The No Squats Lower Body Workout
by: Brooke Anderson, CPT
Squats and lunges are excellent exercises for your lower body. However, they also happen to be a couple of the most disliked exercises for many.
So, I created this workout to show you how to build muscle in your lower body without a single squat or lunge!
Start with a gentle 5 minute warm up:
1 minute slow march, progressing to a slow jog
1 minute hip circles
1 minute side to side hamstring curls
1 minute side to side tap
1 minute ‘jump rope’
Now, move through these exercises with minimal rest. If you must rest, keep it between 15-30 seconds to get the full effect of circuit training and always continue gentle movement even during rest, do not stop moving.
1: Marching Hip Raises
Lie on your back and raise your hips to the sky. Engage your core and be careful not to overextend your back, while still keeping your hips high. Raise one leg to your chest in a march and back down to the ground. Repeat on the opposite side for one rep. Complete 15 reps. You can also perform this on a bosu ball for an added challenge.
2: Calf Raises:
Standing your with feet hip distance apart, start with your toes pointing to the sides of the room. Lift up on to your toes and back down. Repeat for 15 reps. Turn your feet forward and repeat 15 more reps.Turn your feet in and repeat 15 more reps.3: Side Shuffle & Hamstring Curls:
Stand tall with your feet shoulder distance apart. Wrap a resistance band around your ankles. Keep your knees soft and start to take big steps side to side. Continue for 30 seconds. You should feel this in your inner and outer thighs and your hips.For the hamstring curls, wrap the band around the bottom of one foot and the opposite ankle. With your chest high and your knees soft, curl your foot up. Complete 12 reps, each side.
4: Kick Backs:
Come down onto your hands and knees. Place your hands directly below your shoulders, engage your core and keep your spine neutral. Avoid overextending your back. With your knee bent, start to kick one side up bring it high enough that your thigh is in line with your hips and bring back down. Repeat on each side for 15 reps.5: Leg Extensions:
On all fours again, hands below your shoulders, core engage, spine neutral, extend one leg straight behind you. Begin to pulse it up brining it to hip height and back down. Complete 12 reps on each side.Complete this circuit 2-3 times total. Rest 1-2 minutes between circuits.
