Welcome back to Get Fit Guy.

I'm your host, Dr. Jonathan Sue.

Every week, I'll share science-backed tips to help you get fit, stay fit, and optimize performance.

Lungees and squats are fantastic full-body exercises to increase muscle mass,

build strength, and improve body tone. Both exercises target several important muscle groups,

including your glutes, quads, hamstrings, calves, back, and abdominals.

Few other exercises can deliver so much at once.

So if you're not doing some form of squats or lunges at least once a week

as part of your fitness routine, I'm sure you've got a good reason,

because otherwise you're missing out big time.

But if I had to choose between lunges or squats, lunges would be my choice hands down.

And if you asked me to select among the different variations of lunges, stationary lunges

would be the clear winner. As a physical therapist and a strength and conditioning coach,

I find stationary lunges to be the safest and most effective exercise for the majority of people.

It's true that for athletes working on performance optimization,

different variations of the squat or lunge may be more beneficial.

For example, jump squats and pliometric lunges are great for basketball players who want to jump

higher or run faster. But even for these athletes, I believe the stationary lunge is an important

foundational exercise. Before we explore why I prefer lunges over squats,

let's define what exactly a lunge and a squat is, just so we're all on the same page. A lunge refers to

any position of the human body where one leg is forward with the knee bent and foot on the ground,

while the other leg is behind.

...