30 Minute No Equipment Lower Body Workout
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We love a good at-home leg day workout! This workout is ideal for women or men looking to add in a workout routine for toned legs at home. And if you don’t have any equipment? Don’t worry! This workout is full of bodyweight leg exercises to give you a strong booty and sculpted legs at home in just 30 minutes!
Can You Build Leg Muscle Without Weights?
Absolutely! By using your bodyweight, you’re actually using your own body as a weight! Bodyweight workouts are exceptionally useful in making sure that you maintain flexibility, increase range of motion, and stabilize the muscles correctly! In fact, many bodyweight movements can be more beneficial long-term to your body than using a weight machine at the gym! Plus, they allow you to be creative, get outdoors, and enjoy moving your body anywhere!
What is the Goal of this Workout?
If you are looking to strengthen your lower body, then look no further than this routine! This simple series of exercises makes it easy to incorporate a leg day workout into your weekly gym routine, whether you’re traveling or at-home. While you don’t need weights, we’ll be sharing a variety of modifications and challenges with dumbbells and mini bands to keep the workout difficult and help prevent the dreaded plateau.
This workout is easily modified, which makes it perfect at-home full body strength workout for beginners or advanced athletes.
See our full free workout series here.
30-Minute Bodyweight Lower Body Workout
Suggested:
5-10 Minute Warmup (such as a walk)
Optional:
Add in a pair of dumbbells for an added weighted challenge.
Want an added challenge?
Use a mini band placed over your knees for added resistance.
Need a modification?
Control the range of motion in each exercise if you find yourself needing to compensate with other muscles. Keep the movements small and focused on your glutes.
Exercise List:
1 minute per exercise. Do two sets.
Round 1:
Sumo Squat + Calf Raise
How-to: Start in a wide squat, toes pointed outward, and sink to your lowest point, with chest vertical. Lift your heels from the ground for a calf lift.
Form tip: Press the knees backwards to open the hips. Aim to get your hips in line with your legs, thighs parallel with the mat. As you lift onto your toes, avoid leaning forward by squeezing your glutes and pulling your shoulders down and back.
Curtsy Lunge
How-to: As you step backwards into a lunge instead of bringing the leg directly behind you, step the leg to cross behind your body and bring the knee just above the ground. Return to standing and alternate legs throughout the exercise.
Form tip: This alternate lunge exercise is great to work the glutes and quads, but avoid undue stress on the knees by making sure that the knee of the front leg stays directly over the ankle. The knee will want to flare out to the side so control throughout the exercise. If you find you cannot control the hip from opening, shorten the lunge and step behind closer to center.
Challenge: Hold your arms out with weights as you alternate from side to side.
Surrender Squat
How-to: Start in a kneeling position, knees, hips and shoulders in one line. Step up into a squat, staying low, chest tall. Slowly lower back down to kneeling. Alternate lead legs each time you stand up.
Form tip: Avoid letting your hip hinge by squeezing the glutes in the kneeling position.
Round 2:
Do the entire set before switching legs.
Donkey Kicks
How-to: In a table top position, stack the shoulders over the wrists, hips over knees. Flex the foot and keeping the squeeze on the weight lift the leg so that the foot presses towards the ceiling and the leg is parallel with the mat.
Form tip: This movement is a great glute strengthening exercise but it is very easy to arch the back. Squeeze the butt as you lift and lower to engage the core and glutes fully. Adding an extra squeeze onto the weight will add an extra hamstring workout.
Challenge: Tuck a weight behind the knee of the working leg for a bonus hamstring exercise.
Leg Lifts
How-to: In the same position as the previous exercise, extend one leg long. Squeezing through the glutes, lift the leg, toe pointed.
Form tip: Avoid arching the back and moving this intense glute exercise into the lower back. Keep the leg long and keep the movement small.
Modification: Drop your forearms to the ground to help with stability.
Leg Rainbows
How-to: In the same position as the previous exercise, keep the leg extended long. With the toe pointed towards the ground, tap each side of your mat in a rainbow motion.
Form tip: This leg lift is a variation of the previous exercise but great to work the inner areas of the glute. Keep the movement small and focus on control and stability through the entire movement.
Round 3:
Do the entire set before switching legs.
Lifted Clamshells
How-to: Lay on your side, hips and knees stacked. Lift your hips from the ground and open the hips in a clamshell movement. Keep the feet together as you lift the top leg. Slowly open and close the top leg without dropping your hips to the mat.
Form tip: This oblique exercise is a more advanced way to work the side glutes from the standard clamshell. Avoid letting the hips rotate back as you open the hips. Rotate the pelvis forward and squeeze the glutes.
Modification: Take out the lift and drop the hips to the mat.
Challenge: Add a mini band over the knees for added resistance.
Inner Thigh Leg Lift
How-to: Keeping the forearm pressed into the mat, take the top leg and place the foot into the mat in front of your lying leg. Point the toes away from you. Lift the bottom leg off the mat, keeping the leg long and toes pointed.
Form tip: This inner thigh exercise works the muscles of the inner leg but keep the body stabilized and lift from the hip.
Side Lying Rainbows
How-to: Lie down on the mat, with your hand underneath your head for support, hips and knees stack. Turn the toe of the top leg to point towards the mat. Tap the leg in front of your bottom leg and in an arching motion, tap the toe behind you.
Form tip: Use your top hand for support by pressing into the mat to avoid rocking through the hips. Keep the movement small to target the gluteus medius.
Finisher:
Do 1 minute on each side for the final exercise.
Glute Bridge Thread the Needle
How-to: With your back on the mat, squeeze the glutes and lift the hips. Raise one leg into the air. Keeping the hips lift, take the free leg and twist, bringing the toe underneath the knee of the planted leg. Remove the leg to face towards the sky.
Form tip: When bringing the opposite leg through the “needle” of your leg, don’t let the hips drop. Activate the glutes by squeezing and pressing the hips upwards.
Modification: If you don’t have the hip mobility to twist the opposite leg underneath your body, perform a single leg glute bridge by bringing the hips up and down to the mat, squeezing the butt at the top.