Our second leg workout with no squats, this 40 minute workout video offers a whole new collection of great toning exercises for the lower body that don’t involve a single squat or lunge.
These are thigh shaping, calorie burning, core engaging, balance developing, dynamic butt lifting exercises that work.
Even if you love squats and lunges, this is a great routine to do when you want to work your muscles in new ways – which is always a great idea.
What to Expect – Routine Layout
8 Bodyweight Exercises
Varying numbers of repetitions; watch for the written cues
2 Rounds
40 Minutes Total
For this routine you will need: A chair or countertop - or really anything that will lend itself to supporting you while you lean forward for the Standing Leg Lift Pulses.
Exercises
20 Reverse Leg Lift Extensions: This one burns in the gluteus but also targets the hamstrings (backs of thighs) and core. Start with your bodyweight in your knees and forearms. Lift one leg straight out & up behind your body; you will maintain the pose through all of your repetitions. With leg still straightened out above the ground, bend at the knee to bring the toe up towards the back of the thigh. Repeat all reps on one leg (without rest if you can) before switching to repeat on the opposite side.
10 Downward Dog + Arcs: Lift the booty, tone the thighs, challenge your upper body (those shoulders may be loudly protesting on your last few reps). Go into a Downward Dog (in a nutshell: head between hands with palms flat on the floor, legs straight, feet on the ground) and move one leg up and over into an arc motion. Repeat back the opposite direction before switching to repeat on the opposite leg; do 10 reps on each leg.
10 Bridges + Circles: Just another painful and creative way to make your lower body muscles scream without squats. Lie on your back with your feet on the ground. Press up through the feet so that your bodyweight rests in your feet and upper back. Kick one leg out straight and draw a circle in both directions with your toe. Repeat 10 times on each side.
50 Standing Leg Lift Pulses: This has to be one of my favorite butt lifting exercises. Truth be told, I often do this exercise while hovering over my laptop, writing up these workout descriptions. Lean forward so that you can rest your hands or forearms on a chair or tabletop (or anything sturdy). Lift one leg straight out behind you and do an upward pulsing motion. 50 times per side. Love the heat this creates in those muscles.
10 Side Leg Raise Extensions: This one targets the outer thigh & glute, hamstrings, quads, plus a bit of obliques. Lie on your side with your knees and hips stacked and bent at a 90. Maintaining the 90º, lift the top leg up; once at the top of the motion, extend the leg and then bring it back down before going back into a 90 and starting all over again.
10 Scissor Bridges: For the core, thighs and glutes. Go into a Bridge position and extend just one leg. Abduct the hip (pull it away from the other supporting leg & the midline of the body), before going back to the starting position with the thighs together. Try to repeat all reps on one side before releasing from the Bridge position.
Pilates Leg Circles – 10 Small, 10 Big: Great for toning the thighs, also a good abs and lower back exercise. Lie flat on your back and extend on leg straight up in the air over your hip joint; draw a small circle. Repeat 10 times on each leg before repeating the same idea, this time drawing large circles.
Calorie Burn
We estimate that this No Squat Leg Workout burns between 4-7 calories a minute, or 160-280 calories total.
Many of the butt and thigh exercises in this routine are deceptively challenging – they are a lot harder than they look. You might watch a couple minutes of the video and become skeptical about the level of difficulty but all you need to do is follow along for a few minutes and your burning glute, thigh and hamstring muscles will make very clear to you that they are being thoroughly engaged. In order to get the most out of this workout, make sure that you utilize the written descriptions and verbal cues to the max in order to do all of the moves with perfect form.
As a random side note, we are so appreciative for each and every one of our viewers. We don’t want to get all gushy on you but we do want to say that we feel incredibly fortunate to get to work with such encouraging, supportive people. Thank you!