Love Leg Day? Here’s the 4-Move Lower Body Routine a Top Trainer Swears By

Photo: Getty Images/SrdjanPav
Well+Good readers love leg day. When we put out the call on Instagram for you to share your happy-making (and dreaded) fitness routines, workouts targeting the lower body won out by a whopping 67 percent.

Leg day calls for squats, lunges, high knees... all of those tricky moves that harness the power of your lower body and make your butt, quads, and calves burn—but in that hurt-so-good type of way. "Leg day is more desirable than any other day because who doesn't want strong legs?" says Oliver Lee, Peloton Tread instructor. "Having strong legs allows you to perform your best in workouts. Plus, glutes fall into the leg day category, and everyone wants a good peach." He's not wrong.

Lee's leg day preference? Covering the basics. "The main part of any good leg workout should include some kind of squat, lunge, and deadlift combination," he says. This ensures you work every muscle from core to toe (and, most likely, will be very sore the next day). Keep scrolling for Lee's perfect lower body routine.

Lee's 4-move leg day workout

1. Glute bridges: For these, start by lying on your back with your feet planted on the ground at hips-distance. Lift your hips up while engaging the glutes at the top.

2. Dumbbell goblet squat: Lee recommends grabbing one heavy dumbbell with both hands and holding it at your chest. Set your feet shoulder-width apart while keeping a neutral spine, and bend your knees to 90 degrees. Pause, then drive through your heels back to the top.

3. Dumbbell reverse lunge: You can use two medium or heavy weights for this, holding one in each hand by your side. Alternate stepping each leg back into a reverse lunge. Keep your weight in your front leg each time you step back, and use your power to bring yourself back to standing. Get your back knee low enough, just above the floor, for a proper range of motion.

4. Dumbbell deadlift: With two heavy weights held in front of your thighs, begin by pushing your hips back (keep your weight in your heels). Slowly lower the weights down to your mid-shin area while keeping your back flat and getting your chest parallel to the floor. Then pull up through your hamstrings and glutes as you bring yourself back to standing. Go through and repeat until fatigued.

You can also try this 11-minute leg workout, courtesy of Charlee Atkins. (Or, hey, you always can do both!)

Now for your arm day (womp womp): Here's a resistance band arm workout that only takes 10 minutes, along with a 9-move dumbbell arm workout that'll leave you sore AF.

Loading More Posts...