This ‘Lazy Leg Day’ Circuit Makes Today’s Workout Easier Than Ever

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Each month, a new trainer takes us through four of the best workouts they have in their back pocket. Follow along weekly for new ways to sweat it out with us. See All

Just like your appetite changes by the day, you won't prefer the same type of workout—or the same workout duration, for that matter—Monday through Sunday. These are just fitness facts. Lucky for you, workouts that work with your schedule are all over YouTube (including Well+Good's Trainer of the Month Club channel). Charlee Atkin's core and leg workout requires just 10 minutes.

This workout requires zero equipment (besides maybe a yoga mat), so go ahead and make space in your living room. Ten minutes from now, you'll already be ready to stretch it out and cool down.

The easiest core and leg workout for days when you want a short and sweet sweat


Experts In This Article

1. Knee drive and rotation: Start standing with your core braced. Keep your hands on your core to keep it stable, then pull one knee up towards your chest, bringing it right in line with your hip. Pull your knee up then open it out to the side like you're opening a gate, tapping the foot behind you, and bringing it back up and around. Alternate legs for all 45 seconds.

2. Squat and oblique crunch: Bring your feet a slightly wider than hip-width distance apart. Squat down with your hands clasped behind your head, then lift one knee up towards your elbow, crunching the side of your body. Squat back down, then bring your opposite knee up into a crunch.

3. Plank climbers: Come into a forearm plank position. Pull one knee in towards the chest, place it back behind you, then switch feet. Make sure that you’re using your hip motion to pull the knee in without raising your hips too high.

4. Glute bridge and crunch: Come onto your back, bend your knees, and place your feet flat on the floor. Lift your hips towards the ceiling with your core engaged, slowly lower back down, bringing your hands behind your head to crunch up.

The right way to do a glute bridge:


5. Hollow hold: Come onto your back with your legs extended straight forward onto your mat. Lift your hips so that your lower back presses into the mat. Use your core to lift your shoulder blades up as your arms come up overhead. Hold this position for 45 seconds.

6. Pike up: Come into plank position with your shoulders over your wrists. From here, tiptoe your up to your hands, then slowly come right back into a plank.

7. Reverse lunge and single leg deadlift: From a standing position, step back into a reverse lunge. Bring the heel straight into a single-leg deadlift, then come back to standing and repeat. Complete 45 seconds on each side.

How to single-leg deadlift the right way: 

8. Plank jack: From high plank position, step your right foot out to the right side, bring it back. Complete on the left side and keep moving back and forth.

9. Butterfly sit-up: Come down onto the mat with the soles of your feet together and your knees our to the side. Bring your hands behind your head and crunch up by lifting your heart to the ceiling.

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