The August issue of Women's Health magazine has quite a few great looking workouts and interesting articles. But, the one that has gotten my attention the quickest is the 15-minute workout for sculpting great legs. The workout is simple enough, being comprised of four moves done three times with a one to two minute break between each circuit.
The
workout was created by Alli McKee, a personal trainer based out of
Baltimore. McKee says that the secret to this workout getting such great
results is how it works all of the largest muscle groups of the legs.
By working all of these large muscle groups, we are able to build more
muscle, burn more calories, and increase our metabolic rate for longer
after the workout is complete.
The only downside I can see to this workout before completing it is that is takes three different type of equipment. If you are able to complete this workout at a gym or you have all of these already, there is really no issue. Resistance bands, weights, and stability balls are all great for working the legs and can all be found in this workout.
The Workout
The entire workout took me 18-minutes and burned 131 calories. That is a pretty great calorie burn considering that my heart reate never went above 80%! I must admit though, A 1-2 minute break between circuits just seemed like too much, so I took it down to 30-seconds between each circuit. If I took the recommended 1-2 minutes, this workout would have been upwards of 20-minutes long.
Each exercises gives a range of reps to complete from 10-12 for some, to 30-40 for others. I completed the max amount of reps during my first and third circuit and the minimum for the second for all exercises but the first. The first exercise was doing too much saddlebag toning and was way too much fun to end at 30 reps alone. This resistance band move was the only move I did max reps for during every circuit- I just loved it too much to stop.
Out of the four moves in the workout, the two beginning exercises were the hardest for me and the last two felt more like a cool down than an intense workout. Each exercise works a different part of the legs, ranging from upper bum to saddlebags to inner thighs- the last exercise even worked those hard to reach muscle behind the knee. This workout was a great leg workout introduction. It is something that beginners can do without feeling too overwhelmed and advanced fitness buffs can do after their usual routine or for a bit of a switch up.
After this workout I went on to complete today's squat challenge. My legs were crying.
