Can you spare 8-minutes for a workout today? Try my do-anywhere Legs & Glutes workout and let me know what you think. And by “do-anywhere” I mean no equipment necessary – you’ll need a little floor space, a mat and a towel or pillow case.

This workout is great if you –

  • Have limited space and time to workout
  • Don’t have access to a gym or gym equipment
  • Are working through knee or hip pain
  • Want to switch up your lower body workout (but keep it simple)

Warning – Even though I might make it look easy, this workout builds the heat and puts your lower body muscles in check! So…have fun and you’re welcome! 🙂

The breakdown –

    1. Donkey kick to fire hydrant – From tabletop position, lift one leg off the ground, bend that knee and flex your foot. Press the sole of your foot to the ceiling while keeping your hips aligned, pause and squeeze your glutes. Return to starting position and immediately come into a fire hydrant, opening that bent knee and flexed foot to the side. Pause and repeat. The combination of 1 donkey kick and 1 fire hydrant is 1 rep.
    2. Straight leg lifts with toe taps – From tabletop position, come down onto your forearms and extend one leg behind you. Raise that leg in the air, squeeze your glutes and tap your toe to the far right and far left of the foot on the ground. Each tap is 1 rep.
    3. Bridge with alternating leg lifts – While in bridge, squeeze your glutes and keep your hips up as you extend one leg at time and come back down to the mat. Your hips are raised just high enough that your back isn’t hyperextending and you still have room to shake your head and breathe. The combination of both leg lifts is 1 rep or you can count them individually for 20 leg lifts, 10 on each side.
    4. Reverse hamstring curls – Fold your mat in half and place your towel or pillow case at the base of your mat. Lying on your back in bridge pose with both feet on the towel, extend your legs out and point your toes up. Keep your toes up and pull your heels back in to toward your butt – return to bridge pose with your feet flat on the towel or pillow case.
    5. Seated alternating leg lifts – Staying upright from your waist and long through your spine, squeeze your thigh muscles and lift one leg up at a time. Keep your foot flexed as you lift and lower your leg for more muscle engagement.
    6. Inner and outer thigh leg lifts – Also known as side lying scissors. I’m doing a combination of 5 for inner thighs and 5 for outer thighs as 1 rep. The biggest thing to focus on here is control and not letting momentum take over. It’s easy to shoot your leg up and let it drop with your body rocking all over the mat. Engage your core and glutes, keep one hand in front of you to steady you and use the muscles of your legs to lift and lower – no swinging!
    7. Standing calf raises – To complete this workout, you can’t forget about your calf muscles! Keep your knees soft and your heels hovered above the ground with each raise.

Repeat this entire circuit 3 times – mix it up and have fun with it!

Try these foam rolling exercises at the end.

***

To build muscle in your lower body, combine circuits like this with weighted lower body exercises. My Curves & Muscle 4-week training program includes full-length workouts that cover both – the best of both worlds! Purchase your program here.

Happy training!

Comments