Reverse Lunge with Lateral Reach

This Video is taken from my Sportmans Body Weight Challenge.

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Everything You Need To Know

The Reverse Lunge with Lateral Reach takes the standard Reverse Lunge but adds an additional upper body movement. Once you add the lateral reach onto the lunge you start to challenge your balance further, open up your hips, further activate your core muscles and increase the heart rate.

How to Progress the Exercise

There are lots of benefits to be had from adding this additional movement but not everybody is ready for the progression. Lets take a look at how we work up to the Reverse Lunge with Lateral Reach and also how we can make it even more challenging.

Beginners

In order to perform the above exercise you need to be proficient with the standard reverse Lunge. So if you find regular reverse lunges a problem work on them some more before moving onto the lateral reach.

Remember that the back knee should not rest on the floor it should lightly kiss the ground or at least come close. Ensure you can perform 20 reverse lunges on each leg before moving onto the lateral reach addition.

Intermediate

So now you can perform the standard reverse lunge you can add in the lateral reach. When you first practice the exercise you will notice your balance is all over the place. As soon as you throw your hands to the side you change your centre of gravity and your core and stabiliser muscles will work hard to stop you falling over. Don’t rest the back knee on the floor as you reach over.

If you suffer from tight hip flexors the first thing you will notice is a pull along the top of the rear thigh. This is an active mobility movement so you are better gradually moving into this exercise than just stretching your hip flexors every now and again.

If you lack mobility through the upper torso down the lateral side ie. the Latissimus Dorsi and Quadratus Lumborum muscles you will also feel a stretch from armpit down to waist. Again slowly moving into this movement will help to gain mobility through these areas. The more relaxed and fluid you can be through the movement the easier your body will bend.

Try 15 – 20 reps on each side and notice what a difference they make compared to a regular reverse lunge.

Advanced

If you are comfortable with the Intermediate level then you can start adding some load to the movement. My tool of choice for this exercise is the medicine ball. Start off very very light, you have been warned. The higher and further away the ball is above your head the more challenging the exercise will be.

Start with 10 reps on each side. Rest for 60 seconds and repeat for a total of 3 rounds.

Here’s a Quick but Challenging Workout:

• Reverse Lunge with Lateral Reach x 12 each side (with or without medicine ball)
• Push Ups x 12
• Repeat 3-4 rounds

Enjoy the workout!

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Audio from the Reverse Lunge with Lateral Reach Video

Okay, on to the reverse lunge with a lateral reach.

A great warm up exercise, and it basically works the whole of the body. It’s a good conditioning exercise for the whole of the body, too.

This is how we do it.

So, we start with the regular lunge. I’m sure you’ve done lunges before, to reverse lunge. Hands are in the air.

We step back and as we go back, we reach both hands over the front knee to the side, this way.

Step back. Alternate sides. Come the opposite way.

Try not to rest your weight down on your back knee. It should just kiss the floor.

There we go. An excellent exercise to improve the mobility of your hips, and also starting to condition the body as well in particular the legs, the glutes at the back, and also opening up the side of the body as well.

20 to do in total, alternating sides.