To Your Health
September, 2007 (Vol. 01, Issue 09) |
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Draw in abs and activate glutes.
5 Push the platform away from your body in a smooth motion by flexing at the knees and hips. Apply pressure through your heels to full extension. Never lock your knees.
6 Pause momentarily.
7 Repeat.
Position feet shoulder-width apart.
LUNGES
Getting Started
1 Begin with your feet shoulder-width apart and your toes pointed straight ahead.
2 Hold a dumbbell in each hand.
Movement
3 Draw in your abs and activate your glutes.
4 Lunge forward, landing on the heel of the lunged foot.
Both knees should end at a 90 degree angle.
5 Come to a stabilized position with your front foot pointing straight ahead and your knee directly over your second and third toes.
6 Both knees should now be bent at a 90 degree angle. Your front foot should be flat on the ground and the heel of your back foot should be lifted off the ground.
7 From this position, push off of your front foot (heel first) onto your back leg.
8 Repeat on the other leg.
WORKOUT BASICS
Repetitions And Sets: Same for both men and women; varies depending on individual goals (toning muscle vs. building muscle vs. building strength).
Intensity: This is the percentage of your one-rep maximum (the maximum amount of weight you can lift at one time). For example, if your goal is to build muscle, you would perform repetitions using 70 percent to 75 percent of your one-rep maximum (see below). That means that if you can bench press 100 pounds one time, you would perform each repetition using a maximum of 75 pounds of weight.
Toning Muscle (Strength/Endurance)
Sets: 2-3 /// Reps: 15-25 /// Intensity: 50% - 70%
Building Muscle (Hypertrophy)
Sets: 3 /// Reps: 9-12 /// Intensity: 70% - 75%
Strength Adaptation
Sets: 3-4 /// Reps: 6-8 /// Intensity: 75% - 85%
