Lower Body — Page 10

30-Minute Low Body Workout (Glutes) with Resistance Band Loop + Med Ball

May 22, 2017 by Nicole 2 Comments

Hope you all had a great weekend! I spent mine on Nantucket, and even though it was a little chilly, it felt like an unofficial kickoff to summer. We rented bikes, hung out with friends, did lots of eating and drinking outside in the sun—it was wonderful. And after a few days of relaxing, I am craving a good sweat! This 30-minute low body workout will pay extra attention to the glutes (my bum was sore for two days after filming it).

30-Minute Low Body Workout (Glutes)

Equipment I Used:

6-lb medicine ball
Resistance band loop (go light to medium so that you can get the needed range of motion)

This workout is broken up into three circuits. The first two circuits use a resistance band loop for low-impact, targeted exercises for the glutes. The third and final is a HIIT circuit using a medicine ball to target the lower body with high(er) impact exercises. Rest for 30 seconds in between each circuit.

Resistance Band Loop Circuit 1: Tabletop Exercises

Do each of the exercises for 30 seconds, moving one right to the next without rest in between. Go through the four exercises twice. First on the right, then on the left.

Donkey Kick Pulses | In tabletop position with your hands stacked under shoulders and knees under hips, engage your core and bring your right foot up so that the knee is bent and around hip height. The resistance band should be around your left ankle as an anchor and your right foot. In this position, pulse your right leg up and down a couple inches, keeping tension on the band.
Straight Leg Lifts Up + Out | Straighten out your leg at about hip height. From here, lift the leg up then swing it out to the side with control, back to center, and then lower back to starting position. These are small, controlled movements. Keep the top of the foot pointing to the floor the whole time and the hips square.
Spider Crunch with Pulses | From tabletop position, lower onto your left forearm so that your upper body is stacked open. Your right kneecap and toes should face the wall, not the floor. Start with your right leg straight and then crunch the knee in to your shoulder and back out straight. Do three straight-leg pulses here. You’ll be targeting the right side but your left glutes need to work as well. Try to keep your left hip stacked over your left knee as best as you can. If you have super tight hips, this can be a tough one. Try doing it laying on your side instead to modify.
Tabletop Plank Jacks | Start in a plank position with the resistance band a couple inches above your ankles. Jump your feet out wide (like a horizontal jumping jack), back to center plank, and then bend your knees and hop your feet forward so that you land in a hovering tabletop position (knees under hips hovering a couple inches off the floor).

Resistance Band Loop Circuit 2: Standing Exercises

Do each of the exercises for 30 seconds, moving one right to the next without rest in between. Go through the four exercises twice. First on the right, then on the left.

Out-turned Straight Leg Pulses | Stand with the resistance band a couple inches above your ankles and your hips pointing forward. Your right leg should be straight, extended behind you at an angle and rotated outward. Keep a soft bend to your left knee. From here, pulse the right leg up and out.
Deadlifts | Square your hips to the floor. Keep that mini-bend to the left knee and your core engaged as you tilt forward as if your body is a seesaw. Come back upright with control until your right toes lightly tap the floor.
Deadlift Pulses | Hold the tilted position and pulse your back right leg up and down a couple inches.
Popcorn Squats | Jump your feet out wide as you sink into a squat and touch the floor with one hand. Jump your feet together as you come upright and then repeat, touching the floor with the other hand.

REPEAT CIRCUIT 1 + CIRCUIT 2

Repeat the two circuits, this time starting on the left side and then the right side.

Circuit 3: Med Ball HIIT

For your final circuit, you’ll do 15 rounds of 30 seconds of work and 10 seconds of rest. You’ll have five medicine ball exercises that you’ll go through three times. It will take 10 minutes in total.

Jump Lunge Scoops | Start in a split-stance lunge position, one foot planted on the ground in front, the ball of the other foot planted behind you, both knees at opposing 90-degree angles. Holding the med ball in both hands overhead, do a jump lunge, switching your feet midair and landing back in a lunge with the other foot forward. From here, scoop the med ball down and to the outside of your front leg. Scoop it back up overhead and repeat to the other side.
Bottom-Half Burpees with Forward/Backward Hop | Start in a low squat position with med ball at chest. Bring med ball to the floor and jump feet back into a plank. Jump them back up into a low squat position, bring the ball back to your chest and hop backwards, staying low. Repeat, but the next time hop forward.
Soccer Taps | This is like high knees but as you drive your knees up, tap your foot on top of the medicine ball. Try to make physical contact with the ball each time without causing it to roll away.
Marching Wall Sit | Hold the med ball at chest height. Back against a wall, knees bent to 90 degrees, feet hip’s width apart. Lift one foot at a time, marching the knee up towards your chest.
Pivoting Low Lunge – Squat – Lunge | Pulse in a low lunge position with right foot in front and then, staying low, pivot to center and pulse in a low squat position. Finally, pivot to the other side so that the left foot is leading the lunge and pulse there. Stay low the whole time as you pulse right, center, left, center, etc.

WEARING | Zella leggings c/o Nordstrom // Lululemon tank (old) via thredUP ($10 off your first order with this referral link)

If you try the workout, let me know how it goes in the comments! And if you haven’t already, be sure to subscribe to my YouTube channel. 🙂

Filed Under: Butt, Interval Training, Lower Body, Medicine Ball, Resistance Band, Video, Workouts

15-Minute Lower Body Resistance Band Loop Superset Workout

October 25, 2016 by Nicole 1 Comment

This whole YouTube thing has been quite the learning experience. I got a wireless mic so that I could stop doing voiceovers (the mic on my digital camera just does NOT cut it), and it’s a huge advancement, but with it has come a whole new set of challenges. It picks my voice up clearly which is great but it also picks up my breathing which, halfway through these workouts, is much like that of Darth Vader. And then there’s the struggle of securely attaching the mic to my clothes without it slipping out or getting in the way. Not sure if this workout video is a step forward or back, but it’s been fun for me to self-learn the video-making process. I appreciate you all bearing with my not-so-professional videos. One day they’ll be kickass and I’ll look back on these first months and laugh … I hope. 😉

15-Minute Lower Body Resistance Band Loop Superset Workout

Equipment I Used:

Interval timer – I used this iPhone app but if you’re looking for a separate timer, the Gymboss MiniMax lets you create multiple-interval workouts
Resistance band loop – I recently bought this set of five loops so that’d I’d have a variety of resistance loads to choose from (only $10) and am using the heaviest option for this workout
Exercise mat
Something to help you balance (chair, wall, table, etc.)

A superset is two exercises performed back-to-back. There are lots of ways to couple moves; today we’re going to pair a high(er) impact move (think big movements and jumping) with a smaller, more controlled pulse or lift. For each superset: Exercise 1 for 30 seconds + Exercise 2 for 30 seconds + Rest for 10 seconds x4. Don’t rest between exercises in the set. Once you finish four rounds of the first superset, move onto the second (rest for 30 seconds in between supersets).

SUPERSET 1

30 seconds each exercise back to back + rest 10 seconds after finishing both moves x4

Squat Jacks | Start in a low squat position with feet wide, band around your thighs above your knees. Staying low in a squat, jump your feet in close together and then jump your feet out wide again to the starting position. Every time your feet jump wide, touch the floor with your hand, alternating hands each time. This just keeps you in check to ensure you’re staying low.
Hip Bridge – alternate between dips and pulses | Each time you come to this move, alternate between a full range hip bridge dip and a bridge hold at the top with a little pulse combo. For the dip: lay on your back, heels under your knees and lift your hips up into a bridge position and then back down to a hover. Actively press out against the band as you do this. Squeeze into the base of your seat as you lift the hips, rather than just arching the low back. For the pulse combo, hold the hip bridge at the top and pulse the knees out wide and then the hips up high, back and forth.

SUPERSET 2

30 seconds each exercise back to back + rest 10 seconds after finishing both moves x4

Side to Side Step with Squat Jump | Start in a low squat and staying low, step to the right three times, do a jump squat, land low and repeat, stepping to the left this time. You want to keep tension on the bungee as you do these so don’t let your knees come together too narrowly.
Standing Angled Leg Lift (alternate legs each round)| Stand facing a chair/bar/wall and place your hands lightly on it for support. Lean forward slightly with your upper body, keeping your core engaged (this is going to help you stay out of your low back and more easily target the glutes). From here, lift your right leg up and back, keeping the leg straight. Rotate your thigh bone outward so that toes angle out. Square your hips so that both hip bones point forward. From here, lift your right leg up and back. This will be a relatively small movement. Make sure your standing knee is soft and not locked out.

SUPERSET 3

30 seconds each exercise back to back + rest 10 seconds after finishing both moves x4

Cowboy Walk (4 up, 4 back) with Squat Jump | Picture how cowboys walk in the old movies, kinda swinging their legs out as they step forward. You’re going to do that staying low in a squat. Walk four steps forward, four steps backwards, and then do a jump squat, landing back down low and starting from the top.
Clamshell (alternate legs each round) | Lay on your side and rest your head on your bottom arm. You want a straight spine so squeeze the core, lifting the waist away from the floor a bit. Bend your knees at about a 45 degree angle and keeping the toes touching, rotate the top knee up and open. Keep your hips stacked one on top of the other as you do this (it’s really easy to roll open–don’t!). This should be a small movement, keeping tension on the resistance band the entire time.

WEARING | leggings c/o Nualime (also love this twisted floral pattern) // Nike tank // adidas sneakers

Let me know if you try this workout! And back to YouTube–who are your favorite YouTubers to follow?? I need suggestions!

Links to outfit details are affiliate. I appreciate your support! 🙂

Filed Under: Butt, Lower Body, Resistance Band, Superset, Video, Workouts

Lower Body Circuit Workout with HIIT Bursts

October 5, 2016 by Nicole 2 Comments

You have no idea how many technical difficulties I had making this post–every electronic device I own mutinied on me yesterday. So a day and a half later than planned, let’s just get right to it…

Consider THIS with Weighted Low-Body Exercises

Before getting to the workout, I want to talk a little about choosing weights for the exercises we’ll be doing in the circuit portion. With weighted lower body exercises, don’t just think to yourself “Ok, how much extra weight can I handle for these exercises?” Consider where that added weight will be. A squat with a 20-lb dumbbell held at your chest, for example, will feel different from a squat with two 10-lb dumbbells held at your shoulders. That added front weight is going to alter your center of gravity and will require your back to work a bit harder to stabilize. This is especially true for any exercise in which your torso is hinging forward rather than remaining perfectly upright.

I mention this because you can really use any weight (dumbbell/s, kettlebell, medicine ball, etc.) for this circuit (or just body weight!), and if you go with a singular weight, you’d be holding it at your chest. If your form is on point and you know these exercises like the back of your hand, challenge yourself–go heavy! But if you’re newer to working out or have any history of back issues, I’d definitely encourage you to go lighter than you think you can handle. And that goes for everyone, regardless of where you’ll be holding your weight (shoulders, chest, down to your sides).

Lower Body Circuit Workout with HIIT Bursts

Equipment:

Set of dumbbells (or just one held at chest) — I’m using 8-lb weights because they’re the heaviest available at the studio where I filmed the workout. Normally I would have gone with 12-lbs. (No complaints haha).
Exercise mat — I didn’t have one when I filmed and my knees were angry during the surrenders. Use a mat!
Interval timer — I used this tabata iPhone app for the HIIT bursts and a regular stopwatch for the circuit.

For this workout, you’ll be alternating between a circuit of low-body exercises and a quick 2-minute bodyweight HIIT. The HIIT is all about speed and doing as many reps as you can in the given work interval. The circuit is about control and challenging yourself with weight load (keeping the above info in mind!). Each time you go through the circuit, you’ll stay on it for a shorter period of time.

Breakdown of the Workout:

Exercises and descriptions can be found below the pictorial. You’ll get 15 seconds of rest in between sides and before/after the HIIT.

Weighted Circuit on the Right (45 sec each exercise)
Weighted Circuit on the Left (45 sec each exercise)
2-Min HIIT Blast
Weighted Circuit on the Right (30 sec each exercise)
Weighted Circuit on the Left (30 sec each exercise)
2-Min HIIT Blast
Weighted Circuit on the Right (15 sec each exercise)
Weighted Circuit on the Left (15 sec each exercise)
2-Min HIIT Blast

Make sure to warm up before starting this workout (here’s a 5-minute warm up you can do at home). Always listen to your body and modify as needed!

Weighted Circuit

Complete 45/30/15 seconds of each exercise on the right then repeat on the left. Try to go from one exercise to the next without rest. If it gets to be too much, just slow down the pace. You can rest for 15 seconds in between the right and left legs.

Side Lunge to Knee Raise | Start standing with one weight at each shoulder. Step your right foot out wide to the side, bending that knee and sinking your hips back and down into a deep side lunge. Press off that right foot to push yourself back up to standing, but instead of bringing your right foot to the floor, drive the knee up and into your chest and then lunge right back down to the side.

Make it easier: No knee raise; come back up to standing with both feet on the floor instead.
Make it harder: Add a hop off the left foot as you drive your right knee into the chest at the top.

Curtsy Lunge to Side Kick | Start standing with feet hip-width apart. From here, sink down into your curtsey lunge: right foot stays planted on the ground and as you bend that right knee, reach your left foot behind it as far to the right as you can, planting the ball of the foot down. As you come back up to standing, swing that back leg up and out to the left side in a wide kick. As if sweeps back down, lower into your next curtsy lunge.

Squat to Surrender | Start standing with weights at shoulders, feet a little wider than hip’s width apart. Squat down, sliding your hips back and down, keeping your chest open. From here, come to a kneeling position, stepping your right foot back behind you, planting the ball of the foot and knee on the floor and then doing the same with the left. Continuing to lead with the right, return to a low squat position, stepping the right foot forward onto the floor and then the left. From this low squat position, straighten the legs as you drive the hips forward to your starting position.

HIIT Blast

Set a timer for 4 rounds of 20 second work and 10 seconds rest. You’ll go through the following four exercises (20 sec on each with 10 sec rest in between).

Squat Jacks | Start in a low squat position with feet wide. Staying low in a squat, jump your feet in close together and then jump your feet out wide again to the starting position. When your feet are wide, one hand should come to the ground in front. Continue jacking your feet in and out, staying low in the squat and alternating which hands touches the floor (this ensures you’re staying low through the legs!).

Lunge Hop RIGHT | Start in a split-stance lunge position: both knees bent to 90 degrees, right foot flat in front; left foot in back, ball of the foot planted on the ground. Keeping the same foot in front/back, you hop a few inches into the air and land softly back into your starting position. Your legs are never fully straightening during this; it’s a small upward hop, pushing off the balls of the feet. To modify, take out the jump and just pulse at the bottom.

Lunge Hop LEFT

Hot Feet | You probably know these best as a basketball or football drill. You essentially run in place as fast as you can while in a wide-leg squat position. With your feet a bit wider than hip-width apart, squat down. Staying low, you’ll quickly run your feet up and down, staying on the balls of your feet and barely picking them off the floor (an inch or two) so that you can maintain the speed.

WEARING | Terez SU2C Mantra leggings (5% of sales are donated to Stand Up To Cancer) // GAP tank // adidas neo sneakers (also love them in black with the marbled sole!) // Athleta bra (sold out in orange but much cuter colors available)

Just to highlight what’s mentioned above in the outfit details, the leggings I’m wearing in today’s post give back! Terez (also the makers of these skull leggings everyone loves) will donate a portion of the proceeds to Stand Up To Cancer.

Outfit detail links are affiliate (except the charitable one). I appreciate your support!

Filed Under: Hand Weights/Dumbbells, Interval Training, Lower Body, Video, Workouts