I have a love/hate relationship with Leg Day. Lifting, sculpting and toning the legs and bootie are all components of a good Leg Day, and it really does scare me to think about the hard work! But when I’m walking out of the gym after Leg Day I feel absolutely amazing (it could also be the endorphins that have kicked in).
During a leg workout, I typically incorporate dead lifts, squats, and lunges. If you’re hitting it hard, a leg workout session can burn 500 to 1,000 calories depending on your intensity.
Want to amp up your Leg Day even more? Try adding 20 minutes of HIIT. I love combining lifting with HIIT because HIIT is a quick and effective form of cardio to start or end Leg Day. I believe any form of lifting should always be coupled with HIIT.
So what exactly is HIIT? HIIT stands for High Intensity Interval Training. HIIT is a training technique where you give all-out, one hundred percent effort through quick, intense bursts of exercise, followed by short recovery periods. Your heart rate stays high and you burn calories faster. On Leg Day, I love doing my HIIT on the stair stepper, typically climbing as fast and hard as I can for one minute, then climbing at a slower pace for one minute.
Being a mother to six children, I often don’t have the time to get a work out done in the gym. On the days when I can’t make it to the gym in the morning (my preferred time to work out is always in the morning), I keep my workouts at home and can easily achieve the same results. There is always a way to make it work!
For you mamas who haven’t done Leg Day in a while, spruce up your routine and use this beginners guide to an easy yet effective Leg Day workout:
Supplies: Weights, Low Coffee Table or Stepper, Jump Rope (Use one of your kids), yoga ball
Warm up: 100 rotations of the Jump rope
Dumbbell Step Ups on a Stepper or low coffee table (Reps: 12, 10, 8)
Make sure to go heavier with weights as the reps decrease
Superset: Jump Lunges - 3 sets of 10 per leg
Bulgarian Squats - One leg up on coffee table, other one on the floor in a lunge position. Holding dumbbells, lower towards floor and back up. Make sure to keep that 90 degree angle. (Reps: 12, 10, 8)
Superset: Dumbbell Walking Lunges (Count up to 30 - repeat twice)
Standing Calf Raise - Place dumbbells on your shoulders and lift up then down.
(Reps: 12, 10, 8)
Superset: Jump Sumo Squats (legs are wide and toes are pointed out, and squat)
Reps: 3 sets of 15
Lying Hamstring Curl (Use your yoga ball and place your feet on top, lift up your bootie and tighten, roll ball in to your glutes and then roll back out)
Reps: 3 sets of 15
Superset: Tuck Jumps (Jump up and bring knees to chest and back down, this
counts as one rep)
Reps: 2 sets of 15