Youth Strength Training – Lunge Progressions

Single leg strength training is an important piece to any training program, but especially important to introduce to the youth athlete. We perform a lot of movements in sport that require just one leg, so it’s imperative that we start our youngbloods off with these basic, foundational movements.

The Lunge Exercise is an incredible way to build single joint stability, hip mobility, core strength, direction of force requirements and concentric, eccentric and isometric strength! It really is an important movement that needs to be mastered!

Here Are The Progressions
We start all of our youth athletes on the Iso Lunge Hold and progress to the Reverse Lunge and then on to the Walking Lunge, which will create a foundation for their single leg strength program. I did an entire piece on RFE Single Leg Training Variations that you can check out, but first, we need to master the lunge exercise!

Isometric Lunge Holds

Body Weight Reverse Lunge

Front Load Goblet Reverse Lunge

Front Load Elevated Goblet Reverse Lunge

Front Load Reverse Lunge Slides

Walking Lunges

If you’re working with youth athletes, these movements are critical and should be considered in a training environment at various phases of their program!

For more information on Youth Training, check out the Youngblood Training Manual!