Dear legs, I'm sorry. You will be absolute toast tomorrow. Love, this bodyweight workout. PS — tell your close buddy, butt, he won't be able to sit down for days.
Yep, this high-intensity interval bodyweight workout is all about the lower body. It alternates between plyo moves to get the heart racing and strengthening moves to get your muscles burning.
30-Minute Bodyweight Leg Workout
Equipment needed: None
Directions: Perform this 15-minute workout twice, for a total of 30 minutes. Use the first two moves in the first round as your warmup. Take three to five minutes to cool down and stretch your hamstrings and glutes.
Stand with your feet shoulder-width apart and extend your arms straight out to either side with palms facing down. This is the starting position.
Jump and cross your right arm over your left and your right foot over your left. Jump back to the starting position, then cross with the opposite arm and foot.
This counts as one rep.
Keep going for 30 seconds.
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Air Squat
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Stand with your feet slightly wider than your shoulders, feet parallel or toes slightly turned out.
Bend your knees, lowering your hips deeply. Bring your thighs parallel to the floor and bend the elbows, keeping weight back in your heels.
Rise back up, straightening the legs completely, squeezing the glutes at the top of the movement to get the most out of the exercise.
This counts as one rep.
Do as many squats as you can in 30 seconds.
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Squat Jack
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Stand with your feet shoulder-width apart and slightly turned out, in a deep squat. Put your arms in a "goal post" position with elbows bent and close to your thighs.
Jump up explosively, bringing your feet together and clapping your hands above your head. Keep your core engaged.
This counts as one rep.
Continue for 30 seconds.
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Alternating Forward Lunge
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Stand tall with your feet hip's width distance apart. Bend the elbows at your sides or rest your hands on the hips.
Step forward with the right foot, lowering your hips until both knees are bent at about a 90-degree angle. Keep the front knee directly above the ankle, and lower the left knee to just above the floor.
Keep the weight in your heels as you push back to the starting position.
Repeat stepping with the left foot this time, completing one rep.
Keep alternating for 30 seconds.
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Squat Thrust
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Begin standing with your feet hip distance apart.
Lower into a crouching squat with your hands on the floor.
Keeping your abs engaged, jump your feet back so you're in plank position.
Keeping your arms straight, jump your feet forward behind your hands.
Stand up to complete one rep.
Do as many reps as you can for 30 seconds.
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Sumo Squat
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Stand with your feet wide, toes pointing out. Bend your knees, lowering your hips deeply, so your thighs are parallel with the floor. Make sure to keep your weight back in your heels.
Then rise back up, straightening the legs completely and squeezing the glutes at the top of the movement to get the most from the exercise.
Do as many squats as you can for 30 seconds.
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Lunge Jump
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Stand with your feet together and your knees soft.
Jump and come into a lunge with your left leg forward.
Push off with both feet, jumping them together, then hopping into a lunge with your right leg in front.
Jump your feet back together to complete one rep.
Keep going for 30 seconds.
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Side Elbow Plank With Leg Lift
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Place your right elbow on the ground. Extend both legs out so that your body is in one straight line and you're balancing on the outside edge of your right foot. Flex both feet if you can, and rest your left hand on your upper hip.
Keeping your spine lengthened and your abs engaged, lift your left leg up just higher than your top hip.
Then slowly lower it back to your bottom leg.
This completes one rep.
Keep going for 30 seconds. The second time you do this exercise, do it on the other side.
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Around-the-World Squat Hop
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Before you start this move, visualize a large square on the floor where you're standing in the bottom right corner, feet hip-distance apart.
Keeping weight in the heels, bend the knees and squat down. Take a huge jump forward to the top right corner of that imaginary square, landing quietly back into a squat.
Keep going around the square, jumping to the left, jumping back behind you, and jumping to the right. Now you're back where you started.
This completes one rep.
Keep going for 30 seconds.
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Alternating Reverse Lunge
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Stand with feet together. Take a controlled lunge (or large step) backward with your left foot.
Lower your hips so that your right thigh (front leg) becomes parallel to the floor and your right knee is positioned directly over your ankle. Keep your left knee bent at a 90-degree angle and pointing toward the floor. Your left heel should be lifted.
Step the left foot in, and lunge back with the right foot.
Continue alternating for 30 seconds.
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Side Skater
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Start in a small squat.
Jump sideways to the left, landing on your left leg.
Bring your right leg behind to your left ankle, and don't let it touch the floor.
Reverse direction by jumping to the right with your right leg.
This completes one rep.
Keep going for 30 seconds.
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Wall Sit
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Stand with your back against a wall, placing your feet about two feet in front of you. Feet should be hip-distance apart.
Bending your knees, slide your back down the wall until your knees are at 90-degree angles. Your knee joints should be over your ankle joints, so you may need to inch your feet farther from the wall to create proper alignment. Don't let your knees fall into the midline of your body or sway outward.
