Lower Body — Page 11

No-Squat Butt Workout (20 Minutes)

August 11, 2016 by Nicole 7 Comments

No Squat Butt Workout - This 20-minute workout will target your glutes without doing a single squat! Video included. #glutes #workout #buttworkout #athomeworkout #glutesworkout

Hopefully you all aren’t sick of bodyweight workouts because just about all my equipment is in storage for the summer. 😉 Today’s is going to focus on the glutes, and while I love squats, we’re seeking alternative ways to reach that booty burn. This no squat butt workout will target your glutes without a single squat.

I wasn’t able to shoot the video until later in the day yesterday because it rained all morning (=terrible lighting in my apartment) so I still have some editing to do. I’ll update the post later today with the video so check back here or my YouTube channel if you’d rather follow along than use the pictorial.

No Squat Butt Workout

As you can see in the pictures, I’m not using any equipment for this workout. That being said, if you are advanced, wear ankle weights. I wished I had worn mine for the tabletop exercises.

No squat butt workout breakdown:

20 minutes long, 10 minutes per side
3 circuits (each 3 minutes long)
For each circuit: 20 sec per exercise x3
Rest for 30 seconds between circuits
Do each circuit on the right side and then repeat the three circuits on the left. If you’re a beginner, you might want to alternate instead (Circuit 1 Right, Circuit 1 Left, Circuit 2 Right, etc.).

Circuit 1

Donkey Kicks | Start on all fours: knees stacked under hips, hands stacked under shoulders. From here, you’re going to press the bottom of your right foot up towards the ceiling, squeezing that right butt cheek. Pause at the top and then lower down most of the way. Don’t let the right knee come to rest on the floor. As you do these, keep a straight spine by engaging your abs, pulling the belly button in towards the spine. This will protect your low back.
Donkey Kick Pulses | Hold the top of your donkey kick and pulse. This is a small movement. Instead of pressing the foot up, think of just making a fist with your right butt check. That contraction creates the tiny upward pulse of the leg.
Dynamic Donkey Kick Extensions | With your right leg, you’re going to continue to do a donkey kick, as described above. The difference is we’re going to bring the left leg into the picture as well. Tuck your left toes and hover your left knee off the ground in a table top position. As you do the donkey kick on the right, straighten your left leg, extending up into the air. Bend the left knee back to a hover as you bring the right knee down as well. You’ll be working your right glutes still but also that left quad.

Circuit 2

Single-Leg Hip Bridge Lifts | Lay on your back, arms flat on the ground by your side for support, knees bent and feet flat on the floor. From here, squeeze your glutes and lift your hips a couple inches off the ground so that your butt is hovering. Lift the left foot into the air as well. Leg can be straight or knee bent at an angle (my preference because I have tight hammies). This is your starting position. From here, lower your hips to a hover and then thrust them back up into your bridge. Squeezing your glutes as you do, driving through the right heel.
Single-Leg Hip Bridge Pulses | Hold the top of your bridge and pulse the hips up an inch and down an inch. Create this tiny movement by squeezing into the base of your seat. Picture you’re making a fist with the right butt cheek. To modify, cross your left ankle of the right knee in a figure four as you do these. I had to take this modification almost every time!
Single-Leg Hip Bridge Hold with Toe Tap | Hold the top of your bridge position. Holding the hips high, tap your left toes to the floor and lift them back up (knee bent as you do this).

Circuit 3

Fire Hydrants | Start on your hands and knees in a tabletop position, hands stacked under shoulders, knees stacked under hips. Keeping your right leg in that 90-degree angle, lift that knee out and up in a wing motion (like a dog lifting to take a pee), opening up at the hip. Bring it back in close to the starting position, but try not to fully rest the knee back on the floor. As you do these, try not to lean over towards the left. Press a little extra weight into that right hand to help keep your body centered as the right hip opens.
Hydrant Crunches | If you have tight hips like me, you’ll be in a stacked/open tabletop position for this one. To set up, get onto all fours and then lower onto your left elbow. Open up your right hip like a dog peeing on a fire hydrant so that your hips are stacked and you’re facing the side of the room rather than the floor. From here, you’re going to crunch the right knee in towards the right shoulder. Extend it back out straight, squeezing into the base of your seat as you straighten. These can be done on two straight arms with chest square to the floor but it is MUCH harder to hold the hip open when you opt for this alignment.
Hydrant Circles | Think donkey kick meets fire hydrant. Picture tracing a big circle with your right knee. Up, out, down and around. Watch the video—it’s hard to describe in words. 🙂

If you like this no squat butt workout, check out these other videos targeting the glutes. No squatting in these, either!

xo Nicole

Filed Under: Ankle Weight, Bodyweight, Butt, Lower Body, Video, Workouts

12-Minute Bodyweight Tabata Workout Series: Lower Body (Legs & Glutes)

June 14, 2016 by Nicole 5 Comments

My triceps were FEELING IT after yesterday’s workout–anyone else?? Day 2 of this 12-minute tabata series is focused on lower body so that sore arms can rest. That being said … today’s routine is far from restful. I was gasping for air like a fish out of water during the last superset. Proof that you can get an effective workout with limited time!

12-Minute Bodyweight Tabata Workout Series: Lower Body (Legs & Glutes)

This workout is made up of three tabata supersets. For each tabata superset, set an interval timer for 8 rounds of 20 seconds of work and 10 seconds of rest. During the work intervals, you’ll alternate between the two exercises. In other words: 20 seconds Exercise 1 / 10 seconds rest / 20 seconds Exercise 2 / 10 seconds rest and so on. Rest as needed between tabata supersets, but try to limit it to 60 seconds if possible.

Tabata Superset 1

Low Surrenders | Start in a squat position with feet hip’s distance apart, elbows bent and hands behind your head. Your hands will stay up like this the entire time. Step your right foot back behind you, planting the ball of the foot on the floor lowering down until the right knee rests on the ground. Both knees should be at opposing 90-degree angles. Step your left foot back to meet the right so that you’re kneeling on the ground. Step your right foot forward, and then step the left foot to meet it so that you’re in the same low squat position you started in. Make sure to alternate your lead foot each time. It sounds confusing but you’re essentially just going from a squat to kneeling back to squat.

Squat Jumps | Feet about shoulder-width apart, squat down, sending your hips and butt back and down (not the knees forward!). Bring your hands in front of you as you sink down. From there, explosively jump straight up, swinging your arms back behind you as you do. Land softly and sink right back into a squat, hands swinging forward.

Tabata Superset 2

Lunge Hops | Start in a split-stance lunge position: both knees bent to 90 degrees, one foot flat in front; one 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. Alternate your lead foot each round (so twice total on the R, twice on the L). If you need to modify, just hold a low lunge and pulse.

Jump Lunge | Start in a split-stance lunge: right foot in front, ball of left foot planted on the floor behind you. Both knees should be bent to 90 degrees, front knee aligned over ankle, back knee hovering just a couple inches off the floor. From here, push off your feet to jump up in the air, switching feet in mid-air and landing back in a lunge with left foot forward and right foot planted behind. Continue, alternating feet with each jump. If you need to modify: do alternating back lunges (step instead of jump).

Tabata Superset 3

Sumo Squat Leg Lifts | This is a wide-stance squat with alternating side leg lifts. Feet wider than hip-distance apart, squat down low. Shift your weight into the right side and, staying as low as you can (it’s natural for the right to straighten a little, but don’t come out of the bent knee all the way), lift the left leg straight up and out to the side. Lower it, bringing your weight back to center in that deep squat. Repeat to the other side.

Squat Jacks | Start in a low squat position with feet wide, weight in your heels, low abs engaged, hips back. 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 you jump the feet out wide, tap the floor with your fingertips, alternating the hand each time. Continue jacking your feet in and out, staying low in the squat.

WEARING | Lululemon tank (scored for 50% off on ThredUp!) // Booty By Brabants leggings // Nike sneakers

Enjoy! Sorry this post went up so late. Joe and I are apartment hunting and the rental market is so ridiculously cutthroat that when we find a place we like I seriously have to drop everything I’m doing, disrupt my whole day and run to go see it. On the bright side though, I’m grateful that I have a job that allows me the flexibility to do that! Hopefully the hunt will be over soon…

MORE FROM THIS WORKOUT SERIES

: 12-Minute Bodyweight Tabata Workout: Upper Body (Arms, Chest, Core)

: 12-Minute Bodyweight Core Tabata Workout

: Full Body Tabata Superset Workout

: Full-Body & Cardio Tabata Workout

Filed Under: Bodyweight, Butt, Interval Training, Lower Body, Superset, Tabata, Video, Workouts

15-Minute Lateral Low Body Workout (Video)

April 28, 2016 by Nicole 8 Comments

Wow my butt is feeling it after shooting this workout yesterday! 🙂

Today’s workout is going to focus on lateral movements and the outsides of our lower body (abductors). It’s great for everyone, but can be especially beneficial for runners. Running is a very forward-backward, single-plane activity so to prevent muscle imbalances, it’s good to mix in some workouts using lateral (side-to-side) movements. I loved megaformer workouts during marathon training for this reason–the lateral sliding on the machine is so good!

I teamed up with Iron Lily on this workout, so let’s first take a second to admire the leggings I’m wearing! Iron Lily is an LA-based women’s activewear line to which I was recently introduced. As a newer brand, the current collection is small, but I instantly was drawn to their leggings. The mesh panel, color blocking and visible seams are totally on trend, and the compression material makes them great for high-intensity workouts. If you like leggings that really hold everything in place, you’ll love these. And the waistband is wide and comes up high enough that the compression material is still flattering around your stomach.

I’m wearing the Vanquish Leggings which retail at $106. It’s a higher price point (although definitely not as high as other brands I’ve seen!), but the quality is great and they’re made right here in the good ol’ USA, which I love. Check them out here!

15-Minute Lateral Low Body Workout

Watch the Video

This 15-minute workout is going to target your lower body using lots of lateral movements. So think abductors. We’re opening up the hips and forcing the outer thigh/side butt area to work. The 15 minutes is broken up into three exercise combos. After each 3-minute combo, you’ll do a 60-second cardio blast. No equipment is needed.

Combo 1 | Curtsy Lunge + Curtsy Lunge Hold (Balance!)

30 seconds of movement + 10 seconds holding x6 (3 times each leg, alternating)

Curtsy Lunge | 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 until it hovers off the ground. To modify, plant the ball of your foot on the floor for stability instead. From this deep lunge position, you’re going to press back up to standing, just lightly tapping your left foot to the floor before sinking back down into your next rep.

Curtsy Lunge Hold | Hold the bottom of your curtsy lunge and then try to hover the back left foot off the ground so that you’re balancing low on your right side.

Speed Skater 60 seconds

These are like side-to-side leaping curtsy lunges. Leap to the right, landing on your right foot and bending down to touch the ground by your foot with your left hand as you swoop your left foot behind the right (think of a curtsy). Come up, leaping left and reversing the move. Keep it going quickly, back and forth, trying to never let that back foot come to rest on the ground—keep the weight in the foot you land on.

Combo 2 | Hydrant Crunch with Lift + Pulses (Straight)

30 seconds of movement + 10 seconds pulsing x6 (3 times each leg, alternating)

Hydrant Crunch with Lift | You’ll be in a stacked/open tabletop position for this one. To set up, get onto all fours and then lower onto your left elbow. Open up your right hip like a dog peeing on a fire hydrant so that your hips are stacked and you’re facing the side of the room rather than the floor. From here, you’re going to crunch the right knee in towards the right shoulder. Extend it back out straight and then lift it up as high as you can keeping the hips stable and lower. Repeat.

Straight Leg Pulses | Hold the leg out straight, thigh bone rotated open (knee and toes point to the wall, not the floor) and from there pulse up and down.

Speed Skater 60 seconds

Combo 3 | Sumo Squat Lifts + Pulse Wide

30 seconds of movement + 10 seconds pulsing x6 (3 times each leg, alternating)

Sumo Squat with Lift | This is a wide-stance squat with a lateral leg lift. Feet wider than hip-distance apart, squat down low. Shift your weight into the left side and then as you begin to straighten the left side and rise up, lift the right leg straight up and out to the side. Lower it, bringing your weight back to center in that deep squat.

Wide Sumo Squat Pulses | Hold a wide squat and angle your toes outward, knees tracking in line with toes. From here, you’re going to pulse your legs out wide (think of pulling your knees towards the back of the room while you squeeze your glutes).

Speed Skater 60 seconds

And you’re done!

Good Stretches to Do after This Workout

These are two great stretch options for this particular workout:

WEARING | leggings c/o Iron Lily // tank c/o Reebok (old but similar here) // Nike sneakers

Let me know in the comments if you try the workout!

Disclosure: This post was sponsored by Iron Lily. While I was compensated for my time, all opinions–as always!–are my own. I appreciate your support of the brands who make this blog possible! 🙂

Filed Under: Bodyweight, Butt, Cardio, Interval Training, Lower Body, Video, Workouts