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Thread: Lunges Impingement and Leg Press Reps

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    Default Lunges Impingement and Leg Press Reps

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    1) If I recall correctly, at the squat the toes point and the knees get shoven out to avoid impingement.

    How's that when doing lunges? They are performed with a straight foot and knee, aren't they?
    Won't exactly this type of impingement happen here?

    2) This is a different topic:
    For people who are unable to perform a bodyweight squat, Rip recommends the leg press as performed in the platform video. He also recommends 10 reps. Why is that? If we are trying to build strength, wouldn't 5 reps as done when squatting be better?

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    Brodie Butland is offline Starting Strength Coach
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    Quote Originally Posted by CeeKa View Post
    1) If I recall correctly, at the squat the toes point and the knees get shoven out to avoid impingement.

    How's that when doing lunges? They are performed with a straight foot and knee, aren't they?
    Won't exactly this type of impingement happen here?
    Two reasons you point your toe forward:

    (1) The lunge is suppose to imitate a one-leg kneel...which is most natural with your thigh pointing forward. Hence your toes point forward.

    (2) Necessity. How would you propose shoving one knee out and still maintaining balance?

    There will be some impingement...but the lunge is a very different lift from the squat. Assuming that you even do the lunge...which as a general matter you don't have to.


    2) This is a different topic:
    For people who are unable to perform a bodyweight squat, Rip recommends the leg press as performed in the platform video. He also recommends 10 reps. Why is that? If we are trying to build strength, wouldn't 5 reps as done when squatting be better?
    I can't speak for Rip, but in my view, if someone's too weak to do a bodyweight squat, I sure as hell don't want him/her straining on the leg press. So I'd rather they do a lighter weight for 10 reps than a more maximal effort set at 5.

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    Thanks for your reply.

    1) I'm not doing lunges, I was just curious.
    And I see the point that they are a different from squats and would probably produce only negligible impingement.

    2) Seems somewhat reasonable. I'm still not fully convinced by those 10 reps, but maybe adding pure strength is not the only important factor in this case. Thus making 10 reps more effective, measured by experience.

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    Quote Originally Posted by CeeKa View Post
    Thanks for your reply.

    1) I'm not doing lunges, I was just curious.
    And I see the point that they are a different from squats and would probably produce only negligible impingement.

    2) Seems somewhat reasonable. I'm still not fully convinced by those 10 reps, but maybe adding pure strength is not the only important factor in this case. Thus making 10 reps more effective, measured by experience.
    Get your protractor out. Tell me the hip angle at the bottom of a squat as advocated in the SS Model. Compare that to the hip angle of a lunge. That should answer question # 1.

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