Look, I know squats are considered the holy grail of lower-body exercises. “King of all lifts,” they call them. Everyone wants to be poetic about squats like they’re the Shakespeare of the gym or the measure of your fitness.
And yeah, squats are great—if, and this is a big if, your back, neck, knees, and ego are all in top-notch shape. But if you’re on the other side of 40, or nursing years of battle scars like chronic low back pain or a history of accidents that left your spinal discs resembling overcooked hamburgers, squats can easily change from “beneficial” to “booby trap.”
But there’s hope—and it comes in the form of the lunge. These bad boys often get overlooked because they’re not “Instagram sexy.” But if you’re a serious trainee, or over 40 and want to keep training with joint-friendly strength, stability, and badassery intact, lunges deserve serious consideration. Here’s why they should be your go-to over squats, especially if your spine is about as enthusiastic about axial loading as a cat is about taking a bath.
Lunges Mean Business, Especially for Joint Health
One of the problems with squats for aging lifters is the compressive force they load onto your spine. Feel like adding a couple hundred pounds to an already degenerating vertebral column? Yeah, hard pass. Lunges, on the other hand, distribute the load more evenly and don’t require you to support it directly on your spine or neck.
Research shows that lunges place less compressive stress on the lumbar spine compared to back squats. A 2014 study published in the Journal of Strength and Conditioning Research found that split-stance exercises like lunges often deliver muscle activation comparable to squats at a fraction of spinal loading. Translation? You get to build serious strength without forcing your back to wave the white flag (Flanagan et al., 2014).
And if knee pain has you cringing at the thought of bending anything below hip height, lunges again take the win. Why? They allow you to more easily control your range of motion and avoid pushing functional limits you shouldn’t be messing with. Done right, lunges can even improve knee stability by strengthening the muscles and connective tissues around the joint.
Greater Muscle Activation, One Leg at a Time
Here’s another reality about those over 40 years old (trust us): Balance goes downhill faster than a bowling ball on an icy backyard hill. Lunges force you into single-leg training territory, which means you’re hitting stabilizer muscles in a way squats simply don’t.
A 2016 study highlights this exact point, showing that unilateral exercises like lunges recruit superstars like the gluteus medius and core stabilizers more effectively than bilateral movements like squats (Zinner et al., 2016). That extra stability translates to better injury prevention over time—and fewer moments where you find yourself grabbing onto railings to avoid turning into a human pancake.
Don’t get me started on glutes. If yours are like pancakes right now, scoring more direct recruitment through lunges can make a major difference. Weak glutes can lead to all sorts of problems, from back pain to bad posture, and fixing them becomes even more critical as you age.
Lunges Work with Your Body, Not Against It
You know what success in fitness over 40 looks like? Consistency. And consistency happens when you’re not sidelined every other week because your personal “Squat PR Wednesday” devolved into “Herniated L5 Thursday.” Lunges are versatile, safe, and customizable. You can crank their intensity way up by using weights, or keep them bodyweight-only when you’re nursing some stiffness—or just finished chasing your toddler around the house.
What’s more, lunges come with a level of scalability squats can’t match. Don’t like the traditional forward lunge? Cool, do reverse lunges—they tend to be a bit easier on the knees, FYI. Still need more options? Try stationary lunges, walking lunges, deficit lunges, Bulgarian split squats (which are technically a type of lunge), or any of their dozens of cousins.
And hey, lunges don’t demand as much mobility. A deep squat needs ankle, hip, and thoracic spine mobility levels that many lifters over 40 simply haven't maintained. No shame in that game—the modern world isn’t exactly mobility-friendly—but lunges are forgiving. They give you options without demanding Cirque du Soleil levels of flexibility.
Final Thoughts
I’m not here to hate on squats. They’re like your favorite band from the 70s—still good and worth respecting, but better appreciated by some than others. For a substantial chunk of the population (especially the over-40 crowd and anyone with a temperamental spine), lunges provide a safer, smarter, and frankly more effective alternative. They spare your back, improve your balance, and strengthen overlooked muscles that keep you functional and injury-resistant.
Bottom line? Lunges may not be the “king,” but they’re smart, reliable, and still deliver results that can keep you in the gym (and out of physical therapy). If you’re looking for a lift that loves you back, quit trying to prove your squat loyalty and start lunging like your joints depend on it—because they probably do.
Citations
- Flanagan, S. P., et al. “Biomechanical Comparison of Unilateral and Bilateral Lower-Body Resistance Exercises.” Journal of Strength and Conditioning Research, vol. 28, no. 10, 2014, pp. 3137–3153.
- Zinner, C., et al. “Muscle Activation as a Function of Resistance Exercise and Configuration.” Journal of Sports Science and Medicine, vol. 15, 2016, pp. 222-230.
