leg workout #1

Okay, let me just be 100% transparent.

I hate leg workouts. I would love to do arms all day. 

But legs? I'll pass. 

And that's why my legs look the way they do. Lol. 

Thankfully, I have boot camp to push me to do them anyway, 

or else I'd probably give up. 

There's something about having a dozen other people doing it with you 

and a trainer telling you 

"it's not how you start it's how you finish" 

or tricking you into holding a squat for 5 extra seconds 

because she has the stopwatch and you just wait for her to say "up!" 

Then she chuckles and says, "I made you stay down for 5 extra seconds. 

Don't you love me?!"

Yeah, you'll love (in that "hate" sorta way) me too after doing this workout we did on Wednesday. 

Oh, and some of the things we did I have no idea what they are actually called or I couldn't find a video/description, so I'll just put an asterisk (*) next to them and describe them after the workout list 

Run 2 laps around a neighborhood (just to get heart rate up)

3-minutes of:

 30-seconds of high knees + 5 jump squats

Grap a stability ball and a 5-lb dumbbell (or more if you can)
and do 4 sets of the following exercises:
15 leg extensions with weight*
15 wall squats with ball**
15-sec of one-leg hold***
30-second wall sit

3 minutes of: 

walking lunges with weights, with a 15-sec hold (down in a lunge) 

every 30 seconds

Grab a jump rope and crate (box that paper comes in will work) 

and do 3 sets of the following:

50 jump ropes
15 squats with butt touching the crate/box
30 mountain climbers

3 minutes of: 
squat jumps across a room + 5 jump squats

backwards run across a room + 30 mountain climbers

3 minutes of: 
sprint across a room + 10 jump lunges

backwards run across a room + 30 mountain climbers

30 seconds of lateral run**** + 30 seconds of jump squats

30 seconds of lateral run + 30 seconds of jump lunges

30 seconds of lateral run + 30 seconds of mountain climbers

3 sets of:

15 squats + hold last squat for 15 seconds

3-minutes of:

 30-seconds of high knees + 5 jump squats

**********

Description of exercises:

* Leg extensions with weight: Sit on floor with 1 dumbbell between feet. Lean backwards on tailbone, hands supporting on floor behind you, and extend legs up and outward. 

** Wall squat with ball: Place stability ball against wall, back touching the ball. Assume a squat stance and squat, rolling the ball down the wall. Stay on your toes to get maximum range of motion.

*** One-leg hold: Place one leg in front of the other, bring hands to the ground to balance. Align back knee right behind front knee (will have to twist a bit) and lift back leg off ground. Balance on toe of front foot and hold. Alternate which foot is in front for each set.

**** Lateral run: Stay low and run sideways in a line (or circle if you have room). Stay on your toes and keep your steps light. You'll like of look like you're shuffling to the side. DON'T HOP! 

**********

A tip/note about squats:

Make sure you are driving through your heels at all times (unless doing wall squats with a stability ball, which are done on your toes) - you should be able to wiggle/lift your toes off the ground if you are doing it right. Normal floor squats should look like you are about to sit in a chair: keep your back straight and push your butt back/out. Your knees should never come further out than your toes.