This weekly workout is brought to you by Erin Stevens, a fitness specialist, at the Woman’s Center for Wellness.

Lunges are a great strength builder for anyone, from a beginner all the way to a seasoned athlete. The lunge is one of the most important exercises to tone and build lower body strength and help shape the thighs and glutes. When performing this exercise, engage your core and focus on keeping your torso upright to reduce stress on your back.

As a great beginner exercise, lunges can help you develop lower-body strength and endurance. This one is great for the front and back of the thigh and especially the glutes.

We recommend doing three sets of 10 to 12 repetitions with rests in between. For a more advanced workout, look below.

This workout works several muscles of the lower body and offers a hosts of other benefits to improve overall health and performance. Like the beginner lunge, the reverse lunge is great for firming and toning your glutes and thighs, but also puts a little extra emphasis on the deeper hip rotator muscles.

We recommend doing three sets of 10 to 12 repetitions with rests in between. For a more advanced workout, look below.

Try the jump lunge for tighter, more toned legs. As the most advanced version of the lunge, this exercise intensifies the beginner move by added upright momentum. This lunge is an intense move that increased calorie burn and helps tone your glutes and calves.

We recommend doing three sets of 10 to 12 reps with rests in between.

Try incorporating these exercises into your regular fitness routine. These exercises burn maximum calories, shape and define a variety of muscles and provide phenomenal cardiovascular benefits. Find a level that matches your experience level and build up as you go. To intensify your workout, go as deep into the lunge as you can and then go a little deeper! For more information, feel free to contact one of our personal trainers at the Woman’s Center for Wellness.