The Lunge Matrix

By Coach Adolfo Salgueiro

Back in 2017 I started running with a local group on Saturdays and stretching was always initiated with this particular set of lunges. They were five different exercises. Ten of each. Most teammates hated them, but I learned to embrace them. When I asked the head coach what those were, or where they came from, he said his coach told him to do them before every run. A few months later he set a marathon PR and reassured me how much these lunges had helped him out. At that time, he was already preaching to the choir.

As a curious mind, I started searching for the origin of this set of exercises and it led me to something called “The Lunge Matrix”. It was originally developed by a physical therapist named Gary Gray, a specialist in human biomechanics, also founder of the Gray Institute, dedicated to functional movement. The Lunge Matrix has been so effective that now is recommended by multiple running and strength coaches, most of them as the very first thing you would do as you get warmed up before your physical activity. Important to know that it will only add 3 to 5 minutes to your warmup routine.

The Matrix combines a series of strength and stretching movements in a sequence that is easy to follow and rapidly becomes second nature as you get use to performing it. According to Dr. Marc Cucuzzella, “The goal of the Lunge Matrix is to reset your range of motion in all of the planes of movement”. This comes in very handy when you are coming from an 8-hour night of sleep or 8 hours sitting down at the office. Jay Johnson, coach of elite athletes with 20+ years of experiences, states that “after three weeks of doing the Lunge Matrix before your runs, you will not think of taking your first running step until you go through the routine”.

The five lunges on the matrix are the following:

Front lunges
Lunges with a twist
Lateral lunges
45-degree lunges
Backward lunges

You need to make sure to take your time performing these exercises right as you become accustomed to them. Avoid getting into bad habits either by ignorance or plain laziness. Keep the proper posture, the right muscles engaged and do not overdo it. You can start with six of each, then up it to eight and finally to the recommended 10. You do not need more than 10. If you want to do more, perform the set again, at the end of your run, too.

I found this great video on YouTube, which you can find below. It explains the sequence in detail, as well as the posture, the planes of motion and at the end, goes through common mistakes, so you can avoid them.

Three to five minutes well invested towards your running health. Feel free to let me know about your experience with them in the comment box, below.