Squats and lunges are amongst the best exercises for toning the lower body- thighs, hips and bottom. I started squatting and lunging with EA Sports Active Personal Trainer for Wii exercise game which had me lunging in every possible direction- forwards, backwards and sideways and squatting. The only problem was that my knees would be completely shot afterwards so I found it difficult to climb stairs for example. My problem wasn’t advancing old age, I just wasn’t doing them properly. If had watched the tutorial video I would have saved myself a lot of grief.
So here are some tips to make lunges and squats your new best friends.
Positioning
Lunges:
- When you lunge make sure your knees and feet are pointing in the same direction.
- Make sure your knees stay behind your toes so that your knee is more or less directly above your ankle.
- When you lunge forward or backward, make sure your torso goes down rather than forward which will help to keep your knees from overshooting.
Squats:
- When you squat, stick out your bottom before you start bending your knees and lowering into the squat.
- Do squats standing sideways in front of a mirror to start with so that you make sure your knees stay behind your toes. This is better than looking down at your toes so that you can maintain your balance.
- Make sure your weight stays in your heels, there should be no pressure on your toes.
Beginner modifications:
For squats:
Start by sitting down into a chair and getting up again.This gives you a feel for the kind of movement that’s needed to performa squat. As you get more confident, you can take away the chair.
You can also start by standing with a stability ball between your back and a wall. Press into the ball as you lower yourself down slowly and then up again.
For lunges, try backward lunges – stepping back into the lunge rather than forward, which is a little kinder on the knees.
One important aspect of doing lunges and squats is to take your time. Slowing down allows you to maintain proper form so that you’re less likely to get injured. If you’re using an exercise dvd you can do 1 squat of lunge for every two your instructor does. Doing them properly with proper form will get you better results than doing them at break neck speed. When you’re done you can kiss your cellulite goodbye. You may not actually lose weight but you’ll definitely lose inches. Your reward will be awsome thighs and a tight bottom.
People are searching for:
- jillian michaels squats
- woman standing sideways silhouette
- jillian michaels butt and thighs
- fat silhouette
- Lunges And Squats
- squats and lunges
- tips for toning butt and thighs
- can squats and lunges tone legs
- does standing tone thighs
- toning butt and thighs
