Medicine Ball Overhead Lunge
A dynamic compound exercise that involves lunging while holding a medicine ball locked out directly overhead. This movement builds lower body strength in the quads and glutes while simultaneously challenging core stability and shoulder mobility.
This exercise places a high demand on your central nervous system due to the balance and coordination required. The AI analyzes your HRV and sleep data to ensure your recovery status supports this high-stability movement; if you are under-recovered, it may suggest a less complex regression to prevent injury. Additionally, if the app tracks that your RPE is high but the weight is low, it identifies that core or shoulder stability—rather than leg strength—is the limiting factor and adjusts your progression accordingly.
Form Cues
- Extend your arms fully to lock the ball directly overhead.
- Keep your ribcage pulled down and your core engaged.
- Step forward into a lunge with feet hip-width apart.
- Lower your hips until both knees form 90-degree angles.
- Drive firmly through your front heel to return to standing.
- Don't allow your elbows to bend or flare out excessively.
- Don't arch your lower back to compensate for tight shoulders.
- Don't let your front knee collapse inward past your big toe.
- Don't step on a narrow line like a tightrope.
- Don't let the back knee slam into the floor.
Common Mistakes
- Hyperextending the lower back
- Bending elbows due to fatigue
- Narrow stance causing wobbling
- Leaning the torso forward
- Short-stepping the lunge
Muscles Worked
The primary drivers are the quadriceps and glutes, which power the lunge movement. However, the overhead position forces the anterior deltoids, triceps, and upper back to work isometrically, while the deep core muscles must fire intensely to stabilize the spine against the elevated load.
Primary
Secondary
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