Leg Day Circuit

When it comes to intense workouts, you don’t have to spend hours in the gym. You can get an intense workout in 30-40 minutes, you just have to plan it well and make each minute count.

We’re mid-summer here, which means long, hot days with lots of sunshine (YAY!). Spending any time in the gym is a hard sell. But if you’re like me and you need that sweaty break to separate your work day from your leisure time, you want a quick-and-dirty workout that will have you through your workout quickly, knowing that you are getting all of the benefits (maybe more, because you are putting a bikini on more often these days), of a typical workout.

A good way to get in an intense workout in a short period of time: Circuit Training.

Circuit training is a style of workout that has you cycling through multiple exercises with little to no rest in between. Circuit training workouts come in all shapes in sizes. For example, a great circuit can consist of cycling through a list of strength exercises and cardio exercises. Or you could cycle from one muscle group to the next (quads, hamstrings, back, chest, shoulders, etc). Or you could do what I do in the workout below, and focus solely on one general muscle group per mini-circuit.

Circuit workouts give you the muscle-building benefits of a strength routine and the fat burning benefits of a cardio session. You can max out your results in a minimum amount of time. And you can totally put any gym boredom you’ve been feeling to bed.

When I’m looking for a great workout that will get me in and out of the gym in 30-40 minutes, circuits are my go-to.

Give the following workout a try. Your legs will be burning, I promise!

A couple of pointers for some of the not-so-obvious exercises:

• “Z” Bounds – Start by standing with both feet together facing forward. Brace your abs, squat slightly and then explode upwards, through your heels, in a forward-diagonal direction. Swing your arms as you jump to increase your momentum. Land on the balls of your feet and lower into a slight squat again before exploding forward and diagonally in the opposite direction. Again, land on the balls of your feet, lower into a slight squat and explode forward and diagonally to finish the “Z” pattern. That’s one rep.
• Barbell Deadlifts – I like to put this heavy lift in between the 2 body weight circuits to get the benefits of the compound movement, exhaust my leg muscles and force all of my muscle fibers to put in work. Your first 2 sets should be done with a moderate amount of weight — judge how tired your body is and go from there. Consider these your warm-up. Your second 2 sets should be heavy enough to tire you out after just 6 reps.
• Lunge Pulses – I LOVE lunge pulses. Mentally, I feel like I can do them forever. But at the end of a tough workout like this, even 15 per leg is enough to have you grimacing. To do lunge pulses, start with feet staggered in a lunge position. Bend your front knee to lower into the half kneel of your lunge. Slowly pulse a few inches up and down 15 times. Switch legs to complete the set.
• TRX Pop Squats – Here’s another exercise that works really well as a leg day finisher. Hold the TRX cable handles (a long jump rope will do if you don’t have TRX cables), and stand facing the pivot point. Step back so that your arms are straight and the cables are tight. Squat down into a low squat position. Explode up into the air, using the cables for stabilization. Land softly and move fluidly into your next pop squat.

Make sure to drink fluids throughout this workout – you’ll be sweating!