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! 🙂
If you’ve been a longtime reader of P&I (I’m talking Day 1, Ride-or-Die reader), you may remember this recipe. I shared it when my blog was still a baby and, as with all early posts, it wasn’t my–errr–finest work. The photography was awful, but the recipe was also in need of tweaking. 
