How to do a Medicine Ball Overhead Lunge
Reviewed by Jim Parker, CPT, B.A. Kinesiology
About Medicine Ball Overhead Lunge
Workouts with Medicine Ball Overhead Lunge
Target muscles worked
Instructions for Proper Form
The Medicine Ball Overhead Lunge is a lower body exercise that also engages the core. Hold a medicine ball overhead with your arms extended. Step forward into a lunge while keeping the medicine ball overhead. Alternate legs for a complete set.
- Grasp a medicine ball with both hands and hold it directly over your head.
- Engage your core to help prevent hyperextending your lower back and to maintain stability throughout the movement.
- Take a long step forwards with one leg and drop your opposite knee towards the floor. Ensure you are keeping your knee behind your toes on your forward leg.
- Pause for a moment at the lowest point in the movement.
- Engage your quads, glutes and hamstrings to drive your forward heel into the ground in order to step back into a standing position.
- Maintain good posture by keeping your core engaged to prevent hyperextending your lower back and for general stability. Keep your back straight, shoulders back and chest up. Ensure your front knee is always behind your toes.
- You should feel this exercise in your quads, glutes and hamstrings. You may feel some tension in your shoulders from pressing the medicine ball overhead. You should not feel any discomfort in your lower back or knees.
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Alternative Exercises to Medicine Ball Overhead Lunge
1. Leg Extension
99.4 mSCORESWAPPED 157 TIMESLeg Extensions are an isolation exercise that target the quads. Due to a severe lack of isolation movements for the lower body, this is a great option for specifically targeting your quadriceps. The use of a machine restricts your range of motion, and adds some stability to the movement. This can help your focus more on exertion than stabilizing the movement. The downside to this exercise is that it places a lot of tension on your knee. Keep your weights light, and focus on pausing near the end of your range of motion.
- Beginner
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- Leg Extension Machine
2. Dumbbell Squat
94.1 mSCORESWAPPED 84 TIMESDumbbell Squat is a variation of the more standard Squat. Like other variations, this is a compound exercise that primarily targets the quadriceps. The advantage of using dumbbells rather than a barbell is that you have more freedom in your range of motion which can make this a more accessible variation for anyone with mobility limitations. With that freedom comes a bit more instability with this exercise though, which can help you further improve your squat for, and build the strength needed for heavier, or more complex variations.
3. Machine Leg Press
95.1 mSCORESWAPPED 66 TIMESMachine Leg Press is a variation on the more standard Leg Press. Like the Leg Press, this is a compound exercise that primarily recruits the quadriceps. This is a great exercise for building strength and muscle mass in your quads. The use of a machine doesn’t change anything significant about this exercise, although your positioning may change depending on the machine you’re using.
- Beginner
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4. Dumbbell Lunge
97.6 mSCORESWAPPED 63 TIMESDumbbell Lunge is a variation on the more standard Lunge. Similar to other Lunge variations, Dumbbell Lunge is a compound exercise that primarily targets the quads. The exercise itself is the same as a standard lunge except for the added weight from holding dumbbells in each hand. This is a great variation for anyone looking to make their lunges a bit more challenging without adding more complexity to the movement.
5. Dumbbell Sumo Squat
81 mSCORESWAPPED 61 TIMESA squat exercise performed with dumbbells, in a wide-legged stance to target the legs and glutes.
6. Air Squats
92.1 mSCORESWAPPED 58 TIMESAir Squats are a bodyweight variation of Squats. Like other variations, this is a compound exercise that primarily targets the quadriceps. Without any added resistance this is easily one of the most beginner friendly exercises out there. It’s a great way to start building strength, and working your way towards more advanced variations.
- Beginner
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7. Lunge
90.8 mSCORESWAPPED 53 TIMESLunges are one of the most common lower body exercises out there. It’s a compound exercise that primarily targets your quads. In order to return to a standing position with this exercise you need to engage your quads in order to push yourself back up. This further emphasizes your quadriceps compared to other Lunge variations, however this also places more tension on your knee. By stepping forward with a single leg taking most of the load, you can more easily identify, and address any discrepancies in mobility or strength between sides.
- Beginner
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8. Dumbbell Squat To Shoulder Press
98.1 mSCORESWAPPED 51 TIMESDumbbell Squat to Shoulder Press is a combination of a Dumbbell Squat and a Shoulder Press. Both pieces of this exercise are compound movements that primarily target the quads and shoulders respectively. Combining these two movements is more than just the sum of its parts. It’s a very functional movement that has tons of practical applications, especially for sports. It’s also a great starting point for anyone looking to build the strength and conditioning needed for more explosive exercises like Thrusters, or eventually Olympic lifts.
9. Bodyweight Bulgarian Split Squat
46.9 mSCORESWAPPED 49 TIMESBodyweight Bulgarian Split Squat is a compound exercise that’s somewhere between a Squat and a Lunge. It primarily targets your quads. By placing your back leg on a flat bench, you add some instability to the movement, while also further emphasizing your quadriceps. This is a great exercise for developing strength, power, and stability in your lower body without any additional weight.
- Intermediate
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10. Dumbbell Goblet Squat
87.9 mSCORESWAPPED 47 TIMESDumbbell Goblet Squat is a variation on the more standard Front Squat. Like other squat variations, this compound exercise primarily targets the quadriceps. Goblet squats are beneficial because they require less upper body mobility in order to keep the weight in the proper position compared to using a barbell.