How to Do Smith Machine Leg Lunges
Looking at someone's legs is usually an easy way to see if someone is truly a weightlifter. Many times you will see someone with a great upper body but scrawny legs. This seems to be the case with many as they are more interested in those muscles that get looked at while leaving their leg workout almost non-existent. A great way to target lagging legs are to hit them with lunges, however these can be difficult to start doing. Using a Smith machine will help you get in the proper range of motion, while adding slabs of muscle to your legs.
Other People Are Reading
Instructions
-
-
1
Locate the Smith machine in your gym, if you are unfamiliar with the way it looks just look for the machine that looks like a squat rack. The Smith machine will have a barbell attached to two vertical poles that allow it to slide up and down. There are also hooks on the bar with pegs attached to the poles. This is for safety reasons and allows you to hook up and unhook the bar at various levels. Once you have found the bar you can place a light weight plate or start off with just the bar.
-
2
Place yourself under the bar with the bar resting across your shoulders. Be sure to center yourself underneath the bar so the weight is evenly distributed. The bar may come with a pad or you can place a towel around the area that will rest on your shoulders to make it more comfortable. Unhook the bar and stand straight up with both feet together.
-
-
3
Step forward with one foot and step back with the other foot. Do not take small steps, but take a normal step that you would take. You may need to try doing this a few times to see what the proper spacing is for you to feel most comfortable during the duration of the movement. Once you are in this position you are ready to begin, this will be your starting position.
-
4
Lower your body slowly so that your back leg is bending with your knee going towards the ground and your front leg is bending with your thigh going towards the ground. When your front thigh comes almost parallel to the ground you will feel a contraction and tightness. Hold this position for a split second to a second. Be sure to put most of the work on your thighs and not your lower leg are such as your ankles.
-
5
Raise your body back to the starting position slowly and repeat for at least eight more repetitions. Once you have completed them, reverse your legs and complete eight more repetitions with the other leg. By this, I mean that you will place your front leg now in back and your back leg now in front. If you are feeling major pain and tightness in your legs be sure to stop immediately and try to stretch out the muscle. You may need to warm up your legs more and stretch before, during and after the exercise if this is the first time that you have done it.
-
1
Tips & Warnings
Start off with a light weight to get used to the movement and avoid injury.
Warm up and stretch before starting the movement to avoid injury.
