The easy exercises in this strength leg workout will reward you with a flat stomach, tight butt and slim thighs so you can rock a skirt with total confidence.
Carrying extra weight on your thighs? That could point to a dependence on steady-state cardio. To lean out your legs, you need to supplement your slow-and-steady routine with fast-and-furious interval strength training. Along with burning kilojoules, you’ll also be building lean muscle, which sets off a chain reaction that boosts your metabolism, fires up your fat burners and sculpts the lean, toned legs you long for.
For this strength leg workout, perform 10 reps of each move without resting between exercises. Do as many rounds as you can in two minutes. Then rest for two minutes. Repeat two or three times.
Time: 30 Minutes | Equipment: A pair of dumbbells (start with four to six kilos and increase the weight as that becomes too easy) | Good For: Legs
The Strength Leg Workout
1/ Dumbbell squat to overhead press
Hold a pair of dumbbells at shoulder height with your elbows bent and feet hip-width apart. Keeping your chest upright, bend your knees and lower until your thighs are at least parallel to the floor (A). As you stand, press the weights overhead until your arms are straight (B). Return to start. That’s one rep.
2/ Alternating lateral lunge
Holding a pair of dumbbells at your sides (A), step out to the left with your left leg; bend your knee and sit back to lower into a side lunge, keeping your back flat as you lower the right dumbbell to the inside of the left foot (B). Press through the left foot to return to start. That’s one rep. Repeat on the other side and continue alternating for five reps on each side.
3/ Straight-leg deadlift with row
Hold a pair of dumbbells in front of your thighs and stand with your feet hip-width apart (A). Bend forward and lower the weights until your back is parallel to the ground, keeping your back flat and the weights close to your body (B), then bend your elbows and pull the dumbbells up towards your chest (C). Return to start. That’s one rep.
4/ Dumbbell squat jump
Holding a pair of dumbbells at your sides, sit your hips back and lower into a squat (A), then push through your heels and jump as high as you can (B). That’s one rep.
