Quote:
Originally Posted by hrbabe
Maybe someone just mentioned it as not the best, if you were looking to do 2 exercises per body part since it's not weight bearing and not complex (right?)
Personally, this is why I very seldom do leg extensions. I'm not a big fan of isolation exercises particularly since I favor total body workouts or upper/lower splits which leaves little room for isolation. I need more bang for my buck and those are the multi-joint exercises.
That said, if you feel your quad development is lagging, leg extensions are effective in isolating the quads and, as long as you have the machine adjusting right to not put excessive stress on the knee, they would help with your goal.
Still, I would prefer Lydia's suggestion of adding DB step ups to your arsenal before the leg extensions.
Where are you having trouble with the lunges? If it is coordinating the movement, perhaps you can try split squats to start until you get comfortable with those, then progress to the lunges. Also, when I first started doing lunges, I found backward lunges slightly easier ( I think this varies from person to person).