Lower Body Burn

Equipment: Optional Weighted Objects (water bottles, dumbbells, household objects) and Elevated Surface

Format: Perform each move for the prescribed repetitions and repeat for 3 rounds. 

Activation/Warm Up

Move 1: Slow Squats (10)

• Begin standing with your core engaged, chest up tall and your feet shoulder width apart.
• Shoot your hips back behind you for a squat, keeping your chest up tall weight back in your heels, and knees tracking your toes.
• Powerfully drive through your heels and posterior chain to return to standing and repeat.
• MOD: Squat down to a chair or box to work on proper form.

Move 2: Glute Kickback (10 each side)

• Place your hands on the back of a chair and hinge at the hips with your core engaged.
• Support yourself on your left leg and lift your right leg back behind you with your knee bent and your thighs parallel to one another. 
• Keeping your hips square to the ground and your leg bent, press the sole of your foot to the ceiling and squeeze your glute.
• Lower your leg down slightly and repeat for10 reps and switch legs.

Set 1

Move 1: Elevated Split Squats (8-12)

• Begin standing with your chest up tall in a lunge position with your back foot on an elevated surface. 
• Slowly lower yourself down by bending your knees to the depth that is comfortable for you (ensure that your front knee isn’t buckling in, bowing out, or shooting out over your toe).
• Drive through your front heel to come to standing. 
• Repeat all repetitions on one leg and then repeat on the other.
• MOD: Hold on to an object in front of you or wall to help stabilize. 

Move 2: Hip Thrusters (0:45)

• Position your back on an elevated surface (couch or chair). The edge of the surface should be at the base of your shoulder blades. Bend your knees and have them at 90 degrees.
• Drive through your heels to lift your hips to the ceiling, squeezing your glutes and keeping a tight core.
• Drop your hips back down toward the floor with control and repeat.
• MOD: Perform this on the ground rather than an elevated surface.
• Optional: Add weight to your hip crease to increase the resistance.

Move 3: Skaters (0:30)

• Begin standing with your core engaged and chest upright.
• Step your right foot back behind you and over to the left as your left knee bends (your right knee will line up behind your left heel).
• Bend both knees to lower down into your lunge position, ensuring that your chest remains upright and your front knee does not shoot out over your toe.
• Drive through your front heel and laterally hop to the other side to softly land on the ball of your right foot and repeat the curtsy on the other leg. Alternate back and forth.
• MOD: Take the jump out of the move and do low impact alternating curtsy lunges or reverse lunges.

Set 2

Move 1: Toe Squats (8-12)

• Begin standing in a narrow stance with your heels raised up on a small elevated surface like a yoga block (bookos or folded towels work also).
• Keep your weight in your heels as you shoot your hips back and lower yourself down as far as is comfortable for you and ensure that your knees are tracking your toes and not buckling in or flaring out.
• Drive through your heels to come to standing and squeeze your glutes at the top. 
• MOD: Drop your heels and perform standard squats with a narrow stance. 
• Optional: Hold weighted objects in your hands at chest level with your elbows up high to add resistance.

Move 2: Sumo Squat to Sumo RDL (0:45)

• Stand with your feet wider than hip distance, toes turned out slightly (sumo stance), core engaged with a weighted object in each hand.
• Shoot your hips back and lower yourself down for a sumo squat, keeping your chest up tall weight back in your heels, and knees tracking your toes.
• Drive through your heels and squeeze your glutes at the top. 
• Once you’re back in your starting position, slowly hinge forward at the waist while pushing your hips back and keeping the weights close to your body.
• Bend forward as far as you can while maintaining a flat back and then drive through your heels to come back to standing and squeeze your glutes at the top. 
• MOD: Remove the weights and do this move with just your bodyweight

Move 3: Reverse Burpees (0:30)

• Begin standing with your core engaged and chest up tall.
• From a standing position, shoot your hips back to squat down as you sit on the floor and roll back onto your back with your knees coming back towards your chest and lift your hips toward the ceiling.
• Using momentum, swing your body forward to rock to your feet and back up to a standing position to finish with a jump (watch that your knees don’t buckle in as you stand).
• MOD 1: When you’re learning this move, keep your hands down at your sides to support you on the jump to stand OR use a chair or elevated surface to help you stand up.
• MOD 2: If you start to get winded take the jump out and roll back to stand or just roll back and sit back up. Either way you are getting a great core workout! 

Burnout

Move 1: Front Squat (2:00)

• Stand with feet about hip distance apart, with your core engaged, chest up tall and weight back in your heels.
• Hold your weighted objects in your hands at chest level with your elbows up high.
• Begin sending your hips back behind you as you bend your knees to squat down and ensure your knees are tracking in line with your toes.
• Power through your heels and posterior chain to return to standing and repeat. 
• MOD: Squat down to a chair or elevated surface and remove the weighted objects.

Move 2: Alternating Reverse Lunge (2:00)

• Begin standing with your core engaged and chest upright.
• Step your right foot back behind you and begin bending your back knee until it nearly touches the ground in a 90 degree angle.
• As you stand up, power through your front heel and bring your back foot to meet your front foot as you come to standing.
• Repeat with your left leg and alternate back and forth (ensure your knee is not shooting out over your toe and maintain an upright chest). 
• MOD: Hold on to a chair or wall to help stabilize.

Move 3: Jack Touchdowns (1:00)

• Start standing with feet together and arms by your sides.
• Jump your feet out wide as you squat down and touch the ground below you with one hand.
• Drive through your heels as you power out of the squat, jump your feet together and back out to touch the ground with the opposite arm and repeat. 
• MOD: Take out the jump and simply step your feet out one at a time.