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Wellness
To maximise effectiveness and prevent injury, it's important you know the specifics of the exercises, and how to do them right
If you have a lower body workout in your repertoire, you'll be sure to have squats and lunges as a part of it. They are both old-school foundational exercises that help build overall muscle mass while also improving performance and strength. What makes them versatile is their adaptability. Based on your fitness levels or workout style—whether you like HIIT combinations, powerlifting or a simple pilates routine—both squats and lunges can be modified to suit your routine.
But depending on what you wish to achieve, sometimes one exercise can have an edge over the other. “Regardless of whether you do lunges or squats, you have to remember to engage your core. They help work on your quads and glutes, and create engagement from the core of the body, making them perfect for a full lower body exercise,” says Mumbai-based fitness coach Bhavna Harchandrai.
For a basic squat, face forward and stand with feet shoulder-distance apart, and toes slightly out. Hold your hands either straight out in the front or even place them behind the head. Inhale and go down, bend your knees and sit back till your thighs are parallel to the floor. Your knees should stay above the heels and not cross the toes. Imagine sitting on a chair. Now push and lift up with your heels, and exhale as you get up.
Keep your feet shoulder-distance apart, imagine two railway tracks running between your legs. Start with your right leg and step on the right parallel line and bend till the leg reaches a 90 degree, and your knee should not cross the toes. The front leg knee should be over the heel, and back leg knee under the hips, push with heels and exhale come back to starting position. Repeat with the other leg.
Squats are considered to the best exercise for lower body workouts and help target your quads, thighs, glutes, calves, core and hamstrings. “Squats are more balanced than lunges and lunges need more coordination which is why squats are better for beginners. When you do a lunge, the front foot takes more load, so the muscle activation is different. As a beginner, start off with squats and progress to lunges when you have confidence in your strength. You can do it against the wall to support the back or even throw a ball and catch, you can use props to make the same exercise interesting for various muscle activation,” says Harchandrai. Squats can also be done with equipment, such as a bench, bosu ball squat or TRX bands.
“Different variations of lunges help activate different muscles. You can do them with kettlebells, static lunges, with a stability ball and twist at the waist to work on the abdominals, side and lateral lunges to work on your hamstrings and inner thighs too,” says Harchandrai.
But what if you have a specific end-result? If you're working on solely your glutes, Harchandrai prefers squats. “Because you are pushing with the heels, you engage your hips to be able to lift up. So the load is coming from your heels, and hips which are your glute muscles to lift yourself up to starting position.” However, if you want to work your quadriceps (especially if you're a runner), lunges work better. “You are leaning forward, so most of the load is coming to the front of the thigh,” she confirms.
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