Barbell Shoulder Lunges

One exercise that develops agility, coordination and general endurance is the barbell lunges. A significant place in crossfit training is devoted to this exercise - let's see what its features are. How lunges with a barbell on the shoulders affect the muscles - which of them and how they work, and we will also analyze in detail the technique for performing each type of this exercise.

What muscles work?

An excellent basic exercise that makes the quadriceps, gluteus medius and large muscles, thigh hamstrings, fascia wide extensors, oblique abdominal muscles work and, of course, stabilizing muscles - the twin, gluteus maximus, pear-shaped, internal oblique abdominal muscles. In statics, the rectus abdominis muscle also works well, in dynamics the extensors of the spine “plow” in full force, especially in the lumbar portion. In short, it is easier to list which muscles do not work (although are there any?) In this exercise.

© Makatserchyk - stock.adobe.com

And, in fact, what does it give us? Increasing the endurance of the leg muscles due to the powerful development of the mitochondrial apparatus, improving muscle coordination by increasing the strength of the so-called. "Muscles of the core" (buttocks, abs, lower back), these groups are responsible for the effective interaction between the "upper" and "lower" levels of the body. In addition, they are also responsible for the correct position of the spinal column and, with proper development, ensure the correct functioning of the musculoskeletal system and internal organs in the projection of the lumbosacral region.

Additionally, developing the muscles in this area will increase your performance in sports such as wrestling, weightlifting, athletics, and crossfit. And, the last from the point of view of practical use, but the first from the point of view of most gym visitors, the effect is well-developed, voluminous and "dried" (with proper nutrition) leg muscles, tight buttocks, well-developed abs.

There are a fairly large number of varieties of attacks: to the sides, "classic", back, in "Smith", What is the fundamental difference? Let's figure it out in order.

Smith lunges

The main plus of the Smith simulator is that the trajectory of the bar is rigidly set by the guides, the bar can be fixed at any time - these moments reduce the risk of injury, but at the same time practically deprive the stabilizing muscles of work - after all, you do not need to strain to maintain balance. On the one hand, this is a minus, on the other hand, you can more accentuate the impact on one or another muscle group, depending on your training goals, plus, in Smith you can work at the end of a workout without fear of injury.

© Alen Ajan - stock.adobe.com

Types of lunges with a barbell on the shoulders and execution technique

The barbell still rests on your shoulders - only now it is not limited by anything, respectively, part of the forces will have to be spent on keeping the body upright and on maintaining balance. That is, the exercise turns out to be more energy-intensive - you spend more calories per unit of time due to the use of large muscle masses, more functional, because the deep muscles of the body are very actively involved, but more traumatic - accordingly, before moving on to serious weights in lunges with a barbell on the shoulders , you need to master the technique of performing this exercise with little or no weights.

As for the "direction" of lunges, you can do them forward, backward, to the side, and there are two options for stepping to the side - a cross lunge and just a lunge to the side.

The difference here is in the emphasis on the muscles of the lower limb girdle. Let's look at it in order.

Classic lunges

Initial position: while standing, the bar lies on the shoulders, in the projection of the posterior deltoids and is rigidly held by the hands. The correct width of the grip hardly exists here - just like in the classic squat, here everyone is determined for himself, depending on the anthropometry. The main thing is that the bar is rigidly fixed and does not have a tendency to move off the shoulders. The shoulders are deployed, the lower back is arched and fixed.

Holding the body perpendicular to the floor, the knee of the working leg is brought forward, we take a wide step forward, after which both knees bend to an angle of 90 degrees... At the same time, the knee of the working leg is, as it were, carried forward in front of itself, the knee of the supporting leg touches the floor, or literally a few millimeters does not reach it. The working leg rests on the entire surface of the foot, the supporting leg stands on the toes turned away from itself. Further, with a powerful combined effort of the buttocks and quadriceps, to a greater extent of the working leg, we straighten.

Your further actions depend on whether you do stepping lunges or lunges in place:

• if you decide to lunges on the spot, the working leg should be placed to the support leg, a movement similar to the one described above is performed for the limb that was the support one;
• in the step version, on the contrary, the supporting leg steps up to the working leg, then the exercise is performed with the leg that was previously the supporting one;
• there is also a third option, when you do not change the position of the legs, perform a given number of lunges with the working leg, without changing its position relative to the supporting leg. This option is good just for those who have just started learning lunges with a barbell on their shoulders.

These are, so to speak, general points of technology, but, as they say, "the devil is in the little things." Actually, depending on how you lunges, different muscle groups are involved. The thing here is that the exercise in question is a multi-joint exercise, i.e. simultaneously, locomotion occurs in several joints: hip, knee, ankle.

It is unlikely that it would occur to anyone to develop the lower leg muscles with lunges, but it is worth talking about the muscles of the thigh and buttocks:

• The function of the quadriceps is to extend the knee joint (primarily) and flexion of the hip joint (along with the iliopsoas muscle).
• The function of the gluteus maximus muscle is hip extension.
• Between them lies a group of muscles representing the back of the thigh - hamstrings, semimembranosus, semitendinosus muscles. The most significant of them for us is the biceps of the thigh - and so, its function is dual - on the one hand, it bends the knee joint, on the other, it unbends the hip.

Accordingly, when doing lunges, you can focus on each of the listed muscles, depending on what you would like to achieve:

1. Focus on the muscles of the back of the thigh and buttocks shifts when you take the widest step. When the range of motion in the hip joint is at its maximum, and the knee joint flexes less than 90 degrees, the main work is done by the extensors of the hip joint.
2. Emphasis on quadriceps will shift if the steps are relatively short and the knee of the working leg bends to an angle significantly greater than 90 degrees. In order to load the quads even more, it is a good idea to move the body forward a little (keeping the lower back arch);
3. To maximize the load on the gluteal muscles (in this version, it is the gluteus maximus muscles), the following technique will be required: the step with the working leg is performed as far forward as possible, the supporting leg is straightened and stretched almost parallel to the floor. The angle of flexion in the knee joint is maximum. You say, how can it be, do we include the quadriceps in full in this way? This is partly true, but such an angle of flexion of the knee simultaneously provides the maximum possible angle of flexion in the hip joint and creates the necessary initial stretch in the gluteus maximus muscle, which allows it to be used as powerfully as possible.

Back lunges

The starting position is the same as in forward lunges. The supporting leg takes a step back, at the same time flexion in the knee joints occurs in both limbs, the body is held in a fixed position, the sitting is performed until the knee touches the floor of the supporting leg. Given the above features of the anatomy, you can also play with the distribution of the load in this exercise.

A short video demonstrating the execution of lunges with a barbell back:

Side lunges

The starting position is the same. The working leg is retracted as wide as possible to the side, then the same leg is bent in the knee joint, while the pelvis is pulled back. The knee bends to an angle of 90-100 degrees, after which a reverse directional movement begins. Upon reaching full extension in the knee and hip joints, you can either attach the supporting leg to the working leg and proceed to the next repetition with the working leg, or with the supporting leg - a step option, or stay in a position where the heels are as far away from each other and, again, perform the specified number of lunges with each leg.

In this variant, the load is evenly distributed between the quadriceps and the adductor muscles of the thigh. Anticipating questions from the male part of the population, in the style of why do I need adductor muscles, I will immediately say: regular work with the adductor muscles of the thigh will help fight the phenomena of stagnation in the pelvic floor organs, in a simple way - will increase blood supply to the prostate and testicles and will prevent prostatitis and impotence in older age.

Cross lunges to the sides

The starting position is similar to the options described earlier. The step with the supporting leg is made behind the back and to the side, so that the knee joint is in the projection of the heel of the working leg. The essence of this option is as follows: when getting up from a squat, you not only extend your hip joint, but also perform abduction in it, which allows you to use the middle gluteal muscles, the very ones that, with proper development, form the "finished" appearance of the female priests "like those of the fitonies in the pictures."

Regardless of which type of lunges you practice, the following mistakes should be avoided:

Barbell lunges for girls

Let's look at the question - what is the use of lunges with a barbell on the shoulders for girls. Since 70% of muscle mass in women is concentrated in the lower body, and the most effective exercises in general are multi-joint, lunges can be considered one of the most effective movements for the weaker half of humanity. More specifically, when a girl lunges:

• Spend a lot of calories in training, thereby contributing to getting rid of excess "weight here and now";
• Burn calories after exercise, due to the powerful metabolic response after performing the basic multisusive exercise, it is precisely such movements that create sufficient stress for the subsequent hormonal response. And fat is burned by hormones, not exercise;
• Hormones... It is they that allow a woman to look young, feel healthy and maximally delay the effects of aging;
• Muscle growth of legs, buttocks... A sexy female figure predominantly consists of muscles, and the only way to somehow "fix" a female figure is to build muscle in certain places and reduce the body fat;
• Formation of a muscle corset, necessary to prevent injuries in everyday life, to maintain the correct position of the spine in everyday life, and, which is especially important for women, to carry a child without harm to their own health;
• Regular work of the muscles of the legs and abdominals allows you to fight the phenomena of venous stasis in the lower body, which means to avoid varicose veins, uterine fibroids, non-infectious adnexitis.

Video on how to correctly perform different types of lunges with a barbell on your shoulders:

Training programs

Barbell lunges often include girls in their complexes. But this exercise is also great for men.

Most popular programs:

Crossfit complexes

Next, we prepared for you crossfit complexes in which there are lunges with a barbell on the shoulders.

Watch the video: Barbell Lunge - OPEX Exercise Library (November 2024).