ONE-HOUR WORKOUT: BEST LOWER BODY EXERCISES
Despite the misconception, strength training (i.e. lifting weights) will not turn fat into muscle or make you inflexible. Strength training, however, will help you build a defined butt, upper body, and legs. It can also increase your metabolism and improve mental/physical health. There are so many benefits and reasons for why women and men should lift. It’s practically a no-brainer!
So go and hit the gym with this One-Hour Workout Routine!! We outlined the best lower body exercises for you to conquer at the gym down below.
To break things down, we explained each exercise in detail and included video links (just in case you need visual clarification). Feel free to save this routine and share it with your friends!
For more fitness tips read How I Lost My First 30 Pounds: 5 Ways to Mentally Prepare for Weight Loss and WARNING: Stop Killing Your Body.
One-Hour Workout Routine: Best Lower Body Exercises
What you need to know before you start:
Compound Exercises Are Your Friends
Before you can build defined legs and a toned butt, you need to know how you can grow muscle mass fast and efficiently. I am not going to throw a bunch of strength training jargon at you, but it is important for you to understand compound exercises and why we included a lot of them in our One-Hour Workout Routine for your lower body.
Compound exercises are those that involve more than one joint and muscle group. An example of this would be squats. This movement not only works your quads but also your core, butt, back, hamstring and calves. One simple exercise like squatting will work your entire lower body.
This is FANTASTIC for us because the more muscles you stimulate in your workout, the more strength and muscle mass you will build!
We also included compound exercises in our One-Hour Routine because it saves you time in the gym. We only got one hour so we have to make the most of it!
Compound exercises can save you A LOT of time because it targets all of your muscles at once. For example, doing isolation exercises like leg extensions will only target one muscle group: the quads. It makes sense to incorporate more compound exercises like squats, deadlifts and lunges into your workout because it will make your body grow all of the muscles at the same time.
Strength vs. Size
It is important that you know whether or not you want to increase your muscle size or gain strength. Knowing the difference affects how many repetitions (reps) you need to lift. Let’s break down the best rep range and weight for your workout:
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If you want to obtain hypertrophy (a.k.a. increase your muscle size), you need to choose a weight that will let you reach muscle failure within 8-12 reps. This means that you need to be lifting a weight that you can do at least 8 – 12 times. You should not be physically capable of completing more than 12 reps. Completing an exercise for a set of 8-12 reps helps you build your muscles because it targets your fast-twitch muscle fibers. These fibers are your BFFs. They are more likely to increase in size when stimulated by resistance training.
Pro Tip 1: If you can only complete 5 or 6 reps before your muscles give out from fatigue, your weight is too heavy. You need to reduce it by a few pounds in order to finish the set. Keep your weight LOW and your reps HIGH.
Pro Tip 2: If you can complete more than 12 reps, add weight to your next set.
Pro Tip 3: Keep your rest periods in between sets to 1-2 minutes.
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If you want to take your strength to the next level, you need to increase the weight and lower your reps to 1-6 reps. This means that you need to be lifting a weight that you can only do for 1-6 reps. Completing sets at a heavier weight will provide the correct amount of stimulus required to grow stronger.
Pro Tip 1: Keep your rest periods in between sets to 3-5 minutes. Why? Heavier weights take a toll on your body neurologically. So CHILL OUT and wait a few minutes.
At What Taylor Likes, we like to train for strength. In this One-Hour Workout Routine, you will find compound exercises that need to be completed for 5 reps.
One-Hour Workout Routine: Best Lower Body Exercises
Now that you know about compound exercise and rep ranges let’s get in to the workout routine!
*Superset = two exercises are performed in a row without stopping
SUPERSET 1
1A. Clean or WEIGHTED SQUAT JUMP
Sets: 6-7, Reps: 5
How to Clean: A text description and a visual description can be found here.
Muscles Stimulated: Deltoids, triceps, biceps, abs, butt, hamstrings and calves.
If you cannot perform the first exercise modify the movement by performing a weighted squat jump.
How to Squat Jump: A text description and a visual description can be found here.
Muscles Stimulated: Deltoids, triceps, biceps, abs, butt, hamstrings and calves.
1B. SUMO SQUAT
Sets: 4, Reps: 3
How to Sumo Squat: A text description and a visual description can be found here.
Muscles Stimulated: Quads, butt, core, and hamstrings.
SUPERSET 2
2A. BARBELL BACK SQUAT
Sets: 6-7, Reps: 5
How to Barbell Back Squat: A text description and a visual description can be found here.
Muscles Stimulated: Quads, butt, core, and hamstrings
2B. COUCH STRETCH
Sets: 2, Reps: 30 seconds each
How to Couch Stretch (a.k.a. All Fours Quad Stretch): A text description and a visual description can be found here.
Muscles Stretched: Quads
SUPERSET 3
3A. SINGLE LEG RDL (ROMANIAN DEADLIFT)
Sets: 5, Reps: 5
How to Single Leg RDL: A text description and a visual description can be found here.
*Be sure to stand one leg and kick the other behind you.
Muscles Stimulated: Quads, butt, lower back and hamstrings
3B. DUMBBELL STEP-UP
Sets: 3, Reps: 10
How to Step-Up: A text description and a visual description can be found here.
Muscles Stimulated: Quads, butt, core and hamstrings
Let us know if you have any questions down below! If you have a favorite exercise, tell us.
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