When one considers the parameters of fitness as defined in the
October 2002 edition
of the Crossfit Journal: cardiovascular/respiratory
endurance, stamina, strength, flexibility, power, coordination,
agility, balance and accuracy, few exercises can deliver
significantly in all of these areas. However a lowly exercise
which has been bastardized and much misused by personal trainers
can deliver in all of these areas with minor modifications in
execution. The exercise? The lunge. After you quit laughing read
on and prepare yourself to jump higher, kick harder, and experience
a level of coordination you have not yet known.
I think I should dispel a possible misconception from the beginning.
This is not the waste of time exercise we have all seen: a person
essentially walking in place by stepping forward, lowering into
a lunge and then pushing back to a standing position. Why is this
movement useless? The lunge creates the opportunity to engage
muscles of the posterior chain (calves, hamstrings, glutes, and
spinal erectors) in a coordinated fashion. Simply pushing back
to a standing position trains us to do nothing more than "put
on the breaks". The simple yet painful alternative which
will deliver significant gains in all of the aforementioned fitness
parameters is the walking-push-kick-lunge. Thai boxers will likely
be familiar with this movement and everyone reading this has likely
done something similar to it at some point but I am hoping this
article will give you some ideas on how to include this movement
into your regimen to obtain the results you desire.
My plan is to give you the basic mechanics of the movement and
then modifications which will allow you to address all of the
parameters of fitness. The movement is initiated while standing
with feet approximately shoulder width toes straight ahead. The
hands can be at the sides but I prefer for balance and martial
arts reasons to have the hands in a ready position similar to
that found in Muay Thai. One now raises one knee as high as possible
and then extends the lower leg with the ball of the foot leading
and the toes retracted. While this is occurring, the knee of the
support leg is slightly bent. As one extends the kicking leg the
support foot rotates out 45* allowing the hips to travel forward
and adding force to the kick. One then allows the weight to shift
forward and lowers into a position in which the front leg is on
the ground with the knee at a 90* angle and the rear leg is poised
on the ball of the foot with the heel pointing straight up. One
now rises on the front leg, knee slightly bent ready to kick out
with the other leg with the sequence being repeated for the desired
number of repetitions (see videos
1 and 2).
The various components defining fitness may be addressed in the
following ways. This is not an exhaustive investigation, merely
a few ideas.
Cardiovascular/respiratory considerations
are quite simple. Do walking lunges for distance or number. Start
off with perhaps 20 total reps or 50 yards. Increase the number
and or distance as adaptation occurs.
Stamina, or the ability to recover
quickly, can be enhanced using a tabata protocol of 20 seconds
lunging followed by 10 seconds walking repeated for 8 total rounds
or as active rest between another exercise.
Strength will be enhanced regardless
of the protocol and will be more of a strength endurance nature.
However holding dumbbells at ones side or kettlebells racked at
the shoulders will increase the workload and suffering.
Flexibility is enhanced if one attempts
to stretch both the glute/hamstring tie in of the front leg and
the hip flexors of the rear leg while in the lunged position.
Power can be emphasized by leaping
ballisticly into the air upon the knee raise. In this case the
knee raise is emphasized and the kick portion is omitted.
As to coordination, balance and agility,
once you have performed WPKL's a few times the significance will
be obvious. However specific tweaks could include kicking out
at a 45* angle and walking in a herringbone pattern and performing
the exercise as slowly as possible.
Accuracy can be enhanced by having
a friend hold a kicking shield and performing the kicks to a target
(see photo). One may also train
the knee strike in the same way (see Video
3).
I hope you find this information useful. Whole body movements
like those found in Olympic lifting, gymnastics, and kettlebelling
provide incredible benefit for a wide variety of activities. Hopefully
the walking push-kick lunge will take a more prominent place in
your future training.
