I’m a huge fan of single arm and single leg exercises. I don’t think they get enough emphasis in most programs I see. If we only do double leg compound movements (squats, deadlifts, olympic lifts) we never test the leg one at a time. It’s easy to develop asymmetries in strength and mobility and not know about them. Here’s one of my favorite movements lately and here are the reasons why:
- Single leg movements help to identify and correct deficits in strength and mobility from leg to leg
- Deficit lunges get the hip past parallel and provide a similar stimulus to the knee as seen in pistols and deep loaded squats. This can serve to prepare the knee and hip for the stress of higher volume squatting and pistol work
- Deficit lunges generally can’t be loaded as much as normal reverse lunges. They are a great exercise for people that struggle with painful spines because they don’t apply the same compressive and sheer forces that a deadlift or squat will but will work the legs tremendously.
- These lunges have a huge range of motion and will increase time under tension of a muscle. These factors make this an excellent hypertrophy exercise for the lower body. They definitely make you sore, I can tell you that!
https://www.instagram.com/p/BHevXQzhfNT/?taken-by=fitnesspainfree
Give these a shot and then get back to me by responding in the comments below.
If you’d like to see how I program exercises such as these into my online training to promote symmetry, performance and health,then click this link.
My Butt is Still Sore,