My clients love when they are my guinea pigs. Well, at least I’d like to think so. I mean what would you do if you came in for your Monday morning session and your trainer says, “I want a really tough, sweaty leg day, but I’m gonna test it out on you first”?? Of course, your going to jump at the chance! Or maybe not all of us are like Gladys, but she will never turn down leg day so I’m lucky. Enjoy this workout, but don’t forget to hydrate afterward.
Perform Two rounds of each circuit before going to the next.
Exercise Descriptions:
Weighted Split Lunge– balance with one foot on a bench and the other way far out, gripping your weights in your hands. Bend the back leg to lunge. One thing to watch here is your front knee’s position. I don’t want your knee past your toes when you lunge. To achieve this, be sure you have a wide step in the beginning and you lunge by sinking down instead of moving forward.
Plate Swing– sometimes we have too much fun during our workouts and today was definitely one of those days. For plate swing, squat low and squeeze your butt up, creating momentum to move the weight upwards. This works butt and legs, but also core and heart rate.
Banded Squat Shuffles– use a Theraband around your knees. Stay squatted low and slowly shuffle down and back. Keep your chest up and feel the burn in your side buns.
Deadlifts– personally, I love traditional deadlifts on leg day. Start the movement by hinging forward at your hips, then lowering your booty while maintaining a flat back. Squeeze your butt and pull from that hamstring on the way back up to standing. Yes, it is normal to feel this in your back, too.
Box Jumps– Choose a box height you are comfortable with. Jump on it. Works power in your legs and gets your heart rate up.
Weighted Leg Raise– it’ll be tough, but try this with the same weight you used for deadlift. Hold the bar straight up without hitting the rack. Use your abs to bring your legs up, but they will also be working to stabilize that bar.
Overhead Lunge– Hold a bar overhead and lunge down and back. Core is working to keep the bar in place. Lunge with good form by taking a big step forward and bending your back leg first.
Plate Side Bends– one of my favorites for obliques. Hold a weight in one hand and bend to the opposite side working those abs to “crunch.” You can lean slightly forward when crunching to feel it a little more.
Banded Squat Jumps-wrap that theraband around those knees again. Squat down and jump up, working power in those legs, baby! Be conscious to work against the band. Don’t let it pull your knees together.
One Leg Ham Curl-lay down and use a box to balance one foot with the other in the air. Push into the box foot and your elbows on the ground to push your pelvis up. The idea here is a one leg glute bridge so you should be a straight line from your bent knee to your shoulder. This works abs, but mostly hamstring. 
Try it out this week and let me know how those buns feel afterwards!
Amber Launstein 