off the front foot to meet the back foot.

Repeat using the other leg.

Perform 10 reps of each one before moving on to the next and do as many variations as you can (everyone’s level will be different so listen to your body).

Everything you need to know to whip your butt, legs and thighs into tip-top shape (as well as your stomach) can be found in “Hot Legs Workout”…