Squats vs Lunges Which Is The Better Exercise (Strength, Hypertrophy, Athleticism)
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- เผยแพร่เมื่อ 8 ก.พ. 2025
- Squats are considered to be the king of all exercises. So this should be a short discussion, or is it? While the king sits on the throne, those beneath him get the work done. Are lunges one of those unsung heroes working in the trenches helping us reach our goals, and should be legitimized as a prince and a true heir to the throne instead of just being the bastard son of the king?
Squats deserve the title of king, but in life, most of our leg movements are unilateral. Walking, running, climbing stairs, jumping, and kicking are the exact movements lunges work.
Some of our top reasons for doing resistance exercises are to develop strength, hypertrophy, athleticism and mobility.
We’ve already established squats are a bilateral exercise because we use both feet at the same time and equally. In contrast, lunges are unilateral, and we emphasize one leg over the other. Split squats are also a unilateral movement, and we’ll talk about where they fit into the debate. But first, the advantages of bilateral training.
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The biggest plus is stability; there’s less of a balance issue, allowing us to lift heavier with a reduced risk of injury resulting in the biggest gains in pure strength and power. This translates well into sports like Olympic and powerlifting or American football.
European football, on the other hand, is where lunges wear the crown. Soccer’s a sport that requires a lot of running, which can be strengthened with walking lunges. The ability to change directions quickly? Injury proof this skill with a lateral lunge. How about kicking a ball? Try pendulum or step through lunges.
To be fair American football needs all these skills too. The point I’m making is lunges do an excellent job of strengthening us in movement, and as a result, I’d give it top marks for helping us develop athleticism.
Start with regular squats or a goblet squat which is one of the easiest squats to master; get comfortable with the movement pattern and range of motion. Most people will always have some form of bilateral squat in their program.
Regarding hypertrophy and balanced muscle development, single-leg training is a must. With a regular squat, your dominant leg could easily end up doing more work and, as a result, be bigger and stronger than your non-dominant side.
I wouldn’t recommend lunges; this is where split squats come in; even though your feet are staggered, they are stationary, keeping you more stable, you’ll be working your stability and core muscles more than a regular squat, but you can safely load it heavier than a lunge.
Since you’re working one leg at a time, you’re using less weight than a regular squat making it easier on your spine. This is also an advantage for guys who don't have that much weight to work with.
Make sure you start with your weaker leg and do all your repetitions on one side before resting, then switch to the other leg and match the number of repetitions you did on your weaker side. I rest a minute between each leg.
A popular variation of the split squat is the Bulgarian split squat, I favour a regular split squat when it comes to loading heavier and build muscle. The Bulgarian has some unique advantages.
One of them is it improves our balance; because of this, I wouldn’t advance straight from a traditional split squat to a Bulgarian. First, I’d go to a reverse lunge; it requires more stability and balance, but it’s easier to perform than the Bulgarian.
It’s a great glute exercise because our rear leg is elevated, increasing the hips' range of motion, and it has to work harder to help stabilize the body as it moves.
The stretch we get with this extra range improves our mobility too.
Elevating our front foot on a step when doing a Bulgarian split squat increases the range of motion even further, allowing us to get our quads below parallel. This also works with a regular split squat.
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You also have to consider if the person is using sissy weight on their lunges (which a lot of people do). I can lunge 195.6 pounds for 27 reps on each leg (27 with my left and 27 with my right).
Deadlift is King, Squat is queen, lunges are vikings that raid the kingdom
@@pboisron weighted horse stance makes vikings soft
Bulgarian split squats is the only leg specific exercise I've ever used and I'm happy with my legs, They are strong and look strong. Great video 👍🏻
Im 52 now. Trained for over 30 years consistently. Im fortunate to live close to one of seven indoor bike parks in North America. Having fun doing jumps and pumps for my legs. Use gymnastics rings for the upper body. Fitter than ever. Love the motivation in your videos.
What a fun way to stay fit!
Idk about "better than ever"😂😂😂
That's definitely some good information to digest. I like the idea of being able to change things up and do it for the benefit instead of just waisting time on taking breaks and letting your body to reset.
Sometimes a change is as good as a rest.
Elevated Bulgarian split squats...wow lol. Never imagined Bulgarians could be made harder. Or that anyone would want to. But great idea for getting extra range of motion in the quads from an already nearly king-level exercise!
Hard not to love Bulgarian split squats!!
Probably the most comprehensive comparison I have seen. Well done! Variants of split squats (stationary, Bulgarian and even step ups) are really effective in real life and a staple for home workouts as you noted. My challenge; my ego won’t let me admit I have a weaker leg with which to start - so I alternate at each workout 😊
My right leg is weaker and less stable than my left one. I look forward to the day when I have eliminated that imbalance.
This is good content especially for people with less elaborate home gyms.
Even on the dumbbell collection front, switching exercises as you get stronger as opposed to ever heavier dumbbells is home gym friendly. Not everyone has a dumbbell collection that goes up to or over 100 pounds for example.
Sure, some have elaborate home gyms or have a gym membership but plenty of us don't.
I always enjoy videos like this of exercise vs exercise they just always interesting
Interesting looking at the best ways to use different exercises.
Love the killer metaphor bro👍
She said i was sexy
She said i was hot
I'll tell you my secret
It's a heavy low squat
Lawrence, i would just like to say that you went from 50k to almost nearly 200k subs. Its exciting to think what other content you will be creating to reach 500k. Good work, and God Bless.
Thanks Ruben, working to get better at this craft. Keep working out 💪
@@Fitand50Formula Your content is for a specific demographic. That makes the 200k even more impressive!
This is great information. I was hoping to incorporate lunges into my workout, so this is extremely helpful thanks!
Some version of lunges (I would include step ups too) are much more oriented towards functional training as you noted. Squats (notably barbell back squats) can really pack on muscle and power, needed perhaps when younger. Over 40, I think less than optimal. That said, squats with dumbells may be the sweet spot as you can’t go all that heavy (certainly heavy enough though). My application: Do DB squats sometimes and lunge variants other times.
Loving that T-shirt 👌
Thanks David, it’s one of my favourites.
I can’t do squats due to a recurring herniated disc so weighted lunges are what I do
@@JackSmith-kp2vs half ass the squat dont atg see if that helps
@@kevmitch4992 Seeing if the sciatica will come back isn't a good idea.
@@JackSmith-kp2vs same as me sir i have herniated disc and do weighted lunges instead of squat, i used to never do resistance training because of my herniated disc
Well another excellent video as always sir, very helpful 👍
I prefer lunges for some reason. I don't use weights and just want a firmer butt, NOT a bigger butt.
I took prefer lunges as I train at home. I also like to nurse resistance bands
Great information, thanks. Adding variety and unilateral training has really helped me out. Although I do standard barbell squats, I've shifted some of my work to high weighted step ups (38 lb. vest plus 10-25 lb. plate) combined with squats...step up four times each leg, squat 4 times, repeat 2 to 4 times. I also do lateral weighted step-ups at medium height combined with lunges, same pattern.
I like step ups and often will incorporate them into my training.
@@Fitand50Formula Check out the man known as 'King of the Bodybuilders' Clarence 'Clancy' Ross.
Thanks for the great training tips! 👍
Glad you found them helpful
This video came out right on time!
Lately I've been wondering if squats or lunges are better I think I'm weaker on one side because when I do lunges stepping with my right leg I feel wobbly but when I do lunges stepping with my left leg I feel more stable when I do squats my right leg wants to turn more to the side and my left leg is more pointing forward
I think I must have some imbalances
I need to work on , I feel more burning in the glutes when I do lunges versus doing squats but I don't want that wobbly tip-over feeling when I do lunges or Bulgarian split squats with my right foot
I gotta work on that!
You might want to try split squats instead of lunges to fix that imbalance. Thank you for watching!
@@Fitand50Formula doing split squats can fix this inbalance? I'll definitely try that thank you so much 🙏🏻 yeah I definitely feel unstable when doing lunges stepping with my right leg
Like I'm going to tip over I got to get rid of that weakness
Split squats are more stable so you can focus on the movement with out having to worry as much about balance
@@Fitand50Formula besides split squats what other exercises can we do for weakness in one leg? I imagine that's where my unbalance is coming from which I'm kind of surprised because my right leg is my dominant leg yet it's the weak leg
Lunges are fantastic. I've had problems around my right hip area for years. Lunges pretty much took the pain away. Squats are great but they aren't the be all end all. It's easy to put on a bunch of weight on the barbell and lift with your back.
Thanks a lot
Thank you for watching
damn what a video, thank you
Great vidéo straight to the point . I perform split squat since years now but I did not rest between legs and started with stronger leg . Will definetely apply ur advice
What do u think of Jefferson split squat
I haven’t done a Jefferson split squat before, so I can’t say for sure, but it looks like a good exercise.
I like resting a minute or so between legs, as it helps the stabilizing leg recover. If you don’t find resting that extra minute helpful, it will save time on the overall length of your workout.
The squat is the king of the gym, the lunge is more of a feudal warlord. Definitely no peasant.
Awesome analogy Dwayne!
@@Fitand50Formula The benefits of a classical education.
@@dwaynecunningham2164 Do sprints belong in this discussion of royal 🫅 👸 🤴 titles? Are we just talking calisthenics or weights? Because I feel like sprints would have a claim to the throne.
@BK-gh9us definitely worthy of knighthood in my opinion. No serf or simple peasant.
Totally off the subject but I always enjoy your take on working out and foods. As I get older I get more concerned about prostate health. What is your take on eating eggs and its effects on the prostate? I think it will be a good future video if you have some information you can share on this topic. Keep rocking always great content here!
Interesting, I didn't know about this until you mentioned it just now, so I did a bit of reading, and while I need to do more research, there is evidence to support what you are saying. The problem is in the yokes, so having just egg whites should be ok.
@Fitand50Formula appreciate the reply. And the yolk has most of your health benefits which makes this very confusing.. I'm going to continue to research because I am seeing most of the information sites seem to be vegan driven which makes me question the research. But thank you so much for looking into this and replying. You rock!
Eat all of the egg
The only squat that holds a candle to lunges are overhead squats
Definitely SQUATS (various types) for ME. Doing LUNGES hurts my knees.
I find front lunges especially bother people with knee issues. Reverse lunges are a little more knee friendly
Squats actually damage your knees more, especially if you do full range of motion.
I agree heavy squats hurts my knees and weighted walking lunches are more doable. Also a lot of butt involvement
The raised heel dumbbell squat that you were doing.. could that take the place of regular barbell squats?
They could
@@Fitand50Formula Ok. If I'm looking to do most of these at home. Could I do reverse nordic extensions in place of leg extensions, and nordic curls in place of hamstring curls and still get the same or better results?
You also have to consider if the person is using sissy weight on their lunges (which a lot of people do). I can lunge 195.6 pounds for 27 reps on each leg (27 with my left and 27 with my right).
Great video. Pardon, did you say you don’t recommend lunges? I’m middle age and do reverse lunges on a regular basis.
From an athletic standpoint, lunges are great, but for muscle growth, a more stable exercise will be easier to train close to failure.
So walking lunges don’t target the quads? Or is it glutes?
Walking lunges hit both the quads and glutes.
I have a nerve issue in the back of my knee when I do lunges or split squats so idk what I can do instead .
For more specific suggestions I would talk to a Physiotherapist. If doing parallel squats doesn’t affect the nerve issue then I would suggest doing those instead.
lunge is an accessory that makes you better at squats. Why treat them like you need to do them forever. you do them for a cycle and then do split squats or something else. Being able to do all the exercises at the gym would indicate you have General strenth amd stability. Don't just do things you are good at.
Hi, 50 here, always liked to do gym / home workouts. Problem i have started getting is weight gain.
I'm 6'1" tall, some would say heavily built.
I have 49" chest, 22" across the shoulders, 38" waste, 44" hips.
I weigh around 250lbs.
I do 5 home workouts, 1 half mile swim, 1 six mile brisk walk per week.
I seem to be banging weight on month on month.
I would describe my body as mesomorph as muscle gains are noticable within a week of heavy home workouts.
Do you think i meed more cardio and less resistance?
For health, it’s essential you do both, but there is something to be said for doing what you enjoy as you’re more apt to keep doing it. The standard guideline for weekly cardio is 150 mins of moderate-intensity or 75 mins of high-intensity cardio.
So? Which one is the best and the hardest? The bulgarian?
How do your toes not snap?
Lunges are to light weight we dont want to do cardio right?
Lunges don't have to be light weight. You can grab a pair of dumbbells going as heavy as you can handle, or even throw a loaded barbell on your back and do lunges.
Walking lunges are a common bodybuilder finisher.
People will make EVERY EXCUSE and do Every circus act exercise to avoid doing Barbell Squats and Deadlifts and adding 5 lbs.
There is nothing magical about them unless you are a powerlifter or a weightlifter. Properly load some lunges. And i mean LOAD them. Strap on or grab a barbell and do 70% of your squat and now tell us how they are a Circus act. They can absolutely challenge just about anyone if loaded properly.
@@Oi-mj6dv with dumbbells loaded at home I find lunges way harder that’s why I came to watch this video to figure out why
Yeah, I hate having a barbell on my back. I prefer double kettlebell front squats.
Like in the Thumbnail Lawrence Sir, and a Moustache,
The moustache is how you can tell it’s a throwback picture.
@@Fitand50Formula yeah 😉😁👍
Sound like that guy from worlds scariest police chasers lol
Love this! Good points and damn this man is sexy 😌🔥🔥🙌🏽👌🏽🙏🏽💯
I try not to do barbell squats, but I’ll do squat variations like goblet squats, barbell hack squats, and front squats. I feel very awkward doing heavy barbell squats. I try to go close stance to keep myself from going heavy.
I am a firm believer in the squat iam not a fan of lunges
Dacă urci scările cu o greutate considerabilă în viața reală fiecare picior ridică independent.lunges N°1 pentru antrenamentul functional în viața reală.
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Squats are only going to mess up your knees and your lower back no matter how good your form is