How to Do Dumbbell Lunges
Leah ZahnerDescription
A lunge is essentially a big step forward. When you add free weights such as dumbbells, this adds additional work for the quads and glutes. Dumbbell lunges require you to be comfortable and able to remain balanced doing a basic lunge before adding free weights to the exercise.
Having healthy quads helps maintain balance and adds mobility, which is just the ticket for the physical rigor bowling requires on the body.
Step 1
Choose a weight for the dumbbell lunge that allows you to continue doing lunges in good form.
You will find yourself using excessive weight if you tip forward or backward when doing the dumbbell lunge.
Step 2
Stand up straight with dumbbells in each of your hands, hanging your arms to your sides. With your palms facing your side, spread your feet about shoulder-width apart.
Step 3
Take a step forward with either leg until the front thigh is almost parallel to the ground while keeping your arms straight. The other leg is bent at the knee and balanced.
Try not to let the knee of the leg you are stepping forward with go past your toes.
Step 4
Return to your starting position and repeat the exercise with the other leg. A good number of reps for this exercise is 8 – 12. Doing 2 – 3 sets per workout.
Common Mistakes
Some common mistakes include extending your knee past the toe during the lunge. This can lead to knee pain. If your stance is too close, you will put more emphasis on your knees, missing the target areas of the exercise. The back knee needs to be in line with your body and be pointed towards the floor. If your knee points inward or outward while doing the dumbbell lunge, injury is possible.
Make sure you check out more lunge exercises from National Bowling Academy to improve your balance and posture on the approach and at the finish position.
Lunges with body weight are a challenging way to strengthen and stabilize your body. And once you're ready, you can always add some more weight and resistance to your hands with a set of dumbbells. You can choose a weight that is going to allow you to continue to perform your lunges with good form, without tipping forward or back or swinging the weights. Take one weight into each hand, get set for your lunge, and then step forward, sink down into your deepest lunge, and step back. You can alternate side to side, working one leg at a time. And if you notice that the weights start to swing forward, you probably picked up a little bit too heavy of a weight. So drop that weight back down until you can find good form, and when you're ready, you can start to pick up the heavier weights.
Share tips, start a discussion or ask other students a question. If you have a question for the instructor, please click here.
Already a member? Sign in
No Responses to “How to Do Dumbbell Lunges”