Strength Primer Workout: Lower Body

Take advantage of the exhilarating energy of fall to master a few moves and get stronger. Over the next few weeks, we’ll be sharing workouts focused on the major muscle groups to give you a template to pump some iron.

This week’s workout: leg day. Work the lower body with the moves below, intended to fatigue your muscles and drive you toward a stronger body.

Workout 1: Lower Body

WARM-UP

Perform 10 to 12 reps of each move with little to no rest between each move.

Jumping Jack to Scissor Jack

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pAKY3L8piwg

Begin standing with your feet under your hips, arms by your sides.
Bring your arms out and up above your head as you jump your feet out wide.
Drop your arms back down and bring your feet together.
Repeat this movement, then transition your arms to crossing horizontally over and under one another in front of your chest as your feet continue jumping in and out.

Ski Hop

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WhTvyEcbBfI

Begin standing with your feet under your hips, arms by your sides.
Bend your knees, bring your fists up by your waist and hop both your feet to the right.
Land softly and immediately hop your feet to the left.
Continue hopping in a smooth movement.

Prisoner Squat

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=D3dQimRTo1w

Stand with your feet wider than shoulder-width apart and your hands behind your head, with your fingers interlocked together.
Perform a squat by folding your body and lowering your hips.

TIP: Like a prisoner, keep your hands behind your head and point your elbows out. Squat as low as you can, keeping your spine long and straight.

WORKOUT

Perform 10 to 12 reps of each move with little to no rest between each move. Repeat entire set three to five times, resting one to two minutes between sets.

Squat Jump

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9rsFnd_pKcU

From a standing position, sink into a squat and swing your arms back.
Hold for a moment, and then press through the balls of your feet and jump straight up as high as you can. Allow your arms to swing up and lift your body.
As you land, absorb the impact by bending your knees.
In one smooth motion, sink back into a squat and repeat.

TIP: Keep your chest upright throughout the movement.

Bridge

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DE7AAH0RYlM

Lie on your back with your feet hip-width apart and heels under your knees.
Push your heels into the floor as you squeeze your glutes and lift the top of your hips up toward the ceiling.
Release and lower your hips back to the ground.

Racked Forward and Backward Lunge

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tfi6dLDcegY

Begin standing with your feet under your hips, holding dumbbells at shoulder-height in each hand.
Bring your right leg up and out into a forward lunge, keeping your chest lifted.
Press out of your right heel to stand up from your lunge, and keeping your foot suspended, bring it straight back into a backward stepping lunge.
Repeat the movement on the right side, only touching your right foot to the ground in the lunge position, then repeat on your opposite leg.

Tuck Jump

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GPJCDALTurU

Stand with your feet hip-width apart.
Drop into a half-squat and explode off the ground, bringing your knees as close to your chest as possible. Swing your arms upward as you explode off the ground.
Try to land softly on the balls of your feet with a bend in your knees, and then immediately explode back up.
Repeat for the specified number of reps.

Bridge Kick

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=806KRFhFrDo

Lie on your back with your feet hip-width apart and your heels under your knees.
Bring your right leg out straight, and push your left heel into the floor as you squeeze your glutes and lift the top of your hips up toward the ceiling. Your right leg comes up and over so the bottom of your foot points to the ceiling.
Release and lower your hips back to the ground.
Repeat on the opposite leg.

COOL-DOWN

Hold each stretch for about 20 to 30 seconds (on each side).

Standing Quad Stretch

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nGKTKVw4jXg

Begin standing with your feet under your hips, hands by your sides.
Bring your right foot up behind you and grab the top of your right foot with your right hand.
Push your knees together as you hold the stretch.
Release and repeat on other side.

Kneeling Hip-Flexor Stretch

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DA9-qslV0fQ

Lower your body into a half-kneeling position, with your left knee and your right foot on the floor so that your right leg is bent at a 90-degree angle.
Keep your spine long and strong from head to knee and push forward from your hips, taking deep breaths as you hold the stretch.
Return your hips back to center, then push them forward again and sink into the stretch.
Repeat a few times, then return to half kneeling, step your left foot forward with your right knee on the floor and repeat the stretch on your right side.

Seated Hamstring Stretch

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uVZ64kaTp60

Sit on the floor with your legs extended in front of you. Bend your knees, if necessary, for comfort, eventually straightening your legs as flexibility increases.
Reach actively through your heels and lift your arms overhead, lengthening your spine. As you exhale, bend forward from the hip joints to reach toward your toes, tipping your torso and head toward the knees.
Keep your core engaged, and extend your spine to avoid rounding your back.
Hold, breathing consciously and relaxing the back of your legs. To release the stretch, tuck your tailbone down to the floor, inhale and lift your torso.

Seated Figure-4 Stretch

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JQbjIhU9REg

Sit tall on the floor with your legs in a figure-4 position, and place your palms shoulder-width apart on the floor behind you, fingers pointed away from you.
Pull your legs toward you as you push the ground away behind you to intensify the stretch.
Hold the stretch for a few deep, slow breaths.
Sit up and switch sides.

Photo credit: Tom Casey, box24studio.com
Model credit: Dan Elwood