A reverse lunge is moving one leg behind you from a standing position and lunging down toward the ground. It involves proper movement sequencing in your muscles, which helps your body coordinate where your body is positioned and maintain your balance and alignment, explains physical therapist Gray Cook, author of "Athletic Body in Balance." Thus, reverse lunges can improve one aspect of movement pattern that is essential to certain sports and activities, such as football, Brazilian capoeira and dancing.
Dynamic Core Stability
Dynamic core stability refers to your ability to control movement and maintain your alignment of your body when you move. When you perform a reverse lunge, you are off-balanced for a second as you step back. Your muscles in your abdomen, spine and hip stabilize your body as you lunge down and stand up. They prevent your spine from moving and hunching. Poor stability can cause you to lose your balance and cause injury to your joints.
Hip Extension
Hip extension can help prevent back pain due to tight hip flexors and weak buttocks. Tight hip flexors pull on the anterior part of the lumbar spine, which irritates the nerves and the vertebrae and causes pain. When you step back to extend your hip and knee joints together, your buttock tightens to prevent your spine from hyper-extending. This movement stretches the hip flexors and the connective tissues surrounding them, which causes your torso to reflexively tighten to support your spine.
Balance
Balance refers to how well your left and right sides of you body move during the reverse lunge. One hip may extend more than the side during the exercise or one side of your hip or leg may feel some stiffness or pain when you step back. Coach Vern Gambetta, author of "Athletic Development," recommends that you perform an extra set on the side of your body that feel more challenging to perform than the other side. If you experience pain during the exercise, consult with a medical professional to address the site of pain.
Dynamic Warmup
You can use reverse lunges as part of your warmup to increase muscle and nervous activity, which help you prepare for your training. It improves hip strength and hip extension, decreasing hip and ankle stiffness. You can perform the reverse lunges by alternating legs as you step back and lunge down.
References
- "NASM Essentials of Personal Fitness Training"; Michael Clark; 2007
- "Athletic Body in Balance"; Gray Cook; 2003
- "Athletic Development"; Vern Gambetta; 2006
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