Day 20: Lower Body Strength Workout | Bring your Dumbbells or Kettlebells - Optional Mini Bands!

Hey everybody. I'm Amy from Bodyfit by Amy. And this is your lower body strength workout. In this workout, we're going to work the entire lower body. Legs, hips, inner outer, thighs, glutes and incorporate some core. We'll be working with dumbbells and kettlebells and mini bands today. If you have all of those, use them. Otherwise just use whatever you have available to you. And of course I'll give you lots of different options to work to your level. Are you ready? Let's do it. Let's start just by getting the blood flowing, getting the muscles warm, getting some movement through the entire body. So we get the body warmed up, but also so we get our brains ready to go, we get the energy up. Just try to let go of whatever to do list may be running through your head. Whatever you're thinking about from work, from your family, just let it all go. Just be here with me today. As we move our bodies, let's rol shoulders. Even though we're not working the upper body, we're going to get everything moving all the way through. Of course, if you need more of a warm up, please get it on your own. Let's take those legs out right here. Just little side to side. Open up the hips. Now I will say our first circuit is going to be an activation circuit using the mini band. If you don't have the mini loop band, that's okay. You can just move your body. So it's going to feel like let's go flat back down and round it up like an extension of our warmup. So we're going to keep this pretty short. Warming up through the spine, through the back right here. Let's hold it underneath. And you're just going to gently roll the shoulders forward as you push out on the inside of the legs. Gently. But to get that hip opener, inner thighs and through our back right through here. Walk those feet in. Slowly round it up, let's roll those hips. Now what we're doing today, lower body strength. So back to basics, nothing crazy. Not sneaking upper body, let's add a little squat to this right here. But working through the lower body. So legs, quads, hamstrings, glutes, inner outer thighs and then sneaking in some core as well. We're gonna have our core engaged the entire time, but also making sure let's hold it down if you can. Little hip opener right here. And then hands up, let's do a little hinge. Hips to the back right here. So you can either keep the hands behind the head Keep that chest opener or here. And then big open, right, right here. And one more. Let's tap those feet back to open up through the hips right here. So you probably can see I have a lot of equipment today. If you don't have all of those things, that is okay. You can just keep it body weight or just use dumbbells, bands, whatever you have available to you. Hold it here if you want. Take it down, reach it up little rotate through as we drop that knee or otherwise just keep it up. World's greatest stretch. And then switch your legs. You can either switch from the top or switch from that plank. Let's take it here. Reach right here and step it in slowly. Roll it up. All right, so little hamstring curls here. Most everything today. 42nd, 32nd. I should say intervals. Let's take them across right here. And we're going to start with the band again. If you don't have the band, you can just keep it body weight. But go ahead. If you do, go ahead and grab the band. You can have the, the thick one or the elastic one. And we're going to start with it above your knees and just little side step. You can decide if you want to get low in a squat. Here we go. Step out. So 30 seconds. And again, this is activation. This is an extens of our warm up. So you don't have to get super low if you don't want. We want more of the hip activation working against the resistance. And then we'll isolate our right side and our left side. So a 30 second interval. Sometimes we're gonna split them up right and left like we're gonna do. In three, two, one. Just your right. 15 little taps out. 15 seconds only. Right here. Hip again. You can be a little higher. You can get down in that squat. I know. Good burn. Switch. Other side. 15. We're splitting that 30 seconds. Activating those glutes. We also love the band because we get lots of glutes. Hips, outer thighs. Three, two, one. Shake it out. Feel that heart rate. Get out. Now we're gonna move that band mid calf and we're gonna do what's called a little monster walk. So you're walking at the diagonal. Up for May, back for four. Now take it nice and slow. I don't want anybody to feel like they're not steady. If you do, you can just alternate just going to the back, which is what we get we're going to do when we isolate. So either walk it up, walk it back or just open it up. But we Want the diagonal. Here we go. Little side step. And you can side step at first. Step in. Step, step, tap, diagonal. Or maybe it feels better to keep it fluid. Maintain that tension. I know either one is fine. Maybe you get a little bit of both. Get ready. Three, two. Just to the right. Open it out and in. Open it out and in. So think of that. Transverse squat or transverse lunge. Doesn't matter if your toes stay parallel or if you open them up. We just want that activation. Feel the difference? Switch your sides. Here we go. Little burn. Open it up. Notice as we move down, we kind of move down in those hip joints. Three, two, and one. All right, so we're gonna keep it here. We're gonna do a little tap back. Not a lunge, but a tap back right here. Then we're gonna move it up quickly. 15 seconds right. 15 seconds left and this activation is over. Let's get going. 30 seconds down low. Here we go. Tap, tap. And what I'm looking for is just really stepping back. You can even press that heel down. So I know our muscle membrane wants to lunge, but actually just think push back in those glutes. Core engage right here. Then we'll adjust it up. We'll get 15 seconds right. 15 seconds left. Really challenge your range of motion. Straight to the back. Good. Now we're going to move it up above the knees so you can see what we're doing here. We got lateral to the back and diagonal, all our planes of motion. Here we go. One side only. Tap it back. Now you may feel that band start to move a little bit. If that's happening to you, you can switch to here or just take it off. Whatever you want. Tap out or a little leg lift. Let's switch it. Here we go. And listen. Rolling of that band is totally normal. It does not mean that the band doesn't fit or that you're doing anything wrong. It's just how it goes. Three, two, one. All right, team, so let's take that off. Last. To close out this circuit, we're going to take it with a plank knee cross. Now, this knee cross is meant to be again, extension of the warm up. So watch me here. If you need to take it standing, you can take it there. Watch me. We're gonna get outer and inner and we're gonna get outside. Spider standing works too, but let's activate the core while we also open up the hips. 3, 2, 1. 30 seconds. Take it across. Across and out and out. Notice I'm tapping my feet down in between, so inner Outer side, side. If you want, you can cross that leg long, and you can take it off the ground here. Up to you. So lots of core working. But again, hips, glutes, inner, outer thighs. One more each way. Yes, team. Stretch it back. All right, quick sip of water if you need it, because we are moving to those heavy weights. Here we go. Hopefully you feel your heart rate getting up a bit. Water. Cheers, y'. All. We're gonna start with the kettlebell, if you have it. If you don't have a kettlebell. Something heavy. Here's what we're starting with. We're gonna do a one and a half lunge. Down, halfway up. Down, all the way up. You can keep it stationary. You can adjust as you need to. Then we're gonna lunge and rotate. So we're taking that weight while we rotate our torso. Now, what we should not be doing is rotating our knee. Then if you want, we're gonna take it down to the ground. We're gonna rack that kettlebell. We're gonna step it up all the way down. If that doesn't feel good for your knee, just take it to a racked reverse lunge. Here we go, team. Heavy kettlebells. You got it. 30, 30 and 30. It's gonna get that heart rate up. We get a breather in between. Starting with your one and a half lunge. Here we go. Down, halfway up. Down, all the way up. Down, halfway down, all the way up. I know our muscle memory doesn't like that little halfway, right? We're used to just going down and up, so you really have to think about it really stabilizing in the core so it's not pulling us towards that side. That's where our core is coming in. Halfway. And here we go. Let's rotate so the weight goes to the back heel and bring it up. But this knee is not rotating. We're rotating in the torso and in the weight so we get the core. This leg really has to stabilize and work hard, right? But we're not twisting here. We're here. I know it's burning, but hang with me. All the way down. Twist all the way up. Last one if you can, team. Rack it here. Down. Step it all the way up. You can do it all the way down. Little shift back, forward and up. Yes, team. Forward and up. If that's not right for you, just reverse that lunge. All right. Try to keep it racked here, back here, and up. If you're losing your balance, hold on like I'm doing one more. Yes, team. Shake that out. I know. How's that? Hurry. Mine is way up there, right? I told you. We're bringing the strength. This. We're getting lunges out of the way early. Breathe. Catch your breath. We got the same thing. Other side. One and a half. Rotate. Racked. Either reverse, grab that weight, or. Here we go. Take it down. Halfway up. All the way up. Focus on this one. Shoulders square, hip square. I know we just did a lot of different things, three different moves. So it's kind of hard to get your brain back into that. Right. Down. Halfway. But straight, right. We're not going all the way down. We're not rotating just yet, but here we go. Nice and steady. Core control. Rotate. Bring it up. Rotate. Bring it up. Burn. I know. It's like our brain. Second side is always harder because we've already worked those legs, right. Even though that front leg is. Has more of the power, more the control, both legs are working on both, so of course we feel it. And here we go, team. Rack it, if you can. All the way down. Shift the weight. Stand up all the way down. Shift the weight to the back, forward and up again. You can use this hand to make it give you more stability, or you can always just take it to a reverse lunge. It's almost harder. Right, Last one. Boom. Breathe. Set that kettlebell down. Oh, man. A few little hamstrings, right? And right here. Grab some water, y'. All. My heart rate got way up on that one. I don't know if yours did, too. I hope so. Way more than those cardio workouts, right? When we're lifting something heavy, our heart is going to pump hard. So that's another plug for why we need strength training. It's going to train us cardiovascularly as well. Here's what we got, team. We're gonna do a deadlift into a calf raise. So two heavy weights, if you got it. Deadlift. Come up to the top. Little lift. If that doesn't feel right for your ankles, just keep the deadlift. Then we're going to do the same thing with a sumo and a raise. Then we're gonna have a couple different swings, and within that, we'll get a little core in between. Within that. I will give you options. Go ahead and grab those weights. Weights. Here we go. Get set. Shoulders back. Core engaged. Deadlift. Calf raise. Here we go. Hinge. Hips to the back. Stand up straight and up. Hinge. Stand up straight and down. Up. Yes. So this is our hinge pattern. So you'll notice these circuits have band all different planes of motion. Lunge sequence and breathe for just a second. Take those toes out. Watch me here. I'm gonna do the sumo as I come up. I'm gonna lift here. I'm gonna rest my weights here. Here we go. Sumo up calf. So those hips are still going to the back. But when we shift the weight coming up, you're going to feel a little more in those inner thighs. Right? Down, up and up. Yes. Last one. And up. Yes. Team, set those weights down. All right, so little stretch like we did. I know. Then we're gonna take it to a swing. So you can do just your regular deadlift, either version of those deadlifts, or if you're comfortable with a swing, either one heavy kettlebell or one dumbbell in the center. 30 seconds of your swing. Swing. We're gonna power it up, let it drop. Lock out at the top. Let it drop, Bring the power. Okay. Not lifting with the arms. Not a squat. It's a hinge. 30 second swing. Get set in three, two, one. Let it drop. Lock out. Let it drop. Yes, you can. Chest is gonna drop, is gonna follow that weight. But we're keeping the eyes up in front. That's going to keep us from rounding in that back. Squeezing those back muscles, but not lifting with the arms. Right? We got five. Push into those feet. Three, two, one. Swing. And relax. Set that to the side. Meet me on the mat. All right, While we catch our breath from that, we're gonna get a little stretch through those hamstrings. So you can either just be here to here if you want to. Just get the stretch. My legs are shaking. If the core is not right for you, or you can just lift, Keep one leg off the ground. Or we're here for 30 seconds. Flex the foot, stretch the hamstrings, wrap the core. Here we go. Yes, Right here. I know that heart rate might be up from the swing, so I really want you to think about your breathing. Zip up the core, button up the rib cage, lift on that pelvic floor, and then pull in for two. If the shoulders are feeling it too much, you can just do the legs. Or again, put one foot on the ground. 3, 2, 1. And relax. All right, team, bring it up. Here is what we've got. You have two options. Kickstand deadlift. Now, a lot of us have done this before. It's a single leg deadlift with a kickstand. So foot to the back. So try it with me. You're just going here to here. You can just do that. Each side, 30 seconds. Or if you want to try a kickstand swing, we're gonna have two dumbbells on either side. Looks like this. Let it drop. Let it drop. So you get the same power you do from a regular swing. If you've never done that or that doesn't feel right for you, I promise you're still going to get a lot out of the kickstand deadlift. So you pick. Kickstand, deadlift, Kickstand swing. Join me here. 3, 2, 1. Gotta keep those dumbbells on the side. You can also just switch to one dumbbell. I put. Put it on that outside, drive it up, let it drop. Lock it out. Let it drop. Same thing we do with our regular swing. Right? Again. That's not right for you. Here to here, right? You're still gonna get that good hinge pattern. 5, 4, 3, 2, 1. Swing. And relax. Set those weights down. Little stretch. I know. Catch your breath. It's up there, right? Same thing. Other side. Kickstand, deadlift. Kickstand swing again. If you want to try the swing but you don't feel comfortable with two dumbbells, put one on the outside. Take it here. All right. Or you can just do a regular kettlebell swing. You do you grab those weights. Dead lift or swing. Here we go. Push out of that front heel. Either way, if you're staggered in that staggered stance, as you come up out of the deadlift or as you power up out of the swing. Yes, team. Keep it going. I know it's a tough one, but that you are tough as well. Three, two, one. Swing and relax. Oh, man. Let's kick it out right here. Standing scissors. There's that heart rate, right? Grab some water. One more circuit up top, then we take it down to the mat. Did I mention this is no repeat, right? We're not going through circuits where then we go through everything again. Grab some water. We're getting it done. We're giving you lots of variety because, you know, I love that. But repetition, movement patterns, right? Three different types of lunges, but repetition of lunges. Three different types of hinges, but repetition of hinges. That is what it's about. We need repetition to get stronger, right? To get progressive overload. But we can get it in a lot of different ways. All right, team, so you pick dumbbells or kettlebells on this. We're going to do a squat to a B stand. So essentially a regular squat to a B stance, which looks a lot like your kickstand, except it's a squat, not a hinge. All Right. So we're gonna start with that. Right foot is going to be in the front. Left foot is the one that's moving here to here. And then we're going to take it with a kettlebell over to a side lunge. Same thing, both sides. All right, let's get it done. I'm gonna go one heavy dumbbell to start. I'm gonna have my heavy kettlebell close by to switch to in my side lunge. So we're here. You're alternating between a regular squat and a B stance or a kickstand squat. Still sitting low. Here we go. Squat. Step it back. Stagger right here. So you're still sitting like you're sitting in a chair. It's just as if you're staggered to sit in that chair. Down looks like this from the side. This might be helpful. So you're not hinging. Drop low at the squat. Drop low in the squat. Just that front leg doing a little bit more, right? Yes. One more. Here we go. Grab that kettle bell. We're going to take it over into a side lunge. Here we go. Side lunge. Bring it up. Now, you can also just do one heavy dumbbell or two heavy dumbbells. You can also have the weight in the center. I like to cross it so I can really get deep. Right, and here. Down and up. Yes, you can. I know. Three, two, one. Bring it center. And we're just going plie. Squat, down and up. Right. So a lot of outer. Now we get those inners and breathe. So we did the sumo deadlift. This is your squat. Squeeze up through the center. If you need to take it. No weight. You can, but lift. Connect to the core pelvic floor. Yes, you can. Squeeze. Five, four, three, two, one. Yes. All right, team, let's take it to that other side. Remember, have that close by. We're going with our B stance, our regular squat to our B stamps. Then we go to that side lunge. Then we'll finish out with a plie drag where we drag those inner thighs in, if you want. All right, this is it. Then we're down on the mat. Left foot staying stationary, right foot moving. Three, two, one. Down. And here. Yes, you can. And here. Boom. Yes. Burn. 3, 2, and 1. Get set. Side lunge. And up. Yes. And up. Yes, you can hang with me. Breathe. Keep that chest open, especially as that heart rate gets up, Right? I know. Take it center. Plie with a drag. Plie. Squeeze those heels together. Get low. Squeeze. If the drag is not right for you, just step it In. That works, too. And here. Yes, you can. I know. Breathe. Last one. Boom. Shake it out, team. Catch your breath. Water. It's a lot of circuits. I know. Let's take it down onto the mat. Cheers, y'. All. All right, so if you have a band, we're going to start with a little bit of core with your band. So let's take it on to our side. We're gonna do a side plank. Clamshell. You know, I love this move. If you don't have the band, you want to rest a weight right there. That works, too. Otherwise, we got 30 seconds. Here we go. Up and up. So this lower open, oblique knees are slightly in front. You can also separate them out if you want to do the clamshell at the bottom. And then lift you, do you. But open those hips. Core engaged. We just got a lot of inners on that plie. Now we get those outers. Three, two, one. Relax it down. Let's take that top leg out. We're just going to do little pulses. 15. I know. Even without the band, you're gonna feel it. I promise. And now we're taking it in. Push it out. Think that back corner of the wall. If you're feeling fancy, stay up in that side plank. If you want to keep it low, that works, too. 3, 2, 1. Switch your sides right here. Oh, right. We are so close. Team, let's take it here. Up and up. Then we got little pulses, little push back. Fifteen. Fifteen in three, two, one. Up and up. So lots of core here. Lots of outer thighs. Feet are glued together. You got it. Hang with me. Breathe. Yes. Up and down. Boom. I know. Good to slow it down, but I'm feeling it. I don't know about you. Here we go. All right, take it down. Little pulses up. Starting with just that. Just flex the foot straight up. We got hips, we got glutes. And then you can take it up into that side plank again if you want. We're going to bend the knee, push it out to that back corner. Here we go. In and out. In and out. Stay up in that side plank if you want. Breathe. Yes, team. 3, 2, 1. Relax it down onto your back, team. All right, so here is what we've got. We're going to start with a bridge. Up and out, right? Still working those glutes. Then we're gonna take it with the weights. We're gonna do a bridge ladder. So up and out for one, take it down. Up and out. Two, take it down all the way up till our 30 seconds is done. Start with just the bridge. I'm going to start with no weight, only band, and then add the weight. But it's up to you. Here we go. Up and out. So I want you. Yes, Our glutes are on fire, right? Hamstrings, glutes, everything in between. But I want you to really think about that core. If you can get your brain thinking about how can I connect to the core as I do the bridge with the abduction. That's gonna one help your take your mind off the pain, but also really engage that core right here. Yes, you can. All right, team, so grab those weights with or without weights? With or without the band? You're gonna press out on the ladder format. We got 30 seconds. So close. Here we go. Up, out. Out for one. And down. Core engaged. Up, out for two. And down. Up. Three, two, one. And down. I know. Three, two. Oh, so sorry. Four. Yes. Can we get five? Up and out for five. Four, four, Three, two, one. And relax. All right, team, last thing from here, put the band. If you have it over your feet, separated out here, we're gonna do a slow bicycle. You're gonna push with one, pull with the other. Focus on that core. We are so close. 3, 2, 1. And here. Yes. Boom. Slow and controlled right through here. Last one. And relax up onto your feet. Team, if before you want to come up, you want to get a little hip stretch, go for it. You guys, I think we got everything. We got quads, hamstrings, glutes, inner outer thighs, hips, core. How about we finish with one more swing? Your pick, regular swing, regular deadlift. Or if you want to do that skier swing up to you. Let's finish it out strong. I am pouring sweat, but let's finish on a high note to get that heart pumping one last time. Who's feeling that? I know. All right, remember me tomorrow when you're feeling that good soreness. Let's take it here. If your back is not feeling it, just pick something else. Alternate your lunge. Something like that. But let's finish strong. Shoulders, back, core engage. Prep it. Three, two. Whatever you got for 30 seconds. Here we go. Use your breath to help you lock it out. If you're comfortable with the handoff, swing. If you've done it before, hand it off. Or just keep the regular. Yes. So close to being done with this workout. 3, 2, 1. Swing and relax. Yes, team, stretch it out. I know. Catch your breath. Set those weights to the side first. Let's get some little taps right here. That's going to help stretch out those hips, outer thighs and then little taps behind inner thighs. Oh, nice work, everybody. You did it. I hope you're feeling strong. I hope you're feeling accomplished. I hope you're feeling tired but energized is what I always like to say. Because you did it. You showed up, you moved your body. How about we get a little hamstring stretch? So if you can, hips to the back, pull the toe towards you. You can grab onto the wall if you need a little extra balance or take your feet, your stance a little wider right through here. Be sure to leave me a comment, let me know how you're feeling. Leave me a like don't forget to subscribe to the YouTube channel. Please subscribe, comment, share the channel, channel share share the videos that helps us reach more people. We really want to get out there to more people who need to find ways to get moving and ways that give them options to be where they are today to do what works for them, yet still be challenged, still get stronger. Let's take those shoulders forward right here and little quad stretch if you can. I like to grab a onto the wall. If you can bring that foot up, tilt that hip forward. You can do a little push and pull, pushing your shoelaces into your hand. If you can't get your foot all the way, just tilt the hip forward or place it on a chair or a bench. And also at the same time, you can open up the chest right there. Of course, check out all the links in the description. If you're not in the Body Fit Athletic club already, we'd love to have you. That is our private, exclusive community where you get lots of exclusive content, direct support from me and from a registered dietitian, nutrition plan, live streams, Q&As, so much more. We would love to have you there. Thank you so much for joining me today. One big deep breath in and out. You did it. That was your lower body strength workout. Great job, everybody.