30 Minute Bodyweight Leg Workout
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If you’re looking to improve your lower body strength and work on toning your legs at home, we’ve got a killer workout for you this week! We’re focusing on some creative lower body exercises that combine to make a truly hard leg workout! We’re shaking up the traditional lunges + squats formula with an equipment-free way to work inner thigh muscles and glutes, get that heart rate up, and burn calories…all in just 30 minutes!
What Muscles Does this Workout Target?
This workout is focused on hitting the muscles of the leg, which means incorporating lunges, pulses, lifts and thrusts, to target even the smallest muscle. This means that you’re going to feel the burn in your hamstrings, thighs, calves and especially, your booty!
What is the Goal of this Workout?
We love a workout that is both challenging and focuses on hitting all of the muscles of the legs and butt to create a seriously hard leg day workout. The goal of this workout is to work until you hit muscle fatigue — that feeling that you can’t do one more rep. This burnout is a great way to challenge and strengthen through muscular endurance.
This workout is easily modified, which makes it perfect at home lower body workout for beginners or advanced athletes.
See our full workout series here.
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30 Minute Lower Body Workout
Suggested:
5-10 Minute Warmup + cool down of your choice.
Optional:
Grab a pair of weights or a mini band to give yourself an added challenge.
Increase the difficulty!
Slow down the tempo. Even though we’re working these muscles to failure, slowing down the tempo can add a new level of difficulty, especially when you feel the muscles shaking!
Need a modification?
As always, you can reduce the amount of repetitions or take small breaks in between each exercise. We challenge you to keep move through all of the exercises and challenge yourself not to take a break even when you want to!
Strength Training For Runners E-Book
This e-book is custom designed specifically to create a strength training program with beginner or experienced distance runners in mind. This 67-page e-book not only gives you workouts to implement into your weekly fitness routine, but shares with you the WHY behind strength training and the importance for runners.
Exercise List:
40 reps per exercise. Do one round.
Wide Sumo Squat + Pulse
How-to: Step out into a wide squat with knees directly over ankles and toes pointed away from your midlline. Send your hips down and back, squeezing the glutes and keeping the chest upright. At the bottom of the squat, pulse one time before returning to the top of the squat.
Form tip: Rotate the pelvis forward and press the knees back to get the hips as low as possible. Focus on getting the inner thighs in line with the hips at the lowest point and the chest vertical.
Single Leg Stand ups
How-to: Start seated in a chair or on a bench. Press one foot into the ground while lifting the other up. Press through the foot as you extend the hips and squeeze the glutes at the top. Slowly lower back down to seated, being careful not to drop onto the chair. Perform all reps on one side before switching legs.
Form tip: Avoid using the other leg by pressing through the foot to standing. As you sit back down, hinge and send the hips backward as you slowly lower down.
Modification: For added balance, you can lightly tap the toe to the ground as you stand, but keep the weight in the standing leg.
Reverse Lunge to Deadlift
How-to: Start in a standing position and take a step backward into a deep lunge, bringing both knees to 90 degrees and the chest tall and shoulders directly over hips. Hinge forward at the waist and press into the forward foot to raise the back leg into a deadlift. Slowly lower back into the lunge, chest tall. Repeat all reps on each side before switching to the opposite leg.
Form tip: Avoid bouncing into the deadlift position by pressing into the toe to gain momentum. Press through the front foot slowly and squeeze the glutes. A slight bend in the standing leg is fine, but you want to focus on making a T with your body with your chest and back flat at the top position.
Glute Bridge
How-to: On your back, press your hips up and squeeze your glutes at the top position.
Form tip: Press the hips up to the top and squeeze. Imagine that you are trying to keep your bottom rib on the ground, tipping the pelvis as you lift.
Kneeling Curtsy Lunge
How-to: Start in a low lunge. Alternate hopping the back toes to either side of your mat, staying low during the entire movement.
Form tip: Avoid injury to the knees by keeping the knee of the forward leg directly over the ankle.
Modification: Place hands on either side of the front knee to give yourself added stability.
Deadbugs
How-to: On your back, stack your knees over your hips, arms extended over your chest. Alternate extending your opposite leg and arm, keeping the lower back on the ground. Return to center and switch to the opposite side.
Form tip: Focus on maintaining the engagement throughout the core and lower back through the entire movement. Don’t lower the arm or leg so low that it causes your lower back to arch.
Modification: Reduce the range of motion to maintain engagement through the core.
Jack Knife Situp
How-to: On your back, arms and legs long, sit up, lifting the legs in one long line from the hip and reach the arms past the hamstrings. Slowly lower back down.
Form tip: Avoid bending the knees so you can get the maximum work from your lower abs. As you bring your head and shoulders up, try to reach your arms on either side of your leg as far as possible to work the abdominals.
Frog Leg Situp
How-to: On your back, open your knees wide and press the bottoms of the feet together, forming a diamond. Sit up and crunch with your upper abs, reaching the arms towards the toes. Slowly lower down and repeat.
Form tip: Work on the mobility of your hips by opening the knees and allowing them to rest on the mat. Reaching long and sitting up higher will require more use of the abs.
Don’t tuck your chin into your chest! Imagine that you have an egg underneath your chin, so keep that gaze forward.
