After a whirlwind Christmas with my family, I wanted to share the leg day that my sister and I did (designed by her awesome trainer, Lisa) just before Christmas. I hadn’t been lifting for about a month, due to a small arm injury, and also working to train for the Santa 5K, so this was just the level of training that I needed. It was a bit easier than what Lisa usually puts together (shhhh, don’t tell her), which is good because it was still hard enough that I was VERY sore for about two days. Like, the kind of sore where you’re dreading having to sit down, because your legs and butt are screaming. Too much? Maybe. But there’s something about muscle soreness that makes me feel accomplished. Anyway, Kara, Doha, and I repeated this workout last night (we had to substitute some of Lisa’s moves, since our gym doesn’t have all of the same equipment). Check it out.
CIRCUIT 1, repeat 4x
Reverse lunge + squat (x10 each side, 10-lb dumbbells). Holding two dumbbells, from a step (with one level), do a backward lunge. Come back to the step, and do a squat on top. That’s one rep. Repeat all 10 reps on one side, then switch legs.
Body ball hamstring curls (x15). Start with your body in a straight line, then curl the ball toward you, by bending your knees. To isolate your hamstrings, allow your body to bend at the hips, but keep your hips elevated. Return to start, keeping your body lifted.
Body ball butt bridges (x15). Start with your back on the floor, and your heels dug into the very top of the ball, knees bent at 90 degrees. The ball should be about 6 inches from your butt. Lift your butt so that your torso and quads form a straight line, then come back down. For this one, you’re not moving the ball. You’re just lifting your butt up and down.
Body ball crunches (x15). Lying on your back, with your legs extended (hovering over the floor, not vertical), hold the ball between your feet/calves. Bring it forward by bending your knees up toward your face. Bring your shoulders up off the ground in a crunch to meet in the middle.
CIRCUIT 2, repeat 4x
Walking side squats with 15-lb kettlebell (x10 in each direction). We did 10 to the right, then 10 of the pop squats (below), 10 to the left, and 10 more pop squats.
Kettlebell pop squats (x20). Hold the kettlebell, letting it hang with your arms straight. Sit into a squat, and then pop up explosively, bringing your feet together. Immediately, pop your feet back out to sit back into another squat. It should look a bit like a squat jack.
Windshield Wiper Abs (x20).
CIRCUIT 3, repeat 4x
Squat + calf raise (x15). On a squat machine, load a challenging weight for squats (we added two 25-lb plates). Perform your squat — get low, baby — and at the top, go straight into a calf raise. That’s one rep.
Frog Jumps (x10-12). Try to cover the same distance every time, no matter how many reps it takes. You’ll be motivated to do the more powerful jumps, trust me. This video is a good example.
Incline Sit-ups (x15).
This workout took about an hour to complete. It was definitely a slap-in-the-face, welcome-back-from-vacation, you-clearly-have-lost-some-ground kind of workout. But in a good way, if that makes sense. 🙂 It was tough, and I was really dragging at the end, but we all willed our way through it, and got that ish done. I am sore today, but not as sore as the last time when I did it with my sister. So at least I can say that I’ve gotten better since then! I’m looking forward to more challenge in the upcoming weeks, and getting back to where I was in October. I know it won’t take long.
Happy New Year!
-Amanda
OneFitTwoFit 
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