Dani Marks Presents the Standing Lunge
Stand upright with your feet shoulder width apart.
Step forward with one leg and bend the knee. The other leg should be far enough back so that the heel is slightly off the ground.
Drop the back knee to the ground while performing a running motion with your arms.
Then reverse arms while returning to upright position.
Gluteals
Hamstrings
Quadriceps Femoris
The Gluteus Maximus is the most coarsely fibered and heaviest muscle in the body.
The upper fibers laterally rotate the hip joint and may assist in the abduction ofhip joint. The lower fibers extend and laterally rotate hip joint (forceful extension, as in running or rising from sitting); extend the trunk; assist in the adduction of the hip joint. Through its insertion into the iliotibial tract, the gluteus maximus helps to stabilize knee in extension.
The Gluteus Medius is mostly deep to, and therefore obscured by, gluteus maximus, but appears on the surface between gluteus maximus and tensor fasciae latae. During walking, the gluteus medius, along with the gluteus minimus, prevents the pelvis from dropping toward the non-weight-bearing leg.
It abducts the hip joint. Anterior fibers medially rotate and may assist in flexion of hip joint. Posterior fibers slightly laterally rotate hip joint.
The Gluteus Minimus is situated anteroinferior and deep to the gluteus medius, whose fibers obscure it.
It abducts, medially rotates, and may assist in flexion of hip joint.
The Semitendinosus muscle is the central partof the hamstring group.
It flexes and slightly medially rotates knee joint after flexion. Extends hip joint.
The Semimembranosus muscle is the medial part of hamstring group. Most of its belly is deep to semitendinosus and the long head of biceps femoris.
The Biceps Femoris muscle is the lateral part of hamstring group.
Both heads flex the knee joint (and laterally rotate the flexed knee joint). The long head also extends hip joint.
During running, the hamstrings slow down the leg at the end of its forward swing and prevent the trunk from flexing at the hip joint.
The Rectus Femoris is part of the quadriceps femoris, which also includes vastus lateralis, vastus medialis, and vastus intermedius. This spindle-shaped bipennate muscle has two heads of origin: the reflected head is in the line of pull of the muscle in four-footed animals, whereas the straight head seems to have developed in humans as a result of the upright posture.
The Vasus Lateralis muscle is part of the quadriceps femoris. The quadriceps muscles straighten the knee when rising from sitting, during walking, and while climbing. The vasti muscles as a group pay out to control the movement of sitting down.
The Vastus Medialis muscle is part of the quadriceps femoris. The vastus medialis is larger and heavier than vastus lateralis.
The Vastus Intermedius is the deepest part of the quadriceps femoris. This muscle has a membranous tendon on its anterior surface, to allow a gliding movement between itself and the rectus femoris that overlies it.
The Quadriceps Femoris extends the knee joint and flexes the hip joint (particularly in combination, as in kicking a ball). It assists the iliopsoas in the flexion of the trunk on the thigh. It prevents flexion at the knee joint as the heel strikes the ground during walking.