Develop stronger legs with sliding lunges

Leg and butt strength are essential for stability, tone and protecting the knee joints. I’m sure many of you have heard of, or even done, leg lunges. Well, today we’ll make those a bit more challenging by doing them in reverse and to the side with the use of a slider.

In today’s video, Tema Esberg is demonstrating both exercises with a slider she purchased in a local hardware store, used to slide or push heavy furniture across the floor. They also sell these in fitness stores, for much more money. Don’t have sliders, and want to start right away? No problem, magazines and paper plates will do in a pinch.

Sliders have two different sides to them. The slick side faces the floor to create an easy slide and the foam side keeps your foot from sliding off the device.

Exercise 1 — Reverse sliding lunge

When using the slider for a reverse lunge, you can feel the quadriceps muscles on the front of the leg working on the way backward, and the hamstrings and glutes on the back of the legs and butt working on the way back in.

Stand erect with feet at shoulder width and place the slider on the floor under your left foot. You will then slide your left leg backward, slowly dropping your left knee toward the ground while keeping your torso upright and vertical.

If you have difficulty keeping your torso upright you can pick a spot on the wall or in the room about three-feet away that is about eye level. This keeps a point of perspective while you move.

If you have trouble with balance, you can raise your arms to shoulder height or above as you lunge backward, and then lower them on your way forward. This creates a counter-balance and helps keep the body aligned.

Simply slide your foot back until your knee touches the ground, then pull your foot back up to starting position. If you find it difficult to slide the foot back up, push your toe or the ball of your foot into the slider for traction and to fully engage your leg muscles for the return.

Exercise 2 — Side sliding lunge

The sliding lunge is a great exercise to develop strong glutes and quadriceps muscles. Place the slider again under the left leg and slide your left foot out to the side in a slight arcing motion. While the left leg slides, the right leg remains in place for stability.

For balance, you can separate your arms while sliding out and bring your arms back in when returning to starting position. Also, when sliding out to the side, make sure you pull your hips back. This will keep your knee from extending past your toes, and so protect it from stress.

Combining the exercises

Now that you can do a backward sliding lunge and a side sliding lunge, you can combine them for a more difficult and more robust leg workout. Do a lateral or side lunge and bring your leg back to a neutral starting position; then do a reverse lunge and return to neutral. Repeat.

Reps and symmetry are key

You can begin with 5-10 reps per exercise, per leg. You may find when doing the slider lunges that one side is easier to do than the other, and that is ok. It is normal for people to favor one arm or leg over the other. But with any exercise, once you work one side of the body you’ll want to work the other side, too. This helps creates symmetry and muscle balance.