We replace regular lunges with Bulgarian lunges or split squats. Whether you want to strengthen your glutes to reduce everyday aches and pains, enlarge your butt, improve athletic performance—or any combination thereof.
Strong glutes, made up of the gluteus maximus, medius, and minimus, are not only the foundation of an enviable rear end. They are vital for everyday movement and if the muscles are weak then they can cause a variety of problems including chronic pain and injury.
What muscles work
The exercise is basic , i.e. multi-joint, similar to regular lunges and uses the same muscle groups:
- quadriceps;
- gluteus maximus, adductor, soleus;
- muscles of the back of the thigh, calf;
- small/medium gluteus.
Recommendations
In order not to harm the joints and “squeeze” the maximum benefit out of the exercise, you must adhere to the following recommendations:
- If you are just starting to train, do not rush and immediately do lunges with weights. First you need to prepare your muscles and learn the correct technique. To do this, contact an experienced trainer or slowly work through the exercise in front of a mirror.
- Don't forget to pay attention to the anatomy of your squats. The knee and toe should be pointing forward.
- Your back should remain straight during a split squat. If you constantly want to lean over, it most likely means that your front leg is too close to the support.
- Don't forget to watch your breathing. Deep breath - squat. Exhale - smooth rise.
Alternative Exercises
How are they different from ordinary ones?
The position of the legs is more convenient for working the muscles of each leg - in the Bulgarian lunges, one leg is suspended, while the classic lunge uses both legs. Both exercises work the same muscle groups, but the dumbbell lunge distributes the load between both legs, while the Bulgarian lunge targets only the muscles of one leg , making this exercise more tiring and difficult.
If you compare the two exercises, classic lunges allow you to use larger weights. However, Bulgarian lunges create constant tension on the supporting leg, and the amount of work performed on the front leg is greater than with a dumbbell lunge.
In addition, a team of researchers led by Professor McCurdy (USA) compared barbell squats and Bulgarian lunges and found that EMG activity (electrical activity of individual muscle fibers) in the gluteal muscles and hamstrings was significantly higher in Bulgarian lunges than in squats. barbell
Various variations of back lunges
Thus, we can conclude that if your goal is to improve the shape of your buttocks and add hamstrings to your biceps, then it is better to use Bulgarian lunges.
BUT : another study found that after performing both exercises, the concentration of testosterone levels in the athletes’ bodies showed almost identical levels.
Therefore, a split (read what a split is here ) of squats with a barbell and Bulgarian lunges has a positive effect on the hormonal environment and, as a result, the desired hypertrophy (i.e., increasing your Madam Siju
