Lunge

Above is the reference I used for the lunge scene, which I acted out myself several times before and during my attempt to animate it. Trying the action out for myself was very helpful in this case since it showed me that after the extreme stretching point, there is a slight recoil as the hand, arm, and body jerk back a little to regain balance as the heel goes down. This was something I hadn't fully considered before, so I was then able to add it into the animation which made the movement look much more realistic. I then exaggerated it further, making the extreme stretch pose stretch a little further than I'd originally intended, and made it hold a fraction longer for emphasis. I also took time to add follow-through animation to the hair since hair always has to catch to the body.