What does a kettlebell side lunge look like?
Today, my friends, we are going to talk about the Kettlebell Side Lunge.
Incorporating a series of bell exercises into your exercise routine once or twice a week can greatly improve your functional fitness (or, in other words, increase your ability to handle daily movements such as carrying groceries, sitting, standing, or pulling heavy items, suitcases). Additionally, unlike the more rigid movements, you might perform with dumbbells or a cable machine, many kettlebell movements incorporate the use of momentum, which requires a greater amount of participation from both large and small muscle groups. There is also a benefit to combining cardio and strength training in one exercise.
Kettlebell side lunge muscles worked?
Regardless of whether you use a kettlebell, dumbbell, barbell, power bag, or other types of heavy objects, the lunge is a very important exercise for building strength and mobility, as it will target lower body movement.
Muscles used:
- Gluteus maximus
- Gluteus medius
- Rectus Femoris
- Vastus Lateralis
- Vastus Medialis
- Vastus Intermedius
- Biceps Femoris
- Adductor Magnus
- Gracilis
- Sartorius
- Soleus
The muscles used may vary slightly depending on the different lunges but ultimately the glutes, hamstrings, quads, adductors, and calves are activated.
You’ll also get muscle activation in the core muscles and many of the smaller stabilizing muscles.
Summary:
A strong, strength-based kettlebell exercise that will also improve hip flexibility. Make sure to warm-up well before getting deeper into this movement.
Learn More:
What exactly are Step-Up exercises?
How do you do side lunges with kettlebells?
And now, my friends, we will see how to perform this exercise correctly, with some important tips.
- Start standing tall with tour feet about hip-width distance apart.
- Hold the kettlebell handle with both hands and extend your arms so it hangs down near your legs.
- Keep your core tight and your spine neutral as you lunge to the right while also bending your elbows and drawing your hands to your chin to “row” the kettlebell upward.
- Step your right leg back to the center and lower your arms to return to the starting position.
- Repeat for the desired number of reps before switching to the other side.
Tips:
From here, my friends, I will give you some tips that you should work on:
- You must first practice the movement without a kettlebell before adding any load. Once you understand the exercise well and are comfortable with it, you can start adding weight gradually.
- As for the first few side repetitions, make sure you don’t go too deep as this can strain the thigh. Once you’ve warmed up the movement pattern, try to go in a little deeper each time.
- The deeper you can get a lateral lunge, the more emphasis you put on your buttocks and thighs as well.
- Then be sure to keep your weight back on your heels to further activate your glutes.
- Keeping your chest flat and back will ensure that you do not experience any strain or injury to your lower back.
Kettlebell side lunge benefits?
The Kettlebell Side Lunge will add an extra dimension to your training guys it’s excellent for hip mobility and functional strength.
There are also many reasons, to incorporate the lateral lunge into your workouts. Here are just a few:
- Work Your Outer Thighs:
There are plenty of leg exercises available including dozens of different types of squats and several lunges. Side lunges are unique in the way they coordinate and shape the outer thighs or abductors. Many people get frustrated with their outer thighs when nothing seems to work to get rid of those extra pockets of fat.
Lateral lunges help reduce the appearance of saddlebags because they directly activate the outer thigh muscles.
- Work Your Glutes:
Even though you’re swinging sideways, your body weight is sitting back in your butt muscles. Side lunges help tone and shape your booty and give you a beautiful, strong, and graceful backside.
- Get Your Heart Pumping:
The side-to-side movement of the lateral lunge gets you moving and gets your heart pumping. You’ll reap the benefits of cardio from side lunges, especially if you add extra weights or resistance. Time to burn calories? Side lunges do the trick.
- Improves Balance And Stability:
Because you’re moving your body in a side-to-side motion instead of the traditional forward and backward motion, you’re adding balance to the muscles around the hip and knee joints, helping you prevent potential injuries in the future.
In addition to preventing future injuries, this is a good back exercise because the lower body exercise requires you to keep your back straight and your chest lifted.
Kettlebell side lunge swing?
But now my friends we will see how to do side kettlebell lunge swings with the correct form.
- Start in a standing position, take your feet out sideways so that they are wider than shoulder-width and toes turned out slightly.
- Hold the kettlebell in both hands. Then bend your left knee and push your hips backward, to lower yourself down over your left foot. Your right leg should remain as straight as possible.
- Keep your heels down on the floor. From here, straighten your left leg to stand up and return to the center position. Then bend your right knee to squat over to your right-hand side with your left leg straight.
- Keep your back straight and shoulders back at all times, bend forward from your hips.
Learn More:
What is a Frogger squats exercise?
What do you know about jumping jacks?
How do you put on banded leg extensions?
Kettlebell side lunge variations?
Here, my friends, are the different types of Kettlebell Lunge for you to try depending on your current skill level:
- Kettlebell Racked Reverse Lunge:
The kb reverse lunge is the best variation, to start with, you can hold the bell with both hands if necessary or in the stand position with one hand.
- Kettlebell Racked Forward Lunge:
The forward lunge variation is more demanding than the reverse lunge and there is a tendency to ride the lunge forwards so be sure to step and then lunge downwards.
Return to a standing position by pulling on the back leg instead of pushing the front foot back.
- Kettlebell Cossack Lunges:
A great introduction to the side lunge with a kettlebell is the variation of the Cossack lunge, which is great for opening up the hips. Care must be taken at first not to go down too deeply because the stretch on the inner thigh can be extreme.
Therefore, start steadily and increase the depth of movement as you warm up.
- Kettlebell Bob and Weave:
The bob and weave is a variation of a lateral lunge that is less stressful on the legs and glutes but slightly more cardiovascular because the movement can be performed faster.
Just like the Cossack lunge variation, the depth of movement must be slowly increased as the muscles warm up.
- Kettlebell Static Lunge and Press:
When you feel ready, you can add compression to the standard variation of the lunge to create a full-body movement as well as increase your cardiovascular output.
The static variation is excellent because it focuses the movement on a simple up-and-down motion and holds the feet in position, allowing more repetitions in less time to increase the core.
For a complete beginner, you can remove the push-up part of the movement and hold the bell with both hands or one in each hand at either side.
- Kettlebell Bulgarian Lunge:
One of my favorite lunges forms and is excellent for building single-leg strength and developing glutes.
The rear leg can be raised on anything from a tray or medicine ball to a Swiss ball or sofa.
Excellent for those with foot problems because the back foot can be pointed away which takes the pressure off the toes.
- Kettlebell Lunge with Rotation:
The lunge with rotation is a technical movement that is another excellent variation for those who exercise.
Care must be taken to separate the two movements or you can become a combination of either, so make sure you get a good deep lunge before making the turn.
Kettlebell side lunge rack position?
The kettlebell lateral lunge is a type of lunge and exercise used to target the quads.
The kettlebell is used during the side bell lunge to place the weight in front of the body to allow for even weight distribution and a straight torso during exercise.
The kettlebell lateral lunge is more of an advanced movement and should not be attempted until other forms of the lunge have been mastered.
How to Perform a Kettlebell Lateral Lunge:
- Set up with your feet shoulder-width apart while holding a kettlebell in your hand.
- Clean the kettlebells to a front rack position.
- Step laterally with your trail leg extended and descend until the thigh is parallel with the floor.
- Drive through the weight-bearing leg and extend the knee as you push back to the starting position.
- Repeat for the desired number of repetitions.
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Originally published at https://stepbyfitness.com/ on 10 February 2022
