Welcome to another great Wild Workout Wednesday Link Up where Annmarie from The Fit Foodie Mama, Jen from Pretty Little Grub, Michelle at Fruition Fitness and I (or today, Patty!) bring you workout ideas, motivation, inspiration and recipes to try. Join us each week by reading along, linking up and grab the button to proudly display on your blog/in your posts!
Hi, there! My name is Patty, and I live in Southern Maryland. I am a elementary school PE teacher. I met my husband teaching and we have been married for two years and have a dog named Blitz. I am a food, fitness, and dessert lover and seriously have no other hobbies 😉 I started my blog Sweet and Strong because I have a passion for teaching others how to live a healthier lifestyle. I like helping people learn to cook and eat healthier, find workouts that are challenging enough but they enjoy doing, and teaching others that it's OK to have the occasional treat or indulgence food. I'm all about that balance and moderation. I wanted to share all my recipes, workouts, and lifestyle on my blog to inspire others.
It hurts to climb up the stairs of my three story townhouse, if I drop something I dread bending down to pick it up, and getting in and out of the car, ahhhh! But I love that these simple everyday activities are a struggle sometimes because that means I had an awesome leg day workout. Don't worry, if you're not like me and hate the 'beautiful pain', it only lasts for a day or two and can be eased by some stretching. Lower body workouts are one of my favorites, so I thought it would be appropriate to share this circuit.
I love starting the week working my lower body. Your legs are the largest muscle groups and you burn the most calories by doing exercises that use them. When I do a lower body workout I typically add a few ab exercises in between to give my legs a little rest. I wrote this workout months ago and have been doing it or something similar for months now. I use a set of medium weights for most of the moves in this workout, I would suggest 8 or 10 pound dumbbells along with a mat if you're on a hard surface. All of the moves can also be done just using your body weight though. Be sure to read through the entire post to see a description of each exercise and read how you could challenge yourself by adding weight to some of the moves. Let me know if you give this workout a try or tag me (@sweetandstrong1 on twitter and @sweetandstrongblog on instagram) in a sweaty selfie, I would love to see it!
Be sure to complete a proper warm-up before completing this workout and cool down and refuel your body with protein and carbohydrates after.
Jump Squats: You could do traditional jump squats and squat down and then jump up or any variation. I like doing squat jacks. And I put these at the beginning of the workout to help warm up my legs for everything coming up.
Curtsy Lunge: I actually usually do a step up on the bench then a reverse lunge when I initially wrote this workout, but since I figured most of you might not have access to a bench I modified it. Lunge back with your left leg, keeping the right leg on the floor and bend into a 90 degree angle (knee shouldn't go over the toes). When you come back to start instead of tapping the left foot to the ground bring in front of your body in a high knee position, trying to keep your balance on the right leg and repeat. I highly suggest holding 8 or 10 pound weights at your side as you do this move.
Runners Crunch: Make sure to do a little one second hold each time you bring a leg up. For an extra challenge try to keep your feet off the floor the entire time, but make sure your lower back is completely touching the ground, don't sacrifice form!
Surrenders: I love this move! Always make sure you're pushing yourself up using your heels. Add weights and hold them at your shoulders to make the move more advanced.
Sumo Squat Jumps: Similar to the first move, but your legs are wider and feet are pointing outwards. To make this move more challenging hold one weight up by your chin or between your legs.
Low to High Wood Chops: One tip for this exercise is watch the weight move with your eyes, that will make you squat deeper and turn more into the oblique twist.
Jumping Lunges: I sometimes do two pulses in between jumping and switching legs and again hold weights by your side to make them more difficult.
Side Elbow Plank with a Twist: This is a newer move for me, but I love how it works your obliques just by holding the side plank, and the twist is an added bonus move for those muscles.
Phew I'm tired just thinking about this workout! When my legs are sore after leg day I usually go for a short run or work only my upper body the following day, here's one of my favorite upper body workouts.
What on your workout to-do list today? Share all your Wild Workouts by adding them to the Wild Workout Wednesday Link Up below!
Let's Chat:
Do you prefer upper or lower body workouts?
How do you relive sore muscles after a workout?
Be sure to connect with Patty over at sweetandstrongblog.com!
