Foot drop is defined as the loss of ability to raise the foot at the ankle and naturally that leads to difficulty in walking. If you are suffering from a foot injury, you are at a much higher risk to develop foot drop syndrome. Should this malady find you, you may need a foot drop brace to support the anterior muscle which is used for lifting your foot. Patients with this kind of injury use the hip muscles to lift the foot above the ground.

The goal of a brace is to provide the patient with a more normal walk. This is also known as ankle-foot orthotics or AFO. To fully understand how this brace work, you must first understand the two standard motions that occur in the ankle joint:

Plantar flexion – Motioning the toes to point downward

Dorsiflexion – Motioning the toes to point upward. This motion occurs the moment the foot comes off the ground in order for the patient to not drag his toes. It’s such an important part of the foot’s function that you’ve probably never even thought about it! It’s common nature and you do it subconsciously.

There are five basic types of foot braces:

1. Short leg fixed braces

2. Dorsiflexion assists short leg braces

3. Solid ankle braces

4. Full leg posterior leaf spring braces

5. Energy return braces

Having a brace can be temporary or permanent, depending on the cause. Listed below are the possible causes as for why you develop a foot drop:

* Motor neuron disorders: like polio myelitis

* Neurodegenerative disorders of the brain that causes muscular problems: like stroke and cerebral palsy

* Injury to the nerve roots that controls foot movements

* Muscle disorders: like muscular dystrophy or myositis.

To function effectively, it is very important to maintain a healthy body. If you have any part of your body that is paralyzed or disabled, even staying healthy can be a new found struggle. After all, how can you be healthy, if you can barely walk? If you can prevent foot drop with exercise or other function then do so. In any case, if it cannot be helped and you develop foot drop syndrome, a prescribed brace is a great help to aid you recover and make movements.

It may not give you life as it used to be, but a foot drop brace can help you make small movement successes and in the end, small movements lead to big change!

I want to address one of the most common mistakes facing most bowlers. Fast feet is a huge problem that most bowlers deal with, fast feet is when your feet are ahead of the swing during or at the end of the approach. When bowlers are facing fast feet they are generally slightly off balance and are turned sideways by the end of the approach.

Fast feet also cause mistakes in other areas of the bowler’s game, such as dropping the shoulders, the inability to stay down with the shot and maintain balance at the foul line once the ball is gone, and inconsistent release.

These are some ways you can solve the fast feet plague, oops I meant problem.

The big mistake: Poor ball placement

Listen closely when I say good ball placement is absolutely necessary, fast feet is related to poor placement of the key step. Another mistake is pushing the ball upwards from a waist high position.

How to fix it: When the heel of your foot touches the floor during the step, try to time your ball placement.

The big mistake: Shoulders too far forward

When your shoulders are too far forward it causes too much bend at the waist and not enough bend at the knees which results in the ball reaching the lane way too early, leading to loss of leverage and an unbalanced feeling during the approach.

How to fix it: Shoulders need to be upright and your knees should be a bit flexed. As you begin your approach, your knees should gradually deepen their bend (not too far though) and your waist should be slightly bent forward.

General rule of thumb: The deeper the knee bend the less the waist needs to be bent forward.

The big mistake: Steps too long

When you take your steps, they’re each as slow as molasses (I was kidding, I hope they’re not that slow). Holding your steps too long result in your swing floating through the approach which means you won’t get any power behind the ball.

General rule of thumb: If you’re taking a five step approach, the second step is crucial so you must definitely watch the length of that step.

How to fix it: Since I’m playing the role of the bowling mechanic in this section I want to help you fix this problem. Take a normal walking step and all the other steps will fall in place, during the five step approach, the first step is for the momentum and it’s usually shorter than a normal key step.

The big mistake: Walking on your toes

This is a very common problem, I throw a chair every time I see somebody walking on their toes during the approach, well maybe I don’t get that upset, but I think you get the point. When you walk on your toes you have too much speed in the approach, your shoulders will be too far forward and you’ll lose lots of leverage.

How to fix it: To avoid walking on your toes, place the heel first and the toes last in each step, this results in a much more smooth approach. When walking in this way you can slow down the entire approach.

General rule of thumb: Since you build momentum from the back to the front movement of your feet, your leverage will also increase.

The big mistake: Muscled arm swing

Most bowlers I deal with think that having their muscles all flexed up during the swing will give them more power when releasing the ball. I am here to tell you that flexing your arms during the arm swing will not increase your throwing ability but it’ll probably win you a body building contest or an arm wrestling contest if you’re lucky. A muscled arm swing can also lead to injury such as pain in your arm, shoulder or wrist.

How to fix it: When you swing the ball, it needs to come from the shoulder with a minimal amount of muscle flexing. If this seems difficult, practice on relaxing your arm and just swing it back and forth without a ball in your hand. Your goal here is to get the arm as relaxed as possible. Doing this allows the weight of the ball to direct the swing throughout the approach.

Well there you have it folks, the most common mistakes facing most bowlers who always wonder why they can’t consistently throw a strike or why their game won’t improve. My mechanic shop has just given you the fix – it’s to go out and bowl the right way.

A pedicure is a soothing and relaxing experience to revive tired and aching feet and to improve the appearance of the feet and toe nails. It is a very similar process to a manicure but obviously for the feet instead. The word pedicure is derived from the Latin word pedis, which means of the foot, and cura, which means care. The best pedicures not only make the toes beautiful, but also include lower leg and foot massages to totally refresh the feet.

Stages of a Pedicure

Firstly any old nail polish will be removed from the toe nails and the nails will be trimmed to the correct length avoiding cutting into the corners of the nail to avoid ingrowing toe nails, they will then be filed to the desired shape.

After this, the feet will be soaked in a large bowl of warm water which may have some oil or moisturizer in it to hydrate the skin. The feet will soak for about 10 minutes which should feel very relaxing and will soften the feet so that any hard or dead skin on the feet can be removed either scrubbed away by exfoliation or by being clipped away.

The feet will then be dried and a generous amount of moisturizer will be applied to the feet and legs which normally involves a lower leg and foot massage to relax and work the moisturizer into the skin. A cuticle cream will also be applied to the toe nails to soften them.

Once this has been done, the cuticles will be pushed back and then polish will be applied to the toe nails in the desired colour or as a French polish.

The feet will end up smooth and moisturised, and the toe nails perfectly shaped and polished.

I do not find feet sexy-although I am certain there are millions of foot fetish aficionados, plus certain cultures around the world who would vehemently disagree with me. I, however, believe our toes, ankles and arches are the practical, utilitarian parts of our body.

In fact, during the winter months we neglect and treat our feet as pragmatic tools. We cover them with toasty warm socks, clunky shoes, or if working downtown a shapely calf forming boot. The point being because feet are so ugly, we do our best to keep them covered.

Then with the first signs of spring an amazing phenomenon occurs. Alongside the buds on the trees, tulips poking out their little happy heads, comes a women’s toes peaking out from under her pants or long skirts.

It is almost like a right of passage to summer. Simply because a pair of sexy shoes has been strapped on to a pair of lowly feet, BAM, those feet become the main object of sexual attraction. (Okay the low cut tops that show off floating cleavage certainly help the whole sexifying look.)

So I had to ask myself, what is so sexy about a woman who is teetering to stay upright on a shoe that is wrapped with two or three miniscule straps?

The most obvious answer would be strappy shoes help slim down legs and make the simplest dress or oldest jeans look fashionable. The highness of the heel helps to shave ten pounds off the bottom and facilitates a perplexing mixture of elegance and danger.

Yet, I believe the real answer to my question would have to be the sexual power heels give. Trust me. When a woman dons a pair of three-inch stilettos she knows she wields power. And power is very sexy.

I have witnessed on several occasions, a woman casually chatting in a café with a friend. Her sandal idly dangling and twirling from her perfectly manicured toe. You could cut the sexual tension in that quaint café with a knife. Every man in that coffee house is unable to take his eyes away from the foot in question.

A lady once told me that she had a pair of sex-shoes she wore around the house. Sometimes she would be doing a mundane chore like laundry in her tight jeans and red, strappy high heels. When her boyfriend came home and saw said shoes, it had the same effect on his ability to speak as a wispy set of lingerie (men are such simply creatures).

As well, sexy footwear helps bridge the size gap. A few plus-sized women have confided that a pedicure and a beautiful pair of shoes is one of the few ways she can feel sexy.

However, like everything else, this power comes at a cost. The irony of the summer heel is they are the about the most unsexy thing for a woman to have in her wardrobe.

Starting in January, women press their faces against displays windows in the search of the perfect summer shoe. This puts a gal in fashion’s tightest corner, as she is confounded with footwear options of the very high, the very bare and the very bright. After much agonizing, she ends up spending a whole month’s salary.

Next is gauging the right time to book a pedicure appointment. Too soon and the nail polish will start rubbing off before it is even seen. Too late, she has to go around with bare toes-oh the horror of it. In the thick of summer, just try and book a last minute pedicure appointment. Darn near impossible.

Finally when the warm weather hits, it is time to put the shoes on for the first time. Which means walking in them.

Think about it. High heels hurt. Not only that, these nasty things conspire to trick the bystander into believing they are a lot more comfortable than they really are. Sandals push the toes forward into a crunched claw position and promote corns, blisters, bunions and over the long term tilt the pelvis.

If that was not enough, the higher and more pointed the heel, the harder it is for the woman to walk. Have you seen some women walking down the sidewalk as if she was the bride of Frankenstein? To add insult to injury, after shelling out all that money the heels are usually scraped or broken in gratings, cracks in the sidewalk and whatever else the heels can find.

All in all, summer heels and manicured feet are simply anything but sexy. Yet, they are powerful and command attention. I guess that is why women come back to this tried and true formula for sexiness summer after summer. The pain is definitely worth the gain.

“Know the honorable,

but do not shun the disgraced:

embracing the world as it is.

If you embrace the world with compassion,

then your virtue will return you to the uncarved block.”

– Daodejing, Chapter 28

In the Daoist creation stories first there was the Great Nothingness, the Void, the Dao. From the Dao came Wuji. The “uncarved block” in the Daodejing chapter above is referring to Wuji. It is the blank slate. Sometimes it’s described as the moment just before the Big Bang.

From the void came Wuji symbolized by a circle.

Then, with movement came Taiji, or what is more commonly known as Yin/Yang. This symbolizes the complimentary aspects of nature. Light and dark, hot and cold, movement and stillness. Inherent in this is the understanding that each contains the other. Within stillness is movement, and movement dwells within stillness.

And from Taiji came the ten thousand things. In other words, all that exists.

Wuji Stance in qigong practice is symbolic of that moment after the emptiness of Dao but before the movement of Taiji. The stillness that precedes creation.

Here are the points to remember when standing in Wuji:

Feet: Your feet are your connection to the earth. It’s wonderful if you can practice outside with bare feet. Depending on the time of year this may not be possible. You don’t want your feet to be cold. So if you have to wear shoes, at least be sure they are comfortable shoes with flat heels and plenty of room for your toes to spread out.

Your toes should be pointed straight forward. It is a good idea to look down and make sure that is where they are. Sometimes when we begin a body awareness practice we think we know where everything is but that is not necessarily the case. Your feet may feel like they are pointed forward but if you look down at them you may be surprised to see they are actually pointed out to the side.

You will want to shift your weight so it is more toward the front of the feet. Of course you don’t want your heels to leave the floor but the majority of your weight should be on the balls of your feet.

There are systems of qigong that teach distributing the weight evenly across the whole foot. I suggest giving both instructions a try and see which feels right to you. You may find that shifting your weight to the front takes the strain off your lower back. The main reason for shifting the weight to the front is by doing so the toes are spread out. As the bones of the toes spread out the points on the bottoms of the feet, the Bubbling Well cavities (Yongquan), open up and we are better able to receive qi from the earth. These are called Bubbling Well because qi is constantly bubbling up from the earth.

Knees: The knees should be slightly bent. It’s important that your knees do not go forward past your toes. When bending the knees bring the hips back as if you were getting ready to sit in a chair. You should be able to look down and see your toes.

Pelvis: Imagine that your pelvis is a bowl. You don’t want it to tip forward or backward. If your low back is aching while you stand, the bowl of the pelvis is most likely tipped to spill forward. Try tucking the tailbone slightly and you will find the right position.

Anal Sphincter: Two of the main channels of qi (the Governing Channel and the Conception Channel) running through the body meet at the perineum. To prevent qi from leaking at this point tighten the anal sphincter while at the same time relaxing the buttocks and perineum. This may seem impossible at first but you’ll be surprised at how quickly you’ll learn to do this. With practice of course.

Shoulders: Down and relaxed. Not back. You are not standing at attention. You don’t want to push your chest out. The arms hang at the sides relaxed as well.

Head: The crown of the head is the point slightly toward the back just before the skull curves down. Imagine there is a string at this point pulling upward. This brings the head into alignment with the top of the spine rather than jutting forward.

Eyes: Eyes are open but gaze is unfocused.

Tongue: Rest the tongue behind the upper front teeth. The Governing and Conception Channels meet at this point as well. Placing the tongue here seals the connection and completes this circle within the body.

Breath: Breathe into the abdomen. Allow your body to expand and contract at the abdomen, the sides of the body and the low back. So the entire core area breathes.

Summary: Toes forward and weight shifted to balls of feet. Knees slightly bent. Pelvis Level. Anal Sphincter tight and raised. Shoulder and arms relaxed. Crown of head up. Eyes open and relaxed. Tongue behind upper front teeth. Breath into abdomen.

Even the summary sounds complicated! Wuji Stance is harder than it looks and easier than it sounds. Stand daily for as long as is comfortable gradually building up to more time.

The benefits of this practice are numerous. Obviously your legs will get very strong. Qi will begin to flow more smoothly so you will have more energy for the day. Also, Wuji Stance will help you form a deep connection to the earth, grounding you and bringing you more firmly into your body.

There are many different types of jazz shoe on the market and new styles are introduced very frequently. They are mainly available in leather and canvas, though leather is preferred by most. The earliest jazz shoes were lace ups which allowed the shoe to be tightened for a snug fit. Though lace-ups are still widely available, some dancers complained that the laces dug into their feet so manufacturers developed the slip on jazz shoe. These are now highly popular as many dancers find that they are both very comfortable and highly stylish.

Getting the right fit for your is very important in order to get the most out of your shoe. This will enable the dancer to give their best possible performance and get the most enjoyment out of dancing. A good pair of jazz shoes should feel nice and snug on the dancer’s foot but not too tight. The dancer should be able to wriggle their toes a little and should be able to easily bend and flex the foot. The toes shouldn’t be pushed up into the end of the shoe but if it can move around on the foot enough to feel loose, then it’s usually a good idea to try the next size down.

If you’re new to dancing then it’s worth checking to find out whether your dance teacher recommends a particular shoe. Many dance schools and dance academies have a uniform and jazz shoes are often a part of this. Your teacher might also advise you whether they want you to use a full sole or a split sole.

If you find that your new jazz shoes don’t have enough grip when you first get them, there is a simple solution. Some dancers slightly dampen their soles before dancing but this has been known to cause the suede sole to shrink slightly. A better idea is to brush the suede soles from the heel in the direction of the toe with a suede sole brush. This will help create enough grip to stop you slipping around but not too much to stop you executing some fantastic spins and turns!

High quality jazz shoes – even leather ones – do not have to cost the earth! There are a huge number of very popular and highly reputable dancewear companies that have many years experience in manufacturing high quality cheap jazz shoes. Companies such as Bloch, Capezio, Dance Gear and So Danca have supplied quality shoes to dancers of all abilities for many years.

It’s never a good idea to wear your jazz shoes outside as it will quickly spoil their suede soles. Any grit or dirt that they pick up can also damage the dance floor which may not go down too well with your dance teacher! Many dance brands also provide stylish dance bags that are ideal for carrying your shoes to dance class.

Toe nail fungus is a common problem but can get serious if neglected in the initial phase. Here are some simple remedies that can cure nail fungus completely if treated in the mild stage. Even if the condition is severe, these remedies will support the medication and can be used after consulting the physician to quicken the healing process.

It is important to take some precautions while using any remedies because they will only heal if there is no further damage. The affected nails should be kept clean and dry at all times. It might require you to wear airy footwear or cotton socks in order to prevent sweating near the nails. You can also use talcum powder for keeping them dry. Cover the affected area with plastic while bathing to protect the nail from moisture.

Other than moisture, fungi need darkness to grow. So make sure that the nail is exposed to direct sunlight as soon as possible. Do not apply nail polish to cover the dirty looking nail, rather let it face the sunlight and heal.

Here are some simple remedies for nail fungus that you can easily implement at home. Firstly, there are some solutions that you can prepare at home like vinegar with water or apple cider vinegar with equal amount of hydrogen peroxide. Soaking the affected hands or feet in this solution for 45 minutes helps in making the mails softer and cleaner in a week.

Other options include soaking in Clorox bleach solution for one minute every day. Soaking in Listerine mouthwash is also found beneficial as it also prevents the infection from growing further.

Soaking the affected nails in any of the above solutions makes the nails softer. While the nail is still soft, file it a little to remove the debris. After cleaning the nails twice a day, you can apply from a choice of tropical creams, vapour rub or vitamin E oil. Gently massage the cream or oil on the nails and leave it for some time.

If you visit a doctor for consultation, he might recommend you some oral pills like Leucatin and Lamisil that are also available to cure nail fungus.

WHY DO YOU TRIM THE PADS OF THE FEET?

Health of Pet –

Mats can cause discomfort between the toes and pads. Mats and excessive coat between the pads traps moisture causing skin irritation. In winter climates, excessive coat causes ice and salt build up between the pads and toes. Excusive coat hides burrs, thorns, tar, gum and a wide range of items that can be uncomfortable to the pet.

Cleanliness –

A clean foot pad does not track as much dirt and mud into an owner’s home.

Visual –

Each breed standard will call for a certain type of foot. Trimming accentuates the proper foot type. It presents a “picture” of a well-groomed pet. finished picture of a well-groomed pet.

Needless to say, both of these possibilities are extremely painful but can be easily avoided by regular clipping. Depending on how often your dog walks or runs on pavement (which wears down the nail naturally), their nails should be addressed either via clipping or filing every 4-6 weeks.

For the Professionals and DIY’ers

The most important thing you’ll need is a good pair of nail clippers. There are a few different styles to choose from, but I recommend and use scissor style clippers. This style of clipper gives you the most leverage and control.

A photo of the clippers we sell is shown below. These sturdy, stainless steel clippers are durable and have rubber coated handles for easy gripping. This andis clipper having useful Safety lock on handle for safe storage.

The nails should be trimmed back as far as possible without causing excessive bleeding. If nails are only “tripped”, the quick will continue to grow farther into our nail, eventually making it impossible to obtain a healthy short nail.

If you’re only doing your own dog’s nails at home (and you’re careful!)

Keep pets looking their Grooming Tools, supplies, and equipment. We offer a full line of professional quality grooming tools and accessories including brushes, andis Dematting Tool, clippers, shampoos, shears and dryers for your convenience

Once you’ve got the tools, you’re ready to start clipping! Refer image below,

The Easy Answer

The easiest way to avoid the heartache and frustration of attempting to clip your own dog’s nails at home is to take them to the groomer on a regular basis. Sometimes, the wiggliest of dogs who just won’t let their owners do them often are just fine when they’re on a groomer’s table.

Many dog groomers offer nail clipping as a walk-in service and can often do them while you wait for a reasonable price.

The Last Step

Some dogs absolutely REFUSE to allow their nails to be trimmed by their owner, or by a groomer. The last step should never be to leave nails to grow un-clipped. Unfortunately, no matter how upset or aggressive a dog may become, it still must be done. In these cases, I recommend taking your dog to the vet. Vets can ensure both your dog and the person attempting to trim their nails remain safe.

Final Thoughts

Keeping your dog’s nails trimmed is more than just a luxurious pawdicure. Whether you decide to bring them to a groomer, a vet or even do it yourself, it’s an important part of keeping your dog at their best!

If you have ever thought if a guy you are interested in likes you at all you are not alone. If you just knew few behavioral issues you might notice this in advance and you could think your own strategy better. At the end I also give you one easy and practical way to test it.

Eye-contact

Start observing how he looks at you. If you don’t know him before he might be staring you from a distance. And every time he notices that you look at him he turns away. It is not a sign that he would not like you but the sign of shyness. Sometimes it feels obsessing if a guy you are least interested behaves this way.

Commonly known – “the look” – when the guy sweeps his look from your head to your toes with slight tentative smile means also that he is interested. Somehow. Unfortunately it usually means only that he would like to get laid with you. Of course if that is what you also want – go for it! But if you want something deeper – be careful.

If you already know him it is easier to make eye-contact with him. It’s said that a woman can read a man’s heart through his eyes and no man can disguise his feelings if you take a straight eye-contact with him. And a guy who likes you will also try to make eye-contact with you. Also if there is nothing against you two to be together, even a shy guy doesn’t need to turn his look away.

Body language

You can also notice which way the guy is standing when he is watching you or talking to you. Just check which way his feet are pointing. If both of his feet are pointing towards you it means that he is comfortable with that direction and does not need to have an escape route. So this would also mean that he might like you.

Friends

Men don’t usually tell you straight if they like you or not. But if they are interested they will tell to their best friends that they would like to know more about you. And they might put their friends to find out things about you. If you notice this happening it is a sure sign.

Conversation

When you have got to talk to him it is much easier to find out whether he likes you or not. If he can be relaxed and just himself when you are around that means he’s comfortable with you. This does not mean anything else than that you can be at least very good friends. But instead if he is all the time watching by you, he doesn’t pay attention what you say and you get the feeling that he would rather be somewhere else – most likely you are right. A shy guy (and also not so shy if he has crush on you) would be nervous and cannot always be so natural when talking to a woman. But if he is interested he will still try get eye-contact, smile and talk about the things you are interested in.

If a guy likes you he also shows interest in things you like and do. My advice is that you try to get a conversation to an area you like and feel good to talk about. For example if you like cats, don’t hesitate to tell that. It does not matter if the guy doesn’t like cats at all – he might just start comparing them to dogs (which means he has paid attention what you have said and is interested on your point of view). Remember to listen also what he has to say and let him also talk!

Behavior

How the guy treats you? Many guys (not all!) playfully tease a girl they like. He might also be more polite to you that the other girls. He opens you door, takes your coat, gives you a chair etc. Any behavior that is different to you than the others means that there is something special. This different behavior is easy and good sign.

Other things

I give you here also some small signs you can pay attention to find out if he likes you. These are somewhat harder to spot that the others. As I mentioned before, the feet would be pointing at you but also he sub-consciously turns his shoulders to you even when talking to someone else. If you say “Oh, I’m so dumb” or something around him he will immediately tell you that “no, you’re not, (your name)”. And yes, that is one more thing – If he says your name more often than he would normally do during conversation.

Testing

One easy and practical way to test if he really is interested is just take an innocent step inside into his personal space. If he steps away he is not interested or he is really shy person. But if he is interested he will set the boundaries of his personal place closer for you and will allow you to come closer than normal.

Conclusion

So now you know what things you need to pay attention to figure out if the guy likes you: the look, body language, their friends and how he pays attention to your interests and how he treats you. But why should you spend energy on thinking if one guy likes you or not if you could with the same effort to make most men adore you and be interested?

The lunge is probably one of the most versatile exercises in our strength training tool box. It gives you the biggest bang for your buck. It is also the one exercise that is most often performed incorrectly. Lunges can be an issue for knee health, especially when you lack the glute, hip and posterior chain strength to perform this movement correctly.

Some of the benefits of performing lunges are:

• strengthening the glutes, quadriceps and hamstrings
• improves posture
• develops core strength and stability
• improves balance and coordination

The lunge is one of our primal patterns. This is a movement that is stored in our brains from early development. Unfortunately even though we are born hard wired with this movement pattern, over time we lose the ability to perform it correctly.

How to Perform a Lunge Correctly:

Start with an upright posture. Think of making yourself as tall as possible. This will engage the core muscles. Keeping tight, take an long step out landing on your heel. Lower yourself under control until the back knee almost touches the floor. Once again keeping tight and tall, drive back off the heel to the starting position. A good lunge when performed correctly should look effortless and smooth. You should not see jerking movements through the upper body as you return to the starting position.

A longer stride in the lunge will work the glutes, hamstrings and posterior chain more. A short stride lunge will emphasize the quadriceps. Personally, I prefer the long strided lunge as this is also safer for the knee.

Some Common Flaws Seen in a Lunge:

Forward Lean – this can be caused by tight hip flexors or quads. Or it can be a simple as being lazy and not working to keep the upper body posture strong throughout. If you are in a hurry to complete the exercise, you may not be focused on keeping tall and this allows the body to lean. Take your time and reset your posture before each rep.

Knees Cave In – If a person has weak glutes they are not able to stabilize adequately or decelerate the hip motion This leads to the knees caving in That is where glute activation exercises (bridges, tube walking) come in. You see there is a reason to be walking back and forth with those dang tubes around your feet!

Foot Caves In – This often seen along with the knees moving in Typically a muscle imbalance in the lower leg will cause this (tight calf muscles) and weak anterior tibilias muscles. These are the reasons we do the calf stretching, ankle mobility work (specifically the toes up) before and after the workouts

Improper Landing – landing on your toes or pushing off from your toes is usually due to weak muscles around the hip. If you lack the strength in the glutes and posterior chain to get you back to the starting position, then you will push off from your toes utilizing your quad muscles more. Focus on pushing from the heel, not the toes.

Variations and Progressions of the Lunge:

The lunge is an exercise that can be started very basic and progressed to very complex and difficult. Typical progressions of the lunge are:

• static lunge (or split squat)
• reverse lunge
• forward lunge
• walking lunge
• rotating lunges.

The progression for load of this exercise is:

• bodyweight lunges
• lunges holding dumbbells
• lunges with barbell on your back
• overhead lunges.

There are also a multitude of variety with the lunge. Once the normal progression has occurred, lunges can be performed in several different ways:

• forward lunge
• side lunge
• walking lunge with twist
• walking overhead lunges
• rotating lunges

Hopefully this will help you to understand the dynamics behind the lunge and help you to focus on doing it as correct as possible next time in the gym.