If you can't do lunges do you just skip them altogether or substitute?

[NoraKate]

Venus Index, or whatever it's called now, has "Bulgarian lunges"

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=P9OFu5vKtVY

hmmm... I don"t recall my knees going quite that deep

[Jewels5]

NoraKate, this is exactly what my doctor suggested I do!! Although his knee didn't go that deep. That hurts just to watch, lol.

[athompson10]

Those Bulgarian lunges are impressive! My problem is, I don't have good balance when I place my whole forefoot on the bench/step. I'm another VFer suffering from foot pain in my "bunion" joint (I don't have a bunion, it's probably tendonitis) so these alternatives are helpful.

[NoraKate]

Originally Posted by athompson10

Those Bulgarian lunges are impressive! My problem is, I don't have good balance when I place my whole forefoot on the bench/step. I'm another VFer suffering from foot pain in my "bunion" joint (I don't have a bunion, it's probably tendonitis) so these alternatives are helpful.

I've been known to lean on a wall for those lunges

no shame in it


Nora
she who can trip on flat ground.
while standing still.

[dbclark44]

I usually substitute different moves for lunges. Due to knee problems front lunges are out for me. So I'll do leg raises or some equivalent to work the same muscle you'd work in a front lunge. I can do squats as long as I keep them shallow.

I like the idea of lunging against a slanted riser of some sort. I used to do that using my step with risers on just one end. I'd back it against a wall so it didn't move on me and that worked good for me. I haven't tried that in a while and reading this forum reminded me of that. Think I'll try that next time I do my leg workout. I adjust the risers to what I'm comfortable with but find that 2 is plenty to achieve the effect I'm striving for.

[Jewels5]

Originally Posted by fit_fairy

Has anyone mentioned slide back lunges? Those seem to be easier on my big toe than any other form of lunges.

fit_fairy, I tried these last night using a paper plate and they worked surprisingly well. Of course I also discovered how much balance it takes to do this when you can't put pressure on your toes, but still it was a good challenge and doable!

Originally Posted by dbclark44

I usually substitute different moves for lunges. Due to knee problems front lunges are out for me. So I'll do leg raises or some equivalent to work the same muscle you'd work in a front lunge. I can do squats as long as I keep them shallow.

I like the idea of lunging against a slanted riser of some sort. I used to do that using my step with risers on just one end. I'd back it against a wall so it didn't move on me and that worked good for me. I haven't tried that in a while and reading this forum reminded me of that. Think I'll try that next time I do my leg workout. I adjust the risers to what I'm comfortable with but find that 2 is plenty to achieve the effect I'm striving for.

Deb, I've been trying to come up with some sort of contraption since reading your post. Unfortunately I have the Reebok Step as opposed to the Original Club Step, but I at least have the risers so propping my step up to those seems to work as long as I go slowly. Thanks for the tip!

[fit_fairy]

Originally Posted by Jewels5

fit_fairy, I tried these last night using a paper plate and they worked surprisingly well. Of course I also discovered how much balance it takes to do this when you can't put pressure on your toes, but still it was a good challenge and doable!

Yes, they definitely require good balance. So you get a core workout too. I had to go much lighter and initially I used no weights till I got used to them.

[Jewels5]

Originally Posted by fit_fairy

Yes, they definitely require good balance. So you get a core workout too. I had to go much lighter and initially I used no weights till I got used to them.

Yeah, I think I only used 5 pounds and even that was tricky with the balance. Good point on working the core!