{"id":601501,"date":"2025-11-29T15:03:43","date_gmt":"2025-11-29T15:03:43","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/601501\/"},"modified":"2025-11-29T15:03:43","modified_gmt":"2025-11-29T15:03:43","slug":"what-really-happens-when-you-do-100-lunges-a-day-for-a-month","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/601501\/","title":{"rendered":"What really happens when you do 100 lunges a day for a month"},"content":{"rendered":"

Our aims with fitness challenges<\/a> range from wanting to try out new moves that address muscle imbalances to breaking out of workout ruts. For fitness enthusiast Vanessa Blanco<\/a>, falling out of her usual movement routine for over a year meant she went from being able to squat<\/a> 75kg and deadlift<\/a> 102kg to losing significant strength.<\/p>\n

‘I have lost so much muscle mass in my legs and I’m trying anything right now not to lose anymore,’ she said. Wanting to regain some of her old power, she decided to do 100 lunges<\/a> every day for 30 days. ‘Lunges are supposed to work your quads<\/a> and glutes. I figured I’d put it to the test.’ <\/p>\n

How to do a lunge\"Image<\/p>\n

To perform a basic, static lunge:<\/p>\n

    \n
  1. Start by standing up straight with your feet hip-width apart.<\/li>\n
  2. Take a step forward with one foot, keeping your chest up and your shoulders back.<\/li>\n
  3. Lower your body by bending both knees at a 90\u00b0 angle. Your front knee should be directly above your ankle, and your back knee should hover just above the floor without touching it.<\/li>\n
  4. Push through your front heel to return to the starting position.<\/li>\n
  5. Repeat the movement for the desired number of repetitions, before switching to the other leg.<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n

    What to expect from the 30-day lunge challenge 1. Ease yourself in<\/p>\n

    100 lunges a day can be overwhelming. Vanessa started with bodyweight reps to make the task more manageable and approachable. Her aim was to build tolerance, giving her muscles and energy levels a chance to adapt to the volume before adding extra load.<\/p>\n

    ‘In week one, I pretty much stuck with bodyweight<\/a> exercises. I wanted to pace myself, because the challenge was for 30 days and I have a hard time sticking with routines longer than two weeks,’ she explained. ‘I decided I’d do 100 walking lunges around the track, only adding in weights or variations after that first week.’ <\/p>\n

    2. Adjust to the movement if you’re not used to it<\/p>\n

    Even at bodyweight, the lunges were initially a shock to Vanessa’s system and she was unprepared for the intense lower-body<\/a> DOMS<\/a>. ‘100 walking lunges is no joke! The day after doing these in week one, I could not feel my thighs or legs generally \u2013 they were super numb, it hurt to tense and my right glute was ridiculously sore. If you haven’t worked out for a pretty long time \u2013 even for a couple weeks \u2013 this is going to hit you hard!’<\/p>\n

    She also wasn’t expecting the lack of stability in the movement. ‘I didn’t know if it was because I’d lost a lot of strength and muscle in my legs, but my knees caved in and wobbled a lot, and I felt really unbalanced.’ <\/p>\n

    \"lunge<\/p>\n

    Vanessa Blanco\/\/YouTube<\/p>\n

    3. Add in alternatives for variety<\/p>\n

    As she predicted, the monotony of the rep count caused Vanessa\u2019s motivation to dip, so she kept things interesting by tweaking the exercise and added resistance to keep herself engaged.<\/p>\n

    ‘After just a few days, the challenge started to get repetitive, so adding in variety helps, as otherwise you can get bored really quickly. In week two, I began mixing up the movements so I wasn’t just doing forward or walking lunges, performing lateral and reverse lunges<\/a>. <\/p>\n

    ‘I started incorporating weights<\/a> \u2013 around 8lbs \u2013 into my bodyweight reps, and [later] I’d do forward goblet lunges, holding a 15-pound dumbbell at my chest, so that I could target all parts of my thighs. Diversifying the lunges [was also an attempt] to fix my balance issue, as I thought my [stability] would’ve gotten better by that point.’ <\/p>\n

    4. Take a break if you need<\/p>\n

    However, there were times when even switching up the movement couldn\u2019t offset the fatigue or lack of motivation, and she ended up rolling that day\u2019s reps over to the next.<\/p>\n

    ‘During week two, I did not want to do the lunges on some days, and I needed to take a break because my legs were so sore [I couldn’t even sit down properly]. I ended up skipping them and having to do double the amount the next day, so I’d break them apart instead of doing them all at once like I wanted to. That wasn’t the best approach, but it was better than not doing them.’ <\/p>\n

    \"lunge<\/p>\n

    Vanessa Blanco\/\/YouTube<\/p>\n

    5. You’ll start to see progress in fitness<\/p>\n

    Reassuringly, she began to notice her strength improve as the weeks progressed. ‘I started off with bodyweight reps, then I moved up to 100 lunges with 8lbs (3.5kg) and then 15 pound (12.8kg) dumbbells on each side, as bodyweight reps were starting to feel slightly too easy. Increasing the load definitely made it more challenging and left me out of breath pretty quickly.’<\/p>\n

    Vanessa highlights the importance of continually challenging your muscles in order to see change. ‘If you want to add inches or grow muscle, you need to progressively overload<\/a>,’ she says, referring to the process of intensifying the stress placed on your muscles through techniques like increasing the weight lifted or decreasing your rest period. <\/p>\n

    6. But you might not see big physical changes<\/p>\n

    As for her body metrics, Vanessa didn\u2019t notice significant changes. She recorded her measurements at the challenge’s beginning:<\/p>\n