When you step forward with one foot and do a lunge, rise, then step forward with the other foot to do a lunge, is that two reps or one rep?
Also, are lunges a good compound lift to do if you’re trying to bulk up? I do 5 x 5 of squats, chest presses, lunges, and dumbell chest flies.
And, I also spend a little time on isolation exercises. (I don’t do all of that in one workout. Usually two 5 x 5s and two isolation exercises.) If you’re doing a 5 x 5 for lunges, would you do ten steps (five with the left going forward and five with the right) or five total steps each time?
Thanks!
[quote]Bonn1997 wrote:
When you step forward with one foot and do a lunge, rise, then step forward with the other foot to do a lunge, is that two reps or one rep?
Also, are lunges a good compound lift to do if you’re trying to bulk up? I do 5 x 5 of squats, chest presses, lunges, and dumbell chest flies.
And, I also spend a little time on isolation exercises. (I don’t do all of that in one workout. Usually two 5 x 5s and two isolation exercises.) If you’re doing a 5 x 5 for lunges, would you do ten steps (five with the left going forward and five with the right) or five total steps each time?
Thanks![/quote]
5x5 per leg
As Bob said you count five per leg. For instance if you were doing eight rep sets it would be eight per leg, but sixteen total reps.
D
[quote]Bonn1997 wrote:
Also, are lunges a good compound lift to do if you’re trying to bulk up? I do 5 x 5 of squats, chest presses, lunges, and dumbell chest flies.
Thanks![/quote]
I just want to suggest that you ditch those flies (or keep them at the end of your workout when you do isolation stuff) and put some rows or pull-ups in there. As it stands you don’t have any back work which is a big mistake. You want to balance out your pushing and pulling or you’ll eventually create imbalances that cause problems down the road (trust me, I’ve been there and done that).
What everyone else said is right, you would have 10 total steps for 5 reps of lunges.
[quote]Donut62 wrote:
Bonn1997 wrote:
Also, are lunges a good compound lift to do if you’re trying to bulk up? I do 5 x 5 of squats, chest presses, lunges, and dumbell chest flies.
Thanks!
I just want to suggest that you ditch those flies (or keep them at the end of your workout when you do isolation stuff) and put some rows or pull-ups in there. As it stands you don’t have any back work which is a big mistake. You want to balance out your pushing and pulling or you’ll eventually create imbalances that cause problems down the road (trust me, I’ve been there and done that).
What everyone else said is right, you would have 10 total steps for 5 reps of lunges.[/quote]
Thanks; yeah I do dumbell rows too. I just forgot to list them.
And I think I should probably add deadlifts after what I’ve been reading.
Should I treat lunges as a compound lift where I’d be doing 5 x 5, or more as a supplemental exercise (maybe 2 sets of 6-8) after I’ve done the major compound lifts?
[quote]Bonn1997 wrote:
When you step forward with one foot and do a lunge, rise, then step forward with the other foot to do a lunge, is that two reps or one rep?
Also, are lunges a good compound lift to do if you’re trying to bulk up? I do 5 x 5 of squats, chest presses, lunges, and dumbell chest flies.
And, I also spend a little time on isolation exercises. (I don’t do all of that in one workout. Usually two 5 x 5s and two isolation exercises.) If you’re doing a 5 x 5 for lunges, would you do ten steps (five with the left going forward and five with the right) or five total steps each time?
Thanks![/quote]
You should add in some sort of overhead press with antagonistic chin-ups or pull-ups as well.
Also, do bench presses instead of chest presses…
[quote]Bonn1997 wrote:
And I think I should probably add deadlifts after what I’ve been reading.
Should I treat lunges as a compound lift where I’d be doing 5 x 5, or more as a supplemental exercise (maybe 2 sets of 6-8) after I’ve done the major compound lifts?
[/quote]
A big YES on the deadlifting. A workout without deadlifting is like sex without orgasm.
Yes, lunges are a core compound lift and should be treated as such. (Alwyn Cosgrove said so.) Most lifters need more unilateral work (i.e. lifting on one leg) to help strengthen the abductors and work your core a bit. It helps balance too. Work in split-squats if you get bored of lunges
[quote]john3103 wrote:
Bonn1997 wrote:
And I think I should probably add deadlifts after what I’ve been reading.
Should I treat lunges as a compound lift where I’d be doing 5 x 5, or more as a supplemental exercise (maybe 2 sets of 6-8) after I’ve done the major compound lifts?
A big YES on the deadlifting. A workout without deadlifting is like sex without orgasm.
Yes, lunges are a core compound lift and should be treated as such. (Alwyn Cosgrove said so.) Most lifters need more unilateral work (i.e. lifting on one leg) to help strengthen the abductors and work your core a bit. It helps balance too. Work in split-squats if you get bored of lunges[/quote]
I agree lunges can be quite grueling. We have one day where we do lunges in our current program and I use the fifty DB’s and I tell you doing eight reps a leg is exhausting after three sets. I look more forward to doing full blown squats then those bastards.
D
definitely deadlift.
with the question about lunges being a compound lift or accessory, i think you can treat them as both. i dont know what you’re training for but as an athlete i do my one legged stuff after after a type of squat or dl. 3 or 4 sets of 8-10 usually. and mix it up with other types of lunges and uni work, especially split squats as mentioned.
Thanks for all the replies. I’ll definitely deadlift and treat lunges as a core compound lift.
[quote]BobDigiNY wrote:
i dont know what you’re training for [/quote]
I guess I should have mentioned that! I guess two things: (a) I want to feel and look stronger and bigger and (b) I’d like to be a better basketball player. I think my biggest basketball weakness is poor lateral quickness actually. I play only intramural ball but I do love playing and certainly wouldn’t mind being a better player. Improving basketball is only a secondary goal, though; I’m not a competitive varsity athlete or anything. The main goal is just to get bigger and stronger. I’m a standard ectomorph: 5’5", 125, 5.9% bf. I have put on about ten pound in ten weeks, but I think I can do better if I incorporate more compound lifts and force myself to lift heavier amounts. I actually didn’t realize until last week that I could lift more weight than I was lifting.
[quote]bigblue244 wrote:
Bonn1997 wrote:
When you step forward with one foot and do a lunge, rise, then step forward with the other foot to do a lunge, is that two reps or one rep?
Also, are lunges a good compound lift to do if you’re trying to bulk up? I do 5 x 5 of squats, chest presses, lunges, and dumbell chest flies.
And, I also spend a little time on isolation exercises. (I don’t do all of that in one workout. Usually two 5 x 5s and two isolation exercises.) If you’re doing a 5 x 5 for lunges, would you do ten steps (five with the left going forward and five with the right) or five total steps each time?
Thanks!
You should add in some sort of overhead press with antagonistic chin-ups or pull-ups as well.
Also, do bench presses instead of chest presses…
[/quote]
Oh, I thought they were the same thing. What I actually do is dumbell bench presses. I use dumbells instead of barbells because I find them easier to control and because I have some imbalances I want to correct. (My left leg and arm are a little smaller and less developed than the right.)