Hyrox is fast becoming one of the more popular ways to stay in shape with training for the race popping up all over the D.C. area.
Hyrox is a global indoor fitness competition with the event drawing more than 4,300 athletes to the Walter E. Washington Convention Center last March. (Courtesy Dhiraj Jagasia)
Hyrox is a global indoor fitness competition with the event drawing more than 4,300 athletes to the Walter E. Washington Convention Center last March. (Courtesy Dhiraj Jagasia)
Dubbed the “World Series” of fitness racing, Hyrox is fast becoming one of the more popular ways to stay in shape with training for the race popping up all over the D.C. area.
Hyrox is a global indoor fitness competition with the event — drawing more than 4,300 athletes to the Walter E. Washington Convention Center last March. It combines running and eight functional workouts in a standardized format. Each running portion of a kilometer is followed by a different exercise, including SkiErg, sled push and pull, burpee broad jumps, rowing, farmer’s carry, sandbag lunges and wall balls.
So why has it been gaining popularity in the fitness world?
The hype surrounding Hyrox
“Number one, it’s fun,” said Graham King, owner of Urban Athletic Club in Shaw. “The movements aren’t so high skill based so we are looking at sled pushes, wall balls and lunges and half the event is running, so if you can run you are halfway done.”
“Also, because the event is confined, your friends can cheer you on at every single station,” King added. “With Hyrox you are running around this track and everyone can see you. You go to your wall ball, you go to your rowing and your friends and family are cheering you on the whole time.”
Urban Athletic is one of many clubs in the D.C. area that holds Hyrox training classes and it offers athletes an alternative way to get and stay motivated. “It’s just the movements and it keeps my body oiled up,” said Urban Athletic Club member Tim Rutherford. “I feel like I am able to push myself more than I can with strict weight lifting.”
“I like the variety and I appreciate workouts where I work most of my body,” said Chad Russell, who also attends Urban Athletic Club. “If there is a moment in the workout where I hate my life but it doesn’t continue within 20 minutes of the workout, it was a perfect workout.”
Collectively getting better
Olga Gorodetsky is a coach at Urban Athletic Club and she is a fan of how training for Hyrox brings people together. “It really isn’t about top-ticking the other person. This really feels like a team-oriented community and it’s all about us collectively getting better,” Gorodetsky said. “I love Hyrox.”
Hyrox is open to all ages and levels and the setup is eight kilometers of running with eight workout stations.
Dhiraj Jagasia, 45, of Falls Church, Virginia, competed in the event last March in D.C. It was a 10 out 10, Jigasia said.
“I got my family out there and my friends cheering me on. It was top notch,” he said.
Jigasia said he did the Hyrox race to help him with other sports.
“I am an avid tennis player, and I moved up in the rankings, so I wanted to hang with the younger guys,” Jigasia said. “No matter what your goals are, this is something you can get better in terms of your overall health, your conditioning, and it will just help you live longer, I think.”
Clearly endurance is a huge part of Hyrox, so monthslong training is vital to any sort of success.
“I think the number one reason a lot of people, when it comes to fitness, may fail or give up, is they try to do it alone,” said Branden Jones, a D.C.-based trainer.
“It’s one of the things you really can’t do alone. You need some accountability, some community and that’s the best way to get this thing done.”
While bodyweight exercises can take you far, if you’re able to add weights to your routine, you should. And this lower body workout with weights is a great place to start, since it takes exercises you may already be familiar with – air squats, lateral lunges, step-ups – and just adds resistance.
But first, a primer on the benefits of strength training. While many people focus on the aesthetic benefits of strength training, resistance training has other upsides. “Strength training builds bone density,” says Bertha Muñoz-Lewis, a certified strength and conditioning specialist. It also strengthens muscles, and “strong muscles protect joints, tendons, and ligaments,” she adds. Weight training can improve balance and coordination, reducing your risk of falling or injuring yourself. In short, “It’s imperative for women of all ages to add a true resistance training program to their workout routine in order for their bodies to be resilient, durable, capable, and functional as they age,” says Muñoz-Lewis. “It’s our body armor.”
A lower body workout with weights can activate the glutes and muscles surrounding the hips, along with the quadriceps and hamstrings. These are key muscle groups of the posterior chain that help make up the foundation of the body. We use them not just in the gym, but in many of our daily movements – everything from picking up groceries to dancing or playing sports.
If you’re totally new to fitness, consider checking in with your doctor or healthcare provider before trying this workout to make sure you don’t have any injuries or limitations that would prevent you from being able to complete it. If you’re ready to dive in, start with a dynamic warm-up including five minutes of low-intensity cardiovascular activity, such as a light jog, indoor cycling, jump rope, or jumping jacks. Then check out our guide about how to choose the right weight and get started.
Expert Featured in This Article
Bertha Muñoz-Lewis, MS, CSCS, is a certified strength and conditioning specialist through the National Strength and Conditioning Association (NSCA), and the co-owner of House of Champs in Felton, DE. She creates and oversees the strength programs for student-athletes from elementary school age through the collegiate level, and also runs her women’s strength program known as B.yond Strength.
Lower Body Workout With Weights
Equipment needed: Dumbbells or Kettlebells. As a starter weight set, we like the PS Neoprene Dumbbell ($7-$20), available in three, five-, eight-, and ten-pound increments, or the Stakt Weights ($98), which can be adjusted to clock in at two, four, and six pounds each.
Directions: Perform eight to 10 repetitions of each of the first five exercise, moving directly from one to the next with no rest between each move. After completing all five lower-body exercises with weights, finish with the core burner: choose one, two, or all three of the core exercises from the options listed below and perform them for 25 to 45 seconds each to finish each set. Then, rest for one minute. Repeat the entire sequence again for two to three sets.
Lower Body Exercises With Weights:
Goblet Squat
Kettlebell Deadlift
Lateral Lunge
Step Ups
Glute Bridges
Core Burner. Choose between one to three of the following core moves: Dumbbell Drag from Plank Position, Mountain Climbers or Plank Jacks.
Read on for explanations of how to do each exercise, including form and technique tips.
Have you ever walked by an elliptical at the gym and wondered, “Could that contraption be a useful part of my workout routine?” Or perhaps you’ve even hopped on the machine, and thought, “Is this actually doing anything?” The answer: Yes. That is, if you’re using it effectively.
Intrigued? We chatted with Melanie Zoller, NASM-certified personal trainer, to get her take on elliptical benefits and what to know before giving one a try. Plus, she’s put together a 30-minute elliptical workout that’s beginner-friendly and easy to modify for any fitness level.
While many people may skip the elliptical in favor of other cardio machines (looking at you, treadmill and bike), this piece of equipment can indeed deliver a solid burn.
“Ellipticals can provide a cardiovascular workout that trains the body and heart in a variety of different ways, all in an extremely low-impact capacity,” says Zoller. Unlike other cardio machines (like a treadmill, for instance) it’s not very load-bearing and it’s gentle on the joints, which means it can be more accessible to a range of people. “It allows individuals – regardless of goals, age, training history, or fitness level – to train at a higher work capacity without necessarily risking the common injuries or concerns that come with higher-impact activities, such as plyometrics or running,” she says.
For that reason, Zoller says an elliptical is perfectly suited for someone who is just getting into fitness or returning after a long hiatus; anyone coming back from an injury and in need of a lower-impact option; those cross-training for a certain higher-impact sport; or someone who doesn’t enjoy higher-impact cardio exercises, but is looking to improve their aerobic fitness.
What Parts of the Body Does an Elliptical Work?
As far as cardio goes, ellipticals can help train for both endurance and power output (think: long, steady state workouts, versus short sprints or intervals), Zoller says.
What’s more, you can also utilize resistance levels on an elliptical to help engage and strengthen various muscles in the body. According to Zoller, depending on the direction in which you’re pedaling and the proportion of work coming from upper versus lower body, an elliptical can work your: glues, hamstrings, quadriceps, back, biceps, chest, triceps, anterior deltoid (shoulders), and core (namely, transverse abdominals and obliques).
That said, “while elliptical training is an amazing low-impact exercise and a wonderful ‘alternative’ method to more traditional forms of cardio, it won’t provide the same benefits that weight-bearing modalities, such as running, walking, functional strength training, even dance cardio, provide,” Zoller says. “[This includes], an increase in bone density and resiliency, better balance and coordination, and joint protection.” Working out on an elliptical can help a little with those things – but running can do it better, and faster.
Elliptical Training Plan for Beginners
Like any piece of equipment, Zoller suggests familiarizing yourself with the elliptical prior to use. Take a look at which buttons control resistance and incline, understand how to safely stop and start, and learn how to get off the machine properly. If you can, ask a gym employee to walk you through how to use it.
“Start slowly and gain confidence with the machine as you build up both comfort and endurance,” she says. “Even a 10-minute session as you are getting acclimated to the workout is a great starting point!”
How Often Should You Use the Elliptical?
But how often should I hop on an elliptical, you ask? Zoller advises making strength training the foundation of your fitness program (two to three times per week), with aerobic training as a compliment. “It’s not the main dish,” she says.
From there, it really depends on your training goals. For people who are newer to fitness, Zoller suggests using the elliptical one to two times per week, for 20 to 30 minutes at a time. A more seasoned individual might increase their weekly sessions to twice weekly for 30 to 45 minutes, with different focuses (i.e. endurance vs. intervals), depending on their goals.
If you’re training for a higher-impact sport, Zoller says you could use the elliptical once a week as a cross-training method, to help maintain or improve their aerobic gains without major impact.
30-Minute Elliptical Workout for Beginners
Zoller created this 30-minute elliptical workout for PS. It leverages resistance, incline, and individual effort to challenge your body. The routine is designed to be a “ladder workout”, meaning you start with the longest intervals at the lowest intensity (the base of the ladder), and finish with shorter intervals at the highest intensity.
“This workout effectively allows you to train your heart to handle higher levels of workload and recover from them more efficiently, ultimately improving both your aerobic capacity and endurance,” Zoller says. You’ll work your cardiorespiratory system (heart and lungs), as well as your glutes, hamstrings, upper body, and core.
One of the best things about this workout? While it’s designed for beginners, it can challenge people at any fitness level. Here’s how: When training, focus on how you feel as an indicator of your level of effort, Zoller says. For instance, “the warmup should feel very easy, while your ‘very hard’ efforts should be taxing to the point you are breathless, and recovery sections should allow you to regain your breath and calm your heart rate,” she says.
Most importantly, says Zoller, listen to your body and adapt your intensity accordingly. “Some days your ‘hard’ pace might be different than others, and that’s okay!”
30 Minute Beginner-Friendly Elliptical Workout
Warm Up
0-3 minutes
Resistance: 3
Effort: Extremely Easy
3-5 minutes
Resistance: 5
Effort: Easy
Workout: 2:1 Intervals, Medium Effort
5-7 minutes
Resistance: 6
Effort: Moderate
7-8 minutes
Resistance: 3
Effort: Easy
8-10 minutes
Resistance: 6
Effort: Moderate
10-11 minutes
Resistance: 3
Effort: Easy
11-13 minutes
Resistance: 6
Effort: Moderate
13-14 minutes
Resistance: 3
Effort: Easy
Workout: 1:1 Intervals, Hard Effort
15-16 minutes
Resistance: 8
Effort: Hard
16-17 minutes
Resistance: 0
Effort: Easy
17-18 minutes
Resistance: 8
Effort: Hard
18-19 minutes
Resistance: 0
Effort: Easy
19-20 minutes
Resistance: 8
Effort: Hard
20-21 minutes
Resistance: 0
Effort: Easy
Workout: 1:1 Intervals, Max Effort
21-22 minutes
Resistance: 10
Effort: Very Hard
22-23 minutes
Resistance: 5
Effort: Easy
23-24 minutes
Resistance: 10
Effort: Very Hard
24-25 minutes
Resistance: 5
Effort: Easy
25-26 minutes
Resistance: 10
Effort: Very Hard
26-27 minutes
Resistance: 5
Effort: Easy
Cool Down
27-30 minutes
Resistance: 3
Effort: Extremely Easy
Kristine Thomason is a lifestyle writer and editor based in Southern California. Previously, she was the health and fitness director at mindbodygreen, and the fitness and wellness editor at Women’s Health. Kristine’s work has also appeared in POPSUGAR, Travel + Leisure, Men’s Health, Health, and Refinery29, among others.
Tai chi has a long and storied history of helping people calm their minds, increase their balance and flexibility, and connect with their communities. While some may dismiss this practice as nothing more than a post-retirement pastime, that could not be further from the reality—which is that people of all ages can experience the benefits. Plus, getting started is beyond easy.
What is tai chi?
Tai chi is an ancient Chinese martial art. While historians don’t know exactly when the practice began, it may have been as early as the 8th century.
“Tai chi started as a martial art in a time when danger came from violent attacks from marauders and enemies,” says Andrea Lepcio, certified Tai Chi For Health Institute instructor and founder and owner at fitness training company Mighty Fit. “Today, danger comes more often from within our bodies. Tai chi has become a mind-body practice that strengthens the body, improves balance, and brings harmony.”
If you were to watch a tai chi class in action, you’d see a series of gentle, slow exercises conducted in close succession. These wave-like movements pair with breathing patterns that calm the body. That said, there are many different styles of varying levels of popularity, including Yang style, the most popular style, which involves large fluid movements, and Chen style, which is considered the oldest form of tai chi.
The health benefits of practicing tai chi at any age
Tai chi has benefits regardless of the practitioner’s age. “While it’s true that tai chi is often recommended for older individuals because of its gentle, low-impact nature, younger people can also benefit greatly. For younger practitioners, tai chi builds strength, flexibility, and coordination,” says Jenelle Kim, doctor of Chinese Medicine. “It’s an excellent way to manage stress, improve focus, and increase body awareness, which is useful in everything from sports performance to daily life.”
While studies on the effects of tai chi are relatively small, the findings so far are promising. Lepcio references a 2007 study conducted on 702 participants that found that weekly tai chi community practices may reduce falls among “relatively healthy, community-dwelling older people.” This is significant, given that falls are the second leading cause of unintentional injury death worldwide, according to the World Health Organization (WHO).
And new research published in the journal Front Public Health in 2023 found that the martial art may improve both static and dynamic balance in older people. Static balance refers to one’s ability to hold a pose (like standing on one foot) without falling, while dynamic balance is about remaining in control while you’re performing different movements (like shifting your weight forward and backward).
Since you’re not lifting weights (or even body weight) when you practice tai chi, you shouldn’t expect massive muscle gain from the practice. Instead, you can enjoy a low-impact workout that may still improve your overall fitness, according to a 2021 meta-analysis, through controlled motions. “Tai chi’s slow, deliberate movements help enhance balance by strengthening the muscles and improving coordination,” says Kim. Many teachers believe that the practice may also improve circulation, though we don’t yet have the research to prove that.
Of course, if you’ve heard anyone talk about tai chi, you’ve probably heard raves about its mental health benefits. A 2023 meta-analysis found that the martial art reduced participants’ symptoms of depression and anxiety, improving their overall quality of life. “Tai chi incorporates deep breathing and mindful focus, which helps calm the nervous system and reduce stress,” says Kim. She adds that practicing this regularly may promote mental clarity and ease stress, especially for those who feel too antsy to try seated meditation.
How to get started with tai chi
Lepcio suggests trying a class led by a trained instructor simply by searching online for the closest beginner tai chi class—or even checking one out on YouTube to see what you think. And remember: This martial art really is for everyone, so grab a friend and try it out. “Younger people are often under stress,” Lepcio adds. “Tai chi is an excellent practice for focusing on the breath in this moving meditation.”
In case you want to give tai chi a try right now, though, we asked Kim for a few beginner movements to do at home. So put on some comfortable clothes, clear away some space, and get moving.
Starting Posture
Stand with your feet shoulder-width apart and your knees slightly bent. Place your arms by your side. Stand upright and bring attention to your breathing. Inhale deeply through the nose and then exhale through the mouth.
Parting the Horse’s Mane
“From the starting posture, step one foot forward and move both hands in a circular motion as if you are holding an invisible ball,” says Kim. “One hand moves up in front of your body, while the other moves down by your side.”
Cloud Hands
“In a gentle, continuous motion, shift your weight from one leg to the other while moving your arms in a wave-like pattern across your body,” says Kim.
Again, the best way to experience tai chi is in the company of other people of all ages. So put on some comfy clothes and experience the mind/body benefits of this time-tested practice.
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You’ve got your jumping jacks dialed, and you know how to do a plank . . . but have you tried plank jacks? This intermediate bodyweight move has likely cropped up in your workouts at some point – and whether you loved or hated it, it has some impressive benefits.
You get all the strength benefits of a plank (think: a strengthened core, shoulders, back, and legs) plus the benefits of cardio. All this, using just your bodyweight.
That said, plank jacks are not easy, and it’s important to do them right so you don’t increase your risk of injury. In some cases, that can mean modifying the move to a low-impact version. To help you do exactly that, keep reading for how to do plank jacks correctly, plank jack variations to try, and tips for incorporating them into your workout routine.
This core-plus-cardio move will get you sweating, raise your heart rate, work your arms and legs, and build strength in your core. Add a resistance band around your legs, and you’ll fire up your glutes as well. Yes, this simple bodyweight move can do all that.
Take it from F45 Training trainer Cristina Chan: “Plank jacks are a combined cardio and core-strengthening exercise that helps increase core strength and stability as well as cardiovascular strength.” Reminder: Core stability is hugely important whether you’re a pro athlete or just going about your daily life since it creates a stable base from which your limbs can move safely and effectively.
Because plank jacks offer a way to get your heart rate up without equipment or even standing up, they’re a great cardio option for those who are working out at home or want to stay off their feet due to injury or space.
How to Do Plank Jacks
No matter which type of plank jacks you try, be sure to keep your shoulders over your wrists, your hips down, your arms locked out, and your core engaged, Chan says. Because this is a pretty difficult move, it’s a great option to incorporate into HIIT workouts or when you want to do some cardio at home. You can try it for the indicated number of reps below, or try it for a set amount of time: for example, a 30-second interval of work followed by 30 seconds of rest.
Here’s how to do the classic version of plank jacks:
Start in plank position with your shoulders over your wrists, your body in one straight line, and your feet together.
Like the motion of a jumping jack, jump your feet out wide and then back together. Try to keep your pelvis steady and don’t let your hips rise toward the ceiling or dip toward the floor.
Do a total of 30 plank jacks. That’s one set. Do three sets total.
Plank-Jack Variation: Low-Impact Plank Jacks
Whether you’re a beginner, returning to workouts after a break, or dealing with an injury, this low-impact variation of plank jacks is a great place to start.
Start in plank position with your shoulders over your wrists, your body in one straight line, and your feet together.
Step your right foot out to the side, then step your left foot out to the side.
Then step your right foot back to center and your left foot back to center.
Try to keep your pelvis steady (don’t let it rock from side to side) and don’t let your hips rise toward the ceiling or dip toward the floor.
Alternate which foot you start with for each rep.
Do a total of 20 reps. That’s one set. Do three sets total.
Plank-Jack Variation: Resistance Band Plank Jacks
Add a mini resistance band or hip band around your thighs (easier) or ankles (harder) to recruit your glutes more during this move. If jumping your feet out is too difficult, try stepping your feet out like in the low-impact version explained above. (You’ll still feel it in your glutes and core, promise.)
Start in plank position with your shoulders over your wrists, your body in one straight line, and your feet together. Loop a small resistance band around both legs.
Jump your feet out wide, resisting the pull of the band, and then back together. Try to keep your pelvis steady and don’t let your hips rise toward the ceiling.
Do a total of 20 reps. That’s one set. Do three sets total.
Lauren Mazzo was the senior fitness editor at PS. She is a certified personal trainer and fitness nutrition specialist through the American Council on Exercise. Prior to joining PS, she worked for six years as a writer and editor for Shape Magazine covering health, fitness, nutrition, mental health, sex and relationships, beauty, and astrology.
Zendaya has taken on physically demanding roles before, from her Spider-Man performances to her two Dune films. But in her newest movie, “Challengers,” out April 26, Zendaya takes on a new challenge: tennis pro.
In the film, Zendaya plays Tashi, a tennis ace who enters her husband Art (played by Mike Faist) in a tournament called the Challenger, after her own career is cut short by a knee injury. The movie centers around themes of ambition, power, jealousy, and sex – and many key scenes take place on the tennis court, which meant that in order to bring Tashi to life, Zendaya completed intensive tennis training.
Three months out from filming, the actor started training with tennis pro Brad Gilbert. Gilbert’s name will ring a bell if you’re a tennis fan, as he was once ranked the top fourth player in the world, before he transitioned into coaching, working with the likes of Andre Agassi, Andy Murray, and Coco Gauff.
It’s safe to say that Zendaya’s prep for “Challengers” was a little more specialized than what you might expect for an actor getting in shape for a role. Here, Gilbert shares with PS how he helped Zendaya take on the part of a true tennis pro.
How Zendaya Trained For “Challengers”
Part of Zendaya’s prep entailed studying the game of tennis by watching tapes of players with similar builds to hers. From the tapes, Zendaya would pick up on specific quirks that she did or didn’t want to incorporate into her character, says Gilbert.
The two also attended two live college matches together. “We went to an Arizona State versus Pepperdine men’s match, and the thing was going for over four hours, and I thought she would want to leave,” says Gilbert. “She was like, ‘No,’ she didn’t want to leave until the thing was over.”
When it came time to shift from observation to drills, Zendaya clocked 12-hour days: completing tennis sessions in the morning, going directly to a two-hour gym workout, then acting during the afternoon, says Gilbert. “I felt like [Zendaya and her co-stars] had a lot of grinding,” he says. “It’s like what a tennis player has to do to get ready. He’s got six weeks in the off season, you’ve got to grind to get ready for Australia.”
Intense as the training was, the actors maintained high spirits and a sense of camaraderie throughout that helped them stay motivated, Gilbert says. At one point, in an homage to their coach, they passed out pins with a photo of a mulleted Gilbert in his heyday as a player, he says.
In addition to training the actors, Gilbert also choreographed the tennis matches in the movie, adjusting as necessary based on feedback from director Luca Guadagnino. “We would choreograph it, and then Luca would, through his vision, say, ‘Nah, that point is too short, this needs to be longer, it needs to be shorter, it needs to be faster,’” says Gilbert. “So I would write it and then we would see it a little bit, watch a couple people come out and demonstrate it, then he would make changes.”
Zendaya, Faist, and Josh O’Connor (playing Art’s best friend and Zendaya’s former lover Patrick) then spent four weeks perfecting those sequences. Each actor had a personal coach, ensuring they could make the most of their tennis sessions.
The education, training, and choreography were all essential to allow Zendaya to fully transform into Tashi. “In tennis, a lot of times you watch something in real time, you don’t know how it’s going to go,” says Gilbert. “This is a little bit different, we’re getting somebody ready. And I think what helped [Zendaya and her co-stars] most was scripting the points and doing it without the ball, learning to play this point in full, and understanding what this point meant.”
The intense training that Zendaya, Faist, and O’Connor completed didn’t go to waste, as “Challengers” is a tennis-heavy film. The movie flashes back and forth between the Challenger tournament and Tashi’s, Art’s, and Patrick’s encounters years prior. Present-day Tashi and Art are surprised to run into Patrick at the Challenger and learn that he’d also signed up to compete.
“Early on I realized that the Challenger is the narrator of the movie; it tells the story of how we got to this point and how we develop each one of these characters, their strengths and their flaws,” says Gilbert. “So it’s not your standard match, but I feel like we showed more tennis than maybe any tennis movie has ever shown before.”
– Additional reporting by Samantha Sasso
Renee Cherry is a POPSUGAR contributor who specializes in beauty and wellness. Her writing has appeared in Shape, Women’s Health, Glamour, and Well + Good, among other publications.
The fire hydrant exercise has been around at least since the days of Jane Fonda workout tapes, but it’s not just your mama’s exercise – it’s something you should consider adding to your routine as well. Fire hydrants are a great exercise because they don’t require any equipment, but can still help you build some serious glute strength.
Fire hydrants target your gluteus medius (think the side of your butt). “This muscle can be overshadowed in training, since many people focus on their gluteus maximus, the main part of your butt”, says Domenic Angelino, a certified personal trainer with Trainer Academy. “The gluteus maximus still will experience a training effect here, but it won’t be as profound as the gluteus medius.” So, no – the fire hydrant is not a replacement for squats. But it can be a great alternative, since it works related but different muscles.
The benefit of having a strong gluteus medius is to be able to move the body in a lateral direction, or side to side. This is helpful not only for athletes who need lateral agility, but also for everyday life when you need to move out of the way quickly, like maneuvering your way through a busy airport.
Fire Hydrant Exercise Benefits
Again, the fire hydrant is an incredibly effective glute move. Here, three benefits of the lower-body exercise.
They Don’t Require Equipment
The fire hydrant is a great way to train your glutes without needing access to go to a gym. Lack of equipment can be a barrier when it comes to working out, but with the fire hydrant, all you need is your bodyweight. “This is huge, because a lot of people struggle to maintain motivation to workout consistently. Since motivation comes in waves and is transient, it’s important to have tools at your disposal to capitalize on those bursts of motivation. Having a way to workout on the spot is a great way to do this”, says Angelino. This also means you can keep up with your fitness routine anywhere.
(That said, you can up the intensity of the move by adding on an exercise band – more on that below.)
They’re Accessible
The fire hydrant is simplistic. “They’re structured in such a way that most people will be able to lift their leg up appropriately, even if only through a partial range of motion,” Angelino explains. Though you do want to use your maximum range of motion, it does not need to be a large range of motion to be effective.
They’re a Perfect Finisher
When you’ve reached the end of a workout where you’ve used heavy loads, and want to do a final burnout round to push your muscle endurance, the last thing you want to think about is lifting more heavy weight. Enter the fire hydrant. “Since they rely on a single joint, they can be tagged on to a workout after completing more challenging exercises that involve multiple joints”, Angelino tells PS.
How to Do a Fire Hydrant
Start on all fours with your wrists under your shoulders, and your knees under your hips.
Keeping the left knee on the ground, lift your right leg up, opening up the hip.
Bring your right leg up to 90 degrees, or as high as your range of motion allows while keeping your hips parallel to the floor.
Return your right leg back to the starting position.
Repeat for 10 reps.
Complete 10 reps on the left leg.
An important note is to make sure you keep your hips square to the floor and not let your torso twist. Twisting the body will start to recruit the abdominals and take away from the activation of the glutes.
Fire Hydrant Modifications and Variations
One reason trainers love fire hydrants is because they’re so adaptable. You can start with a smaller range of motion when you’re still newer to the move; or wear a resistance band to make it more challenging. Here, more info about how to modify the exercise.
Try a Clamshell
The clamshell exercise trains similar muscles to the fire hydrant, so it can be a good place to start if you’re struggling with the fire hydrant, Angelio says.
You can find the steps for performing a clamshell here. Basically, you’ll lay on your side with your hips, knees and ankles stacked. Lift your top knee, and open your hips as far as your range of motion allows, then return to the starting position.
Add a resistance band
When adding a resistance band to your fire hydrant, slip a closed band around your legs, placing it about two inches above your knee. Then perform a fire hydrant as normal.
Add a pulse
Another way to get more of a muscle burn is to add a pulse to the top of the fire hydrant movement. Raise your leg to the top of your range of motion. Then lower your leg an inch, then lift it an inch, and repeat for 10-20 reps. This creates more time under tension, which helps to build the muscle.
Brittany Hammond is a NASM-certified fitness instructor, a fitness writer, and an avid reader. In addition to POPSUGAR, she has contributed to Livestrong.com, Well+Good, Verywell Fit, and Health.com. She has worked as a group fitness coach for the past seven years.
If you need a simple bodyweight exercise that gets your heart rate up and also builds strength in your entire body, meet the mountain climber.
It’s a classic exercise you’ve probably done before, and fitness pros love it because it will strengthen your core while simultaneously working on your cardio and muscular endurance. This move is a great addition to any ab workout, especially if you’ve already mastered beginner ab moves like crunches and planks. And it’s a great addition to any HIIT workout because it’ll have you out of breath in no time. Mountain climbers also make a great warmup exercise, especially when paired with some other mobility drills.
Curious how to do them, exactly? Keep reading to better understand the benefits of mountain climbers, which muscles are worked by mountain climbers, some variations on mountain climbers, and how to do mountain climbers with correct form so you can get the most out of this exercise.
Benefits of Mountain Climbers
Mountain climbers are a great compound movement, Cristina Chan, certified trainer at F45 Training, says. Compound moves are ones that work multiple large muscle groups, which translates to strengthening more muscles at once, as well as increasing the demand you’re putting on your body.
Mountain climbers, specifically, “help with strengthening big muscle groups like your hamstrings, quads, back, shoulders, and glutes, as well as your core,” she says. Yep, with all those muscles worked by mountain climbers, they’re basically a full-body exercise.
Think about it this way: mountain climbers are essentially a plank variation, so you can expect to strengthen the same muscles as during that exercise (i.e., your shoulders, upper back, and core). Since you’re essentially running in place while in a stable plank position, this exercise also builds leg strength. And, as a cardio move, mountain climbers also get your heart rate up and increase your cardiovascular endurance – these things come with a laundry list of their own benefits, such as a boosted mood and better heart health, according to the Cleveland Clinic.
How to Do Mountain Climbers
Chan has plenty of tips to help you make sure you’re doing mountain climbers with proper form. First of all, “make sure you stay in a plank position, and keep your hips at shoulder height throughout the entire exercise set,” she says. Also, “keep distance between you and the ground by pushing up through your shoulder blades and engaging your core. As you bring one knee in, make sure your opposite leg is extended straight while you engage through your glute and leg muscles.” And finally, if it’s cardio you’re after, “keep a faster tempo if you want more of a cardio burn,” she says. Ready?
Here’s how to do mountain climbers, step by step.
Start in a plank with your shoulders directly over your wrists. Keep your back flat and your hips down, maintaining a neutral spine.
Engage your core, and lift your right leg, drawing your knee in toward your chest. Return the right foot to the starting position as you simultaneously drive your left knee toward your chest. Return to the starting position.
Continue alternating sides. To increase the intensity, pick up the pace until it feels like you’re “running” in place in a plank position.
If you are new to mountain climbers or exercise in general, are rebuilding your skills after a hiatus from the gym, or just want to make mountain climbers a little less intense, try slow-motion mountain climbers. By dialing down the pace, you’ll reduce the cardiovascular demands of the move but really hone in on the core work you’re doing. Here’s how.
Start in a plank with your shoulders directly over your wrists. Keep your back flat and your hips down, maintaining a neutral spine.
Engage your core, and lift your right leg, drawing your knee in toward your chest. Hold this position for one second, then return the right foot to the starting position.
Repeat with the left leg, driving your left knee toward your chest, holding for one second, and then returning to the starting position.
Continue alternating sides without speeding up the pace.
Add a literal twist to your mountain climbers with this variation (shown above). By rotating your hips slightly, you’ll place more of a demand on your obliques, the muscles that run along the sides of your core. These muscles are responsible for twisting your torso, bending it to the side, and also giving it stability.
Start in a plank with your shoulders directly over your wrists. Keep your back flat and your hips down, maintaining a neutral spine.
Engage your core, and lift your right leg, drawing your knee in toward your chest and over to your left elbow. Return the right foot to the starting position.
Repeat with the left leg, driving your left knee toward your chest and over to the right elbow, and then return to the starting position.
Continue alternating sides. Speed up the pace if you’d like, taking care to move with control.
Not to be confused with the Spider-Man push-up (a mountain climber/push-up hybrid), the spider mountain climber is a more intense mountain climber that also happens to be a great hip mobility exercise. Make sure you do a thorough warm up before tackling this one.
Start in a plank with your shoulders directly over your wrists. Keep your back flat and your hips down, maintaining a neutral spine. Step your right foot up and outside of your right hand so it’s planted on the ground. Keep your hips low and in plank position.
Jump to switch sides, hopping your right foot back to plank position and your left foot forward outside of your left hand.
Continue alternating sides. Speed up the pace if you’d like, taking care to move with control.
Mountain Climber Variation: Plank With Bunny Hop
This mountain climber variation is not for the faint of heart. You’ll engage your entire core, plus your arms, shoulders, back, quads, and glutes, helping to strengthen the muscles in virtually your entire body. And the jumping motion acts as a plyo workout, getting your heart rate up so you can enjoy some cardio benefits too. Give it a try, but if it’s too hard to complete a full set, pat yourself on the back for trying – this is an advanced move. Finish out the rest of the set with a regular plank or a body saw instead, and keep trying to work your way up to a full set instead.
Begin in a plank position with the feet together.
Pulling your abs in, jump your feet to the right, bringing your knees toward your right elbow. Your torso will twist to the right.
Jump your feet back to plank to complete one rep.
Repeat on the other side, and continue alternating sides for 20 reps total.
– Additional reporting by Jenny Sugar and Mirel Zaman
Lauren Mazzo was the senior fitness editor at POPSUGAR. She is a certified personal trainer and fitness nutrition specialist through the American Council on Exercise. Prior to joining POPSUGAR, she worked for six years as a writer and editor for Shape Magazine covering health, fitness, nutrition, mental health, sex and relationships, beauty, and astrology.
Jenny Sugar was a staff fitness writer at POPSUGAR. She loves eating plant-based, CrossFit, and yoga.
Nearly 75% of Americans are overweight or obese, despite a $225 billion dollar weight loss and management industry focused on tools, programs, and products for shedding pounds and keeping them off. But if there are so many solutions available, why aren’t more people successful at their weight loss efforts?
“What we’re largely taught—in society, in the weight loss field, in diet books—is if you just find the right diet, the right guru, the right pill, then it’ll solve all your problems,” says Dr. Scott Kahan, MPH, director of the National Center for Weight and Wellness in Washington, D.C. “You lose the weight, and you’ll live happily ever after. And that’s pretty much never, ever the case.”
Dr. Lydia Alexander, obesity medicine specialist and president-elect of the Obesity Medicine Association says that when experts approach weight loss and weight management, they don’t use a single-strategy method, but instead approach it with a comprehensive care model based on four pillars: nutritional therapy, physical activity, behavioral modification, and medical interventions.
“It gets us away from the fixed mindset that there’s one way to do this,” says Alexander. “It requires understanding it as not a cosmetic issue, but as a medical condition that’s treatable.”
Here are a few tried-and-true tenets that Kahan and Alexander say can help move you toward a healthier weight.
Track your progress
Self-monitoring is a proven strategy for both weight loss and weight maintenance. You might think keeping records means “counting calories,” but any kind of check-in can work to help you build a new habit.
You can keep a record of your weight over time to get an idea of how things are trending, your steps to see how sedentary you are in a day, or the types of foods you’re eating to get an overall picture of your nutrition, such as how many vegetables you eat in a day, says Kahan.
“Generally tracking behaviors is very helpful for people, because it helps keep focus on a change you’re intending to make and be mindful toward working at it,” he says.
Keep a realistic perspective
Reducing your weight and keeping it off is primarily a process that involves small, consistent changes over time. Even if your goal is to lose 100 pounds, you have to start with just a few.
“This is something that doesn’t have to be—and realistically can’t be—automatically solved,” says Kahan. ‘It’s something that happens, sometimes slowly and sometimes a little quicker, but modest steps and modest goals can both lead to meaningful weight loss and weight loss that is reasonably sustainable.”
What’s more, even a small amount of weight loss can lead to significant health improvements, such as improving or preventing diabetes, better mobility and physical functioning, and healthier cholesterol levels. Remembering the big picture instead of focusing solely on the number on the scale and how quickly it’s falling can bolster your spirits as you stay the course.
Have two separate goals: Lose weight. Maintain it
Most of weight management messaging is about losing weight, but maintaining weight takes the same amount of intentionality—or even more, says Alexander.
“A popular misconception is that once you’ve lost the weight, you’re done, and so you can move on,” she says. “A better strategy is to change the mental mindset of your timeline by thinking, ‘OK, I’ve lost the weight, and that was the first piece. The second piece now is keeping my weight at that spot.’ That requires the same type of active involvement as the first piece did. It’s a marathon, not a sprint.”
Build a support system
Kahan says one of the most consistent predictors of long-term progress with weight management is having support and interaction. “That could be meeting with a specialist like myself, it could be meeting with a dietitian, it could be meeting with a trainer, or it could be meeting in an ongoing group session,” he says.
Even just choosing a close friend to check in with can increase your chances of success. Studies show people who keep themselves accountable with a partner as they work toward a weight loss goal may lose 50%–60% more weight than those who don’t.
Make calories count
Nutritional therapy isn’t a simplistic “eat less” paradigm, it’s a shift toward understanding the quality of what you’re eating. For example, whole, fresh food decreases inflammation in your body and can reverse some of the internal malfunction that causes weight gain, says Alexander. That’s why your body feels very differently when you eat empty, processed calories than when you fill up with same amount of calories from whole foods rich in vitamins and nutrients.
“Your body will fight against you more when it’s not getting the nutrition it needs,” says Alexander. “So, you keep on wanting to eat more food as opposed to feeling satiated.”
Move your body regularly (anything goes!)
Physical activity isn’t just for burning calories, it has much deeper benefits specifically tied to weight loss. Walking, one of the simplest forms of exercise, decreases your resistance to insulin, and makes you less hungry. Strength training increases your muscle mass, which aids metabolism, sustaining your calorie balance.
You don’t have to do your exercise all at once, says Alexander. And what you do doesn’t matter. The “right” kind of movement to do is any movement you enjoy.
“Choose the activity you like,” she says. “If you love pickleball, great. If you love walking, wonderful. Pace while you talk on the phone or put away your laundry one sock at a time. If it gets you to move, then that’s your solution.”
See an obesity medicine specialist
Just like you’d go see an orthopedist for a knee problem or an OB/GYN for reproductive system issues, seek out a physician who specializes in weight management for help with your weight loss issues. They can assess whether you may benefit from medications or procedures—or whether you may have a medical reason underlying your weight gain such as a medication side effect or sleep apnea.
“Some people have more significant physiologic challenges that make weight management tougher, some people have more behavioral challenges that will make weight management tougher,” says Kahan. This doesn’t mean weight loss strategies won’t work for you, it just means you have unique barriers that need to be addressed, and a specialist can help with that.”
Walking into the gym for the first time can be intimidating, not just because you want to fit in amongst a sea of regular gym goers. There may be machines you’ve never heard of that you want to try, and even choosing the right free weights can seem daunting if you’ve never lifted before. That’s where this gym workout plan for beginners comes into play. Created with Holly Roser, an NASM-certified personal trainer and owner of Holly Roser Fitness in San Matteo, CA, this gym plan for beginners provides a week’s worth of newbie gym workouts to get you started, and you can build on this routine to keep challenging yourself and get stronger over time.
This gym workout routine is not only great for people who are heading to the gym for the first time, but also for those who haven’t worked out in a while. The gym workout plan contains two strength circuits, three days of cardio, and two days of active recovery. “For the first two weeks, your new program should have two strength training days that are three days apart, with cardio days in between,” Roser tells POPSUGAR. As you build your endurance, move up to three cardio days and three strength training days. For the latter, you can use a mix of moves from the circuits in this plan, or check out other strength training workouts such as this basic dumbbell workout or this full-body circuit workout. (You can probably take that step about three weeks after getting comfortable with this routine, Holly says.) Make sure to switch up your forms of cardio, rotating between exercises like running, swimming, dance cardio, and indoor cycling to hit different muscle groups and keep from getting bored.
Ready to move? Follow this gym workout plan for beginners, and you’re sure to feel like a pro in no time.
– Additional reporting by Lauren Mazzo and Alexis Jones
POPSUGAR Photography / Maria del Rio / FOTOGRAFIA INC.
Fitness goals often vary from person to person; a newfound cardio enthusiast may have their sights set on running a 10k, while a beginner weightlifter might dream of deadlifting 100 pounds. But no matter the workout passion, one exercise seems to be at the top of every newbie’s ambition list: the pull-up.
So how do you get there? Follow this expert-approved guide to the pull-up exercise, which includes tips on how to do pull-up a pull up, details on the main pull-up benefits, ideas for pull-up variations, and answers to the question, “What muscles do pull-ups work?”
What Do Pull-Ups Work?
Pull-ups will put your upper-body muscles through the wringer. Specifically, the move calls upon the lats (aka latissimus dorsi, which drive the movement), biceps (which help with bending the elbow), traps (which support the movement of the shoulder blades), and forearm muscles (which support your grip), says Anne Reuss, a NASM-certified personal trainer and inclusive training expert. Your rhomboids and rotator cuff muscles are also involved, adds Laura Su, CSCS, a certified strength and conditioning specialist in Seattle.
When performed correctly, pull-ups also work your core, specifically your abdominals and obliques, which provide stability, says Reuss. “From a distance, it appears straightforward, almost effortless,” she explains. “But when you take inventory of all the muscles engaged and the sheer demands, it’s an extraordinary feat – and it’s a challenge representing strength, coordination, and determination!”
Pull-Up Benefits
1. They Improve Posture
Keeping your upper back and core muscles strong is essential to maintaining good posture and preventing pain in other parts of your body, says Su. “A lot of us spend a lot of time sitting down at desks, so those back muscles tend to get weak,” she explains. “If the upper back starts to get bent over, it becomes harder on your low back and your hip flexors.” However, training those muscles, such as by performing pull-ups, can help counteract the postural impacts of your desk job. Plus, pull-ups enhance shoulder mobility and improve scapular range of motion, which play an important role in healthy posture, she adds.
2. They Support Daily Functioning
Your lats are a huge muscle – they extend from your humerus (your upper arm bone) all the way down your back, so they’re involved in many of your everyday movements, says Su. In turn, practicing lat-building pull-ups can make actions like pulling open a heavy door or lifting a box brimming with holiday decorations off the floor less taxing.
In addition to strength, pull-ups improve shoulder stability, which plays a key role in injury prevention when you’re maneuvering heavy objects overhead (e.g., when you’re grabbing your luggage out of an airplane’s overhead compartment), says Su.
3. They Challenge You Mentally
“Pull-ups aren’t just an exercise, they are a declaration of your strength and defiance against gravity!” says Reuss. “When you grip that bar and hoist yourself up, you’ve got those wings. You recognize a relentless spirit in yourself, even if you’re starting or in [the] middle of your pull-up journey. It’s mental as much as physical.”
Essentially, successfully performing a pull-up is no easy feat, so when you finally nail the movement, expect to feel like a million bucks. “I think people just feel really badass and very accomplished doing pull-ups – that’s a big [benefit],” says Su.
How to Do a Pull-Up
Before you give the exercise a try, follow this step-by-step guide on how to do a pull-up for beginners with perfect form.
Place both of your hands on a pull-up bar slightly wider than shoulder-width apart. Your palms should be facing forward.
Engage your core by bracing your stomach as if someone is about to punch you in the gut. Then, hang your body from the bar with your arms fully straightened and legs extended. Squeeze your legs together as if you’re hugging someone with your legs. If you need a tactile cue, try crossing your legs or putting a towel between your thighs. Allow your feet to hang slightly in front of your body.
Keep tension throughout your body. Then, on an exhale, pull your shoulder blades down and bend your elbows to pull your chest up to the bar. Keep your elbows tucked in by imagining yourself pulling your elbows down and back toward you (think: you’re elbowing a friend behind you).
Continue pulling until your chin is hovering above the bar. Try not to swing your body or stretch your neck over the bar.
Pause at the top. Then on an inhale, slowly extend your elbows to fully straighten your arms and lower your body back to the starting position.
Pull-Up Form Tips and Common Mistakes
One of the biggest technique mistakes Su sees is when people pull their bodies up to the bar with just their biceps. “While they are able to do the motion, they aren’t necessarily recruiting muscle groups or strengthening the right muscle groups,” she says.
Instead, initiate the movement by engaging your scapula (shoulder blades), dropping them down your back, then pulling through the arms, Su advises. Try imagining that your hands are hooks and focus on driving your elbows down toward your hips. “That [cue] helps a lot of people drop the shoulders down away from their ears and create space so their traps and biceps don’t get too involved and they’re able to pull with their lats a little bit better,” she explains. As you pull up, avoid flaring your elbows out to the sides, which will put unnecessary stress on the shoulders, adds Reuss.
Also key: Perform your reps slowly and with full-body tension, and utilize the full range of motion that’s available to you, according to the experts. “Turning off” muscles throughout your body will reduce stability and decrease the efficiency of the pull-up path, says Reuss. Su encourages her clients to extend their elbows fully at the bottom of the movement and to relax their muscles a bit to stretch the lat muscles. “You essentially want, at the bottom, to be in a full overhead position, with your arms straight above your head,” she adds. “And then you’re pulling yourself up until at least your chin is over the bar.”
Kipping – a pull-up technique that involves swinging your body and slightly lifting your feet up toward the bar – is popular among CrossFit athletes, but Su recommends avoiding the practice until you’re a pro. This type of pull-up is advanced and performed at a quick speed, so you need a high level of shoulder strength and stability and the ability to control your body well, she explains. “If you’re not strong, that’s when you’re going to get shoulder injuries and hurt yourself,” Su says.
“Overall, mishaps affect the efficiency (which slows down progress) and can cause stress on the neck, shoulders, or elbows,” says Reuss. “And that leads to frustration – it’ll definitely affect the mental game!”
Pull-Up Variations to Try
Quality is way more important than quantity when it comes to pull-ups, so don’t be afraid to tweak the exercise as you need. For a modified pull-up variation, try feet-assisted pull-ups; place the pull-up bar about mid-height, high enough that you’re still able to complete the full pulling motion but low enough that your feet can gently rest on the ground throughout the movement. “Your feet can assist you, but stay mindful of pulling with your shoulder blades and back muscles rather than cheating by depending on your feet,” says Reuss.
Reuss also suggests eccentric pull-ups (skipping the “pulling up” motion and instead just slowly lowering yourself from the top of the bar) and quarter or mini pull-ups (performing just the first quarter of the rep).
Band-assisted pull-ups are another common variation for the challenging exercise; the movement is the same as a classic pull-up, but you’ll have the support of a resistance band that’s attached to the bar and wrapped around your feet, Su says.
That said, there are some drawbacks. While banded pull-ups can help you understand and feel what a complete, start to finish pull-up feels like, they can also encourage poor form.
“Banded pull-ups should look like twinsies to a regular, band-free pull-up. If you start to rely on them, you will rely on them until you break out of the habit, so let’s not make it into a habit,” Reuss says.
Once you’ve mastered a traditional pull-up, consider amping up the difficulty by adding weight (such as by wearing a weight belt or holding a dumbbell in between your feet) or switching up your tempo (think: pulling up at a normal speed, then lowering slowly), suggests Su. You can also routinely test how many pull-ups you can do in a row to see how you’re progressing, she adds.
How to Add Pull-Ups to Your Routine
You may not nail a pull-up on your very first try, and that’s okay. Instead of feeling defeated, set the exercise as a goal and work on building strength with other movements.
Consider prioritizing rows and lat pull-downs in your resistance training routine to strengthen your lat muscles. You’ll also want to practice bodyweight pulling motions, such as inverted rows with a TRX system or racked barbell, Su suggests.
Core exercises such as dead bugs and hollow-body holds also support your progress toward a pull-up, Reuss adds. “Dead bugs train the torso, spine, and hips to stay stable like a ‘core canister’ or a ‘tree trunk,’” she explains. “Hollow holds also strengthen core stability, helping the body move as one during a pull-up. I call it ‘dead bug on steroids.’” Perform this intentional pull-up work two to three times a week, Reuss advises.
As you improve your strength and pulling technique, progress to scapular pull-ups, which teach you how to properly call upon your shoulder blades and avoid overusing your arms and traps, says Reuss. Then, try various pull-up holds to build your grip strength: dead hangs (hold the bar with straight arms), pull-ups with a hollow-body hold, and isometric pull-up holds (hold the top of the pull-up with your chin over the bar for three to five seconds, slowly building up your endurance), Reuss suggests. There are a ton of variations that you can use to help you strengthen your body to graduate to doing an actual pull-up, says Su.
Whether you choose a modified variation, a classic pull-up, or an advanced option, Su suggests placing pull-ups at the beginning of your workout, when your muscles aren’t fatigued and you’re able to perform your reps with good form. During your reps, work at an 8 out of 10 RPE (rating of perceived exertion), adds Reuss; that might mean you perform three sets of eight to 12 inverted rows but only three sets of one to three reps of full-range pull-ups.
Lastly, and one of the most important aspects of accomplishing a push-up is your attitude. No matter where you’re at in your journey, don’t be afraid to attempt the exercise and start reaping those pull-up benefits. “As I like to tell my clients, strength is available to you, a choice waiting for you to seize it,” says Reuss. “The potential is already there. Reach out, grab, and pull with all your might – and it’s a power move to ask for a little bit of professional help, too!”
One of the biggest questions we get from everyone is “How do I work my legs at home?”
After all, challenging the legs with barbells, dumbbells, and machines at the gym is easy. We can just continue to add weight to our exercises until our legs look like tree trunks. But if we want to build strength but we’re unable to get to the gym, don’t have a gym membership, or are traveling – then what do we do?
Enter the NERD FITNESS LEG DAY WORKOUT.
Our 20-minute routine can be scaled for someone just getting started (beginner), or someone looking to get their legs blasted (advanced).
To get started with our Leg Day Workout, warm up with 1-2 minutes of leg swings and marching in place.
Continue the warm-up with 1-2 sets of the first exercise at an easier variation (or less weight/reps) then move on to your work sets. For the remaining exercises, perform 1-2 additional warm-up sets at the start, if needed. (A bit more on the warm-up later!)
Alternate between Workout A and Workout B on non-consecutive days to properly recover. Meaning, give yourself a “rest day” before doing a leg workout again.
If you’re new to dedicated leg days (or just getting back into things), then choose the lower end of the prescribed sets and reps, while picking easier variations. If you’re a seasoned pro, then start increasing the number of sets or reps you do each workout, while pushing for harder and harder variations.
Rest 1-2 minutes between sets (or longer, if needed).
Now, let’s give you some specifics.
LEG DAY AT HOME – WORKOUT A
Phase 1
Warm up for a few minutes.
Phase 2
Do 2 to 4 sets of the following:
Squat Variation: 5-8 reps
Deadlift Variation: 8-12 reps
Phase 3
Do 2 to 3 sets of the following:
Lunge Variation: 5-8 per side
Calf Raise Variation: 8-12 reps
LEG DAY AT HOME – WORKOUT B
Phase 1
Warm up for a few minutes.
Phase 2
Do 2 to 4 sets of the following:
Deadlift Variation: 8-12 reps
Squat Variation: 5-8 reps
Phase 3
Do 2 to 3 sets of the following:
Step-up Variation: 5-8/side
Shin Raise Variation: 8-12 reps
There are a lot of variations you can choose from for these exercises, so let’s break these down for you.
Real quick, before we do, I’d like to highlight that crafting effective routines, much like the one above, is a significant aspect of NF Coaching. Our team of coaches understands the hustle, so we tailor quick workouts that optimize available resources—be it equipment, time, or energy.
And that’s not all! A coach can also help with your nutrition and stress management, two vital components of the fitness adventure.
In fact, there’s a whole lot more to explore. If you’re intrigued, take a closer look at our online one-on-one program here:
Let’s go over some categories of leg day exercises that you can do at home, plus some variations you can choose to get started with.
#1) Squat Variations:
No leg workout would be complete without the squat.
It uses all the muscles of the lower body in a very natural pattern – ever see a baby squat?
However, as we age and adopt unnatural sitting postures, our squat form tends to suffer.
So let’s work to get back to basics, baby!
Squat variations to choose from:
1) Assisted Squats
Working up to an unassisted squat in your workout, or just need a good option for your warm-up? Enter the assisted squat! Hold onto anything safe and stable (a countertop, a chair, the wall) to put some of the work off your legs and into your arms.
2) Bodyweight Squat
In the video above, we cover five common mistakes folks often make when performing a squat.
Give it a watch so you don’t make them too!
3) Pause Squat
Is the regular squat feeling too easy? Pause for a couple of seconds at the bottom. This will work the muscles a bit more as well as help improve your mobility for the exercise.
4) Goblet Squat
Have you become a master of the bodyweight squat? Then add some weight to it! Hold a weight with two hands in front of your chest, like a big goblet that you don’t want to spill. This means keeping the chest and weight up!
If you don’t have a dumbbell, then this is the perfect time to hold a suitcase or backpack up for improvised weight as we describe here.
5) Banded Squat
Weighted squats are great, until you have to travel! For a much lighter, but still powerful option, hold a band in your hands and stand on it. If your band is a continuous loop, you can also stand on it and drape the band over the front of your shoulders while crossing and lifting the arms up.
6) Jumping Squat
No weights? No bands? No problem! Add some explosion to the movement and jump off the ground for each rep. You don’t have to jump sky high, or honestly even leave the ground. Even just a slight weight reduction should prove more challenging than a regular bodyweight squat.
7) One-Legged Squat (do 5-8 per side)
Ready for the ultimate challenge? Build up enough strength to do a squat with just one leg! This is an amazing variation when you find yourself with no gym and no equipment. Just like the regular bodyweight squat, you can work this assisted first by holding onto a chair or doorframe.
We cover a lot of the finer points in our YouTube video – getting your first one-legged squat:
Well, not only will a deadlift challenge our legs. But really, it’s an EVERYTHING exercise, as we engage every muscle in our body throughout the movement:
Posterior chain and legs? They’re the powerhouse, working like a lever to hoist that weight up.
Back and core? Engaged throughout the movement as we keep our whole body tight and steady.
Shoulders and traps? They’re working hard to keep the weight secure as we lift.
So any solid leg day workout should aim to include deadlifts in it.
Deadlift variations to choose from:
1) Bodyweight Deadlift (Good Morning)
While we’re not “lifting” anything in this variation, it’s still the same movement of hinging at the hips and leaning forward. You can keep your hands in front of you holding imaginary weights, or placed up behind your head for an exercise that is often called the “good morning”.
2) Weighted Deadlift
We can pick up dumbbells, kettlebells, or barbells. At home, we might be picking up luggage, backpacks, or sandbags. In any of these examples, the form remains the same! Push your hips back and lean forward, like you did for the good morning.
Once you’ve leaned forward a bit, then bend your knees slightly to be able to reach your weight. Grab strong and stand up tall. Put the weight back down by reversing the process. Hips back, lean forward, and bend the knees slightly.
3) Banded Deadlift
No weights? Again, no problems. You can stand on a band and work the deadlift.
If you have a close-looped band, another option is to loop the band around one foot, then under the second foot, and then back around the first foot. This will give you a cat’s cradle of bands between your feet where you can grab one to four bands to deadlift for a variety of difficulties.
Check the gif for further explanation:
4) Kettlebell or Dumbbell Swing
Just as we added some speed and explosion to the squats, we can do the same thing to the deadlift movement too. This is called ‘the swing’ and can be done with a dumbbell, kettlebell, or even a compact backpack.
The biggest focus is to make sure the power is coming from your hips and they pop open, and not from your arms lifting the weight.
5) One-Legged Deadlift (do 8-12 per side)
As with the squat, if we don’t have bands or equipment, then one of the best go-to’s is to perform the exercise on one leg. This puts more work on that single leg, as well as makes it more challenging for our balance as we go through the reps.
6) Weighted One-Legged-Deadlift
Have some weights to use, but a two-legged deadlift is too easy – then do it on one leg! Take your time, and continue to focus on pushing those hips back at the start of the exercise.
When done correctly, lunges target the quadriceps, hamstrings, glutes, and calves, enhancing lower body strength and stability. Additionally, because they are iso-lateral (your feet aren’t in line with each other), lunges help stress the lower body in a different way that can help reduce imbalances from left to right.
When you add it all up: lunges are perfect for leg day!
Lunge variations to choose from:
1) Assisted Lunges
Just like with the assisted squats, for assisted lunges, we can hold onto something stable like a countertop, chair, or wall. The idea again is to put some of the work into your arms and off your legs, as well as provide more stability.
2) Split Squats
The split squat is another great variation to work on the way to a regular bodyweight lunge. While it looks very similar to a lunge, the biggest difference is that we’ll set our feet once, and then keep them in place and we move up and down. By keeping the feet stationary, the exercise can be a bit easier to balance.
3) Bodyweight Lunges
The lunge puts stress on the legs greater than just a bodyweight squat, while also challenging our balance. Step out far enough to be able to sink down so that your back knee comes close to the ground (it can lightly touch, but don’t slam it down).
If stepping forward feels a little achy for the knee, you can work on stepping backward into position (aka the reverse lunge).
4) Pause Lunges
If the regular lunge is feeling strong, then add a pause! We’ll pause at the bottom of each rep for a couple of seconds before returning to standing. Get as low as you can, while still keeping the back knee off the ground.
5) Lateral Lunges
Lateral lunges are a deceptively challenging lunge variation. While many of our movements in the gym have us moving forward and backward (the sagittal plane, for you anatomy nerds). The lateral lunge has us moving sideways (the frontal plane), so it may feel new and unfamiliar.
Take your time, use an assist if needed, and look to sink down as low on your leading leg as you would in a squat. The other leg can remain straight, with the foot on the ground.
6) Weighted Lunges
Are all of these lunges too easy so far? Then add some weight! You can hold weight up at your chest, like the goblet squat, or in your hands. If you have some weight in a backpack, you can even wear it to make the exercise more difficult.
7) Jumping Split Squats
When you’re working out, but don’t have any extra weight to add to your lunges, this dynamic variation will get the job done. Get set just like a regular split squat – stepping out with one foot and sinking down. But now, instead of just split squatting up and down with the feet in place, you want to explode off the ground and switch feet in mid-air.
No surprise here that calf raises target our calf muscles…it’s right in the name.
But the exercise also promotes foot and ankle strength, contributing to overall body balance. That makes it a great exercise for leg day.
Calf Raise variations to choose from:
1) Seated Calf Raises
If this is your first time doing dedicated calf work, I’d highly suggest starting with seated calf raises. The extra focused work on this muscle can make them sore very easily, so this a good option to dip your toes in.
2) Standing Calf Raises (Floor)
If seated calf raises are feeling strong, then stand up to add a bit of weight to the movement. Press your toes through the ground and get up as high as you can. Hold onto a wall, chair, or countertop to assist with your balance, but look to keep most of the weight still in the legs.
3) Standing Calf Raises (Step)
Adding a step to your standing calf raises allows you to drop your heels lower and increase the range of motion. This also increases the likelihood that it’ll be a little tough to walk normally the next day!
Get a good stretch at the bottom, and then really extend up to the top.
4) One-Leg Calf Raises (Floor)
Once two-legged calf raises are no problem, then it’s easy to increase the intensity by working one leg at a time. As before, we can start on the ground to get more weight into the movement while working in a smaller range of motion.
5) One-Leg Calf Raises (Step)
Ready to turn those calves into cows? Then let’s get up on the step and work the one-legged calf raise. All the previous cues still apply – look to drop your heel below the step and get a good stretch before pushing through and really extending at the top.
If this continues to feel easy, then your free hand can hold a weight to increase the intensity further.
#5) Step-Up Variation
Step-ups, a versatile leg exercise, amp up strength in crucial muscle groups—quadriceps, hamstrings, glutes, and adductors.
Moreover, being a unilateral leg exercise (since we’re doing one leg at a time), step-ups play a vital role in balancing strength between both sides. This can help us improve imbalances. As we strive to create a killer leg day routine (which is the plan), step-ups definitely deserve a spot in the spotlight.
Step-up variations to choose from:
1) Assisted Step-Ups
As with the previous assisted variations, use something stable to help you step up onto the object. You may step onto a stepstool, a step or two on a flight of stairs, or any stable box.
The higher the object, the harder the step-up, but looking for a height that puts your front thigh about horizontal is a good average to work towards.
2) Bodyweight Step-Ups
When the legs feel strong enough, then remove any assist and step up strong. Look to keep the chest up as you stand up tall at the top. Alternate back and forth with which leg you step with, to give the legs an equal amount of work.
3) Weighted Step-Ups
As we continue to get stronger with the step-ups, then adding weight is the next natural progression. As with the lunges, you can hold weight up at your chest, like the goblet squat, or in your hands. If you have some weight in a backpack, you can even wear it to make the exercise more difficult.
4) Bulgarian Split Squats
While the Bulgarian Split Squat looks like a lunge, we’ll keep it in the Step-Up Variations as A) we should be putting more emphasis on the front leg than both legs and B) you’ll likely be performing this exercise with the same set-up as your step-ups – on a flight of stairs or with a box.
Step out in front of whatever object you’re using, and then place the top of your foot up on the object. If this is too uncomfortable, then you can place a towel or other similar padding to help.
Sink down until your front thigh gets horizontal, and then stand back up. If you feel too “cramped” when trying to descend, then step a little further away from the object.
#6) Shin Raises
Shin raises are great. They make the front shin muscle, called the tibialis anterior, stronger. This muscle helps protect your knees by reducing the force on them when you run or jump. They are also fantastic if you’ve ever suffered from shin splints. So, shin raises are like a shield for your knees during active stuff!
They are also much less frequently worked, so take your time and don’t get frustrated if they feel challenged!
Shin raise variations to choose from:
1) Shin Raise – Feet Close to Wall
The first and relatively easiest variation is to perform shin raises with your feet closer to the wall and your back leaning up against the wall. Feet should be naturally hip-width apart, and then lift your feet as high as you are able to go. Again, take your time and go for quality reps.
2) Shin Raise – Feet Far from Wall
As the shin raise gets easier, you can increase the range of motion and difficulty by moving your feet farther from the wall. Continue with the same cues – putting your feet hip-width apart, and lifting your feet as high as you can go.
3) Shin Raise – Heels on Edge of a Step
Some people prefer standing on the edge of a step and lowering their feet down, as opposed to moving their feet out away from the wall, to make the shin raise more difficult.
Care should be taken here to set up a safe position. Look to pick a very low step where your toes can touch the ground lightly at the bottom. This will help minimize the risk of slipping off the front. Your heels should be firmly on the step, and then reach back to the wall for balance.
Warming up before tackling leg day is crucial because it’ll help you move better and feel stronger through your workout.
As your body temperature rises during a warm-up, blood flow to muscles increases. This enhances oxygen delivery and nutrient supply, optimizing muscle function.
Additionally, warm-ups promote the release of synovial fluid – this is a thick liquid between your joints that reduces friction. This helps the exercises feel more effortless.
So, in a nutshell, warming up is like priming your engine before pushing the pedal.
Here’s a warm-up you can do to prepare for leg day:
#1) Leg Swings for 20-30 seconds per side
The objective for this movement is to lightly move the hip joint through a big range of motion. Only swing as high as you feel comfortable, and keep the body in a strong upright posture.
#2) Marching in Place for 30-60 seconds
You can march in place or march straight ahead. The marching should increase our heart rate a bit, but not be strenuous. The objective here is to introduce some movement in the knee joint and continue to warm the whole body up.
#3) One to Two Sets of an Easier Variation of Your First Chosen Exercise
These are not part of the prescribed sets that are in the workout. These are additional sets! Adding in a few warm-up sets is one of the best things to do to specifically prepare the body for the exercise.
So if you’re first exercise is a bodyweight squat:
Start off with an assisted squat:
Or if you’re doing a goblet squat, then start off with a lighter weight (or a bodyweight squat).
Adjust the movement for these warm-up sets so that they feel good and you feel more prepared for the tougher sets ahead.
#4) Include Additional Warm-up Sets, as Necessary, as You Continue Through Your Workout
After the first exercise, you may feel good enough to step right into the main sets of your next exercises. If you don’t feel ready, then continue performing 1-2 easier sets as a warm-up for any additional exercise.
If you’re going to be lifting heavy weights, or just challenging yourself in general, it’s still a good idea to do warm-up sets before you get to the main event.
So if you plan on doing a kettlebell deadlift:
Deadlifts at a lighter weight, or a bodyweight good morning would help.
Listen to your body as you go, and don’t be afraid to add a warm-up set or two before every new exercise.
If you’re at home, you might have some weights around for your leg day workout.
Great!
But if you’re away from home, like at an Airbnb, you might not.
Don’t fret.
Here are three ways to challenge your legs without weights:
Pause variation: this will make the movement tougher as we pause for a couple of seconds at a certain point in the exercise, usually at the bottom where the muscles are doing the most work.
Banded version: this will make the movement tougher as we use bands to add resistance to the exercise. There are different exercise bands you can purchase, but we tend to like the thicker, closed-loop bands. They are much easier to pack for a road trip than a set of weights. You can learn more about resistance bands here.
Dynamic version: this will make the movement tougher as we add some speed to the exercise. This generally involves a jumping variation of a regular exercise, such as jumping squats or jumping split squats.
Now, sometimes we need to make exercises EASIER.
This is generally done by performing an assisted variation.
With an assisted variation, we make the movement easier and generally involve holding onto something solid nearby – whether that’s a countertop, chair, or wall.
Assisted variations are also handy (hehe) for doing warm-ups. See above.
Now, obviously, a simple way to make an exercise tougher is to add some weight to it. Let’s talk about that next.
Adding any weight to an exercise will naturally make the movement tougher, as we have to move our bodyweight and this additional weight. You might have a small collection of weights and dumbbells at home that you can use, but we can also grab anything safe and stable for additional weight. It’s something we bring up in the video, How to Level Up Your Home Gym:
As highlighted by Coach Matt in the video above, various household items can be repurposed for your home gym!
Picture yourself as a fitness MacGyver, but instead of building a helicopter with a crazy straw, a can of hairspray, and some bubble gum…
You’re crafting a home gym!
Consider these alternative fitness equipment ideas using everyday items:
#1) Household Containers (Milk, Laundry)
If it has a handle and can hold water, it can serve as a makeshift free weight.
Another idea is to use an empty laundry detergent bottle, refilled with water. To make it lighter, adjust the water level.
Want it even heavier? Use sand instead.
#2) Buckets
What’s designed to hold water and be lifted and carried?
A bucket!
With a bucket and your legs, you can perform a Romanian deadlift:
Like a jug, fill it with enough water (or sand) to match your strength. Take your time if you’re using water, as it’ll be likely to slosh out otherwise!
#3) Luggage and Backpacks
Your luggage might just be sitting in a closet right now. Or you might have a ton of extra bags or backpacks lying around.
So why not turn these into weights? Fill them with anything that can add a bit of heft.
Need some ideas? How about:
Books
Canned goods
Laundry!
Take a stroll around your house; you’ll find plenty to add to make things challenging. (Just remember to keep it safe!)
Now that you have heavy luggage, deadlifts are a great option. You may find it a bit more challenging to lift than a traditional dumbbell or barbell too!
Most exercises with a sandbag can be replicated with a suitcase filled with weight too. You could even just dive into the deep end and make a few sandbags yourself.
And finally, a heavy backpack is great to wear for weighted squats, lunges, or step-ups.
So what is this “leg day”, and why does everyone always seem to be skipping it?
Leg day isn’t any more complex than dedicating an entire workout to the lower body. This allows you to focus much more time and attention on it, than if you were working your leg exercises during a total body routine. (Like something we outline here.)
Leg day also tends to be really, really HARD. Not only because we’re recruiting the biggest muscles of the body to move around the most amount of weight, but the rest of the body usually also has to work and stabilize everything in the process.
Lots more working than just the legs here!
Now there’s nothing right or wrong about having a dedicated leg day. This may or may not work with your current goals and situation.
But whether you have an entire dedicated leg workout, or work total body with each session, training your legs is a must.
“Are training legs really that important? I mean, I walk a lot.
Isn’t that good enough?”
My answer: no. Now go do some squats!
Kidding (but seriously do some squats).
Here are the benefits of doing leg day:
Build a Beastly Base: Your legs are the powerhouse of your body, literally. Strong legs = better balance, improved athleticism, and a boost in everyday activities like climbing stairs or carrying groceries like a champ. Think of them as the foundation of your fitness empire!
Calorie Crushing: Leg workouts engage multiple muscle groups, making them calorie-burning machines. Squats, lunges, deadlifts – they all send your metabolism into overdrive, helping you sculpt a leaner, fitter you. Plus, the extra muscle mass you build burns more calories even at rest, meaning more calories burned while playing video games.[1]
Total Body Gains: Forget the myth of isolated muscle groups. Leg workouts trigger a hormonal cascade throughout the whole body that benefits the rest of your muscles, leading to gains in upper body strength as well. Biceps? Triceps? They’ll be thanking you for those squats!
Brain Booster: Exercise isn’t just about the body, it’s a friend to the brain too. Leg workouts increase blood flow to your head, delivering oxygen and nutrients that boost cognitive function and memory. So, next time you need to ace that presentation or remember where you parked the car (again), hit the gym and give your legs some love.[2]
Pain Prevention Powerhouse: Strong leg muscles are your body’s shock absorbers, protecting your joints and spine from injuries. So embrace the leg day life – your future self will thank you for it![3]
While a brisk walk (or a run) is a fantastic way to stay active, improve your cardiovascular health, and boost your mood, it’s not quite the muscle-building superhero you might be hoping for. Think of it like a gentle tap on the shoulder compared to the full-on boot camp of squats and lunges. Challenging strength exercises, like the ones you see in this article, have a host of benefits you won’t get walking and running.
First off, they take the joints through a much bigger range of motion. The amount of movement in the knees and hips during a squat is significantly more than a walk. It’s important to move our joints through these ranges of motion, so we can continue moving them well for years to come!
Next, this bigger range of motion means we’re building strength in the muscles much more effectively than with a walk or a run. More strength will serve us well in anything we do – from sports to life.
Lastly, this strength-building also puts enough stress on the body to build (or maintain) muscle and bone. The same can’t be said for walking and running. Maintaining muscle and bone is vital as we age (and also pretty darn important when we’re younger too!).
So, while walking is excellent for the heart and a great foundation for a healthy lifestyle, don’t underestimate the power of adding some targeted strength training to unlock those hidden gains. Trust me, your legs will thank you for it!
Soreness is a natural consequence of challenging your muscles – especially if you’re coming back from a long break or trying something new. It’s like your body throwing a tiny temper tantrum because you dared to ask it to get outside its comfort zone.
So maybe reframe this as your muscles whispering, “Hey, we just leveled up!”
Now, that doesn’t mean we gotta roll around in agony the day after. We can outsmart the soreness a bit with some clever strategies.
Step 1) Pre-Workout Prep
Warm up like nobody’s watching: Get your blood pumping with some easy movements like leg swings or marching. Think of it as waking up your muscles before they get thrown into the gladiator arena. We covered a warm-up at the top of this article (found here), but we also have a complete guide that covers different warm-up routines.
Hydrate!: Water is your post-workout soreness BFF. Hydrating properly can lessen discomfort and safeguard your joints and muscles. It works by maintaining the flexibility of the cartilage, kind of like giving them a regular dose of TLC. Fill up before, during, and after your leg day adventure. Think of it as internal lubrication for those tired warriors.
Step 2) During Your Workout
Form is your fortress: Don’t ego-lift, my friend. Use proper form to target the right muscles and avoid injury. If you find an exercise too challenging, then adjust to another variation. We’re trying to slowly build a castle here, and proper form is how we make sure all the rocks go in the right places.
Progressive overload, not extreme overload: Push yourself, but listen to your body. Don’t go from “I never work out” to “squat champion” in a day. Your muscles need time to adapt and build strength. Increasing the amount of work you do too drastically is a surefire way to have some debilitating soreness from your workout.
Variety is the spice of leg life: Different exercises target different muscle fibers within your legs. Squats primarily engage quads, while lunges hit hamstrings and glutes more prominently. By mixing things up, you ensure all muscle groups get challenged, and one area isn’t beaten up relentlessly (and incredibly sore the next day). Working different exercises also leads to more balanced and overall leg development.
Now, Step 3 is going to get us into “active recovery.” Basically, what to do AFTER your leg day workout.
To recover from an intense leg day workout, there are a few things we can do. Some of these things can be done right after our workout, while others can be prioritized the next day.
Here are some ideas:
#1) Cool Down
Avoid the post-workout slump with a gentle cooldown. Light activity like walking or jogging helps pump blood through your working muscles, preventing them from feeling like overinflated balloons. This can reduce lactic acid buildup, a major contributor to muscle soreness.
#2) Foam Rolling
Foam rolling is your secret weapon for releasing tension and improving blood flow in those tired legs, especially in your quads, hamstrings, and glutes. Think of it as giving your muscles a mini massage after a workout. Studies show that foam rolling can help increase blood flow to the treated area, potentially aiding in faster recovery and reducing muscle soreness.[4]
Remember, it’s not a battle – listen to your body and apply gentle pressure. We’re trying to relax the muscles a bit, not beat them down into submission.
Here’s a routine you can run through if you have a roller handy:
Soon after your workout, replenish your energy stores with a delicious blend of protein and carbs.
Think of meals like:
Protein smoothie with banana
Greek yogurt with berries and granola
Whole-wheat wrap with turkey and avocado
Studies show that consuming protein and carbs soon after a workout optimizes muscle recovery and growth.[5]
#4) Motion is Lotion!
This is a favorite saying we have around here. It means to move around nice and easy, anyway that you can! This might mean a light walk, or a yoga session, or even a set or two of yesterday’s exercises at an easy level. Look to get the joints and muscles through as big a range of motion as you can.
This is often the exact opposite of what many people do the day after leg day – which is to sit around for days and wait for the soreness to subside. You’ll feel much better and be able to tackle your next workout a lot sooner if you remember to keep moving around!
#5) Sleep
Don’t underestimate the power of sleep! Aim for 7-8 hours of quality shut-eye to allow your muscles to repair and rebuild. As we cover in our Guide to a Goodnight’s Rest, sleep is like magic for your body – it’s when the real growth and progress happen.
When it comes to scheduling your leg day, there’s no one-size-fits-all solution. It’s all about finding what works best for your schedule.
With that being said, here are some things to consider when scheduling Leg Day:
When you have the most time. Working legs is tough and takes time to warm up and go heavy in your sets, as compared to the upper body. While we still recommend getting in your leg workouts even if you have a busy schedule, IF you have a choice then look to line up your leg day with the day of the week that gives you the most available time.
Post rest day for a fresh attack. To maximize muscle engagement, potentially schedule your leg day workout after a rest day. That way you’re feeling recovered and ready to put in the hard work.
Avoid pulling exercises the day before. Often when someone is doing a dedicated leg day, they’ll work their upper body on the other days of the week. With these upper body workouts, it’s also common for people to break up the exercises into pushing and pulling workouts. Because we often have to grab and hold weights or bands for our leg day workouts, it’s better to avoid scheduling leg day the day after your pulling workouts. The grip will be tired and it may affect what you can lift.
So there you have it, my friend! The leg day gauntlet has been laid, but how you choose to conquer it is entirely yours.
You may find a dedicated leg day to work best for you – allowing you to really focus on each exercise and push really hard. Or you may find that a total body workout – hitting legs and upper body in the same session – works much better for your schedule and your goals. There are no right and wrong answers here.
Remember, the Nerd Fitness Rebellion isn’t about rigid rules, it’s about experimenting, finding what lights your training fire, and making progress toward your goals while having fun.
And if you’re looking for even more help in building your workout, don’t forget to check out our guide on crafting the perfect personalized workout plan: How to Build a Workout Routine.
It’ll help you incorporate your new leg day routine into a complete workout.
Now go forth, nerdy warriors! Conquer leg day, conquer your workouts, and conquer the world, one step, squat, and lunge at a time!
Here’s how to perform the Turkish Get-up, step by step:
#1) Lie on the Floor, Extend Arm, Bend Leg
Begin in a supine position, extending one arm vertically while bending the same-side leg. This is our starting stance.
#1a) If Weighted, Roll onto Your Back and Extend the Arm
For those using additional weight, start on your side and pull the weight close with two arms. Roll onto your back, continuing to keep the weight close, then extend the weight overhead with both arms, taking your time and maintaining control.
#2) Roll up onto the Other Forearm
Maintain eye contact with the hand overhead as you roll from your back up onto your opposite forearm.
#3) Get up onto Your Hand
Continue the movement by getting up onto your hand, and maintaining eye contact with the other hand overhead.
#4) Bridge the Hips and Sweep the Leg Under
Keep your hand on the ground and lift your hips high enough to sweep your leg underneath you. We’re looking to move that leg far enough to make a triangle on the ground with your hand, knee, and foot.
#4a) Ensure a Stable Triangle
Make sure the triangle you’ve created with hand, knee, and foot feels strong before shifting weight and moving onto the next step.
#5) Move into a Kneeling Lunge Position
Lift up your body into a kneeling lunge, with one knee up and the other down. Take your time to maintain your balance.
#6) Stand up (Halfway through the TGU)
Stand up completely. This is the halfway point of the Turkish Get-up.
#7) Step Back to a Kneeling Lunge
Start the descent by stepping back into a kneeling lunge.
#8) Hand Down, Create a Triangle with Foot and Knee
Lower your hand, forming the same stable triangle with your hand, knee, and foot on the ground.
#9) Keep Hips High, Sweep the Leg Under
Push your hand strong into the ground and keep the hips elevated, as you sweep the leg forward and sit on the ground.
#10) Forearm and Elbow Down on the Ground
Bring your forearm and elbow down to the ground, continuing to maintain eye contact with your hand (or weight) overhead.
#11) Upper Back Down on Ground
Complete the Turkish Get-up by gently lowering your upper back to the ground.
#11a) If Weighted, Lower Weight Down, Roll to Your Side
For those with added weight, lower it down with two hands (if necessary), keeping it close, and then roll to the side to put it on the ground.
The Turkish get-up is very versatile and can be worked into your routine in several different ways.
Here are some quick examples of a Turkish Get-up Workout:
Warm-up: Perform 1-2 easy sets of 2-3 reps each side, alternating sides, with light or no weight. With little rest between sets, it’s quick, effective, and readies your body for more.
Strength Training: Opt for 2-3 sets of 1-3 reps per side, either same side or alternating, with progressively heavier weight. Rest 1-3 minutes between sets.
Conditioning: Engage in 2-3 sets of 3-5 reps or more per side, alternating sides, using light to medium weight. Keep it moving to elevate your heart rate (minimal rest).
Let’s break this down a bit.
#1) The Turkish Get-up as a Warm-up
If your aim is to warm up and prepare your body for action, incorporate the Turkish Get-up with 1-2 easy sets. Perform 2-3 reps on each side, alternating between left and right.
This can be done with a lighter weight or just your bodyweight, focusing on proper form. Even without added weight, ensure you go through all the points of performance, treating it as if there’s resistance. Each repetition may take 15-30 seconds (or more if you’re first learning), offering a thorough warm-up. If you need a bit more warm-up, then do a few more reps! This will get your entire body ready for more activity.
#2) The Turkish Get-up as Strength Training
While it doesn’t look like a traditional exercise, you’ll still build plenty of strength when you start increasing the weight and testing yourself.
Because of the longer time it takes to complete each rep (as opposed to something like a push-up or a squat), you’ll tend to see lower rep ranges worked with this exercise – 1 to 3 reps per side is a good place to start.
You can work the same side (all 1-3 reps done before switching) or alternate reps (one rep left, one rep right, etc). To progress, continue to increase the weight used, as long as you have control.
If you decide to add more reps, we start to enter the world of conditioning.
#3) The Turkish Get-up as Conditioning
If we want to turn the Turkish get-up into a conditioning exercise, then increase the total number of reps, while keeping the rest between sets minimal.
Because the shoulder will fatigue first, it’s best to alternate between sides (although if you’re feeling spicy – then complete all the reps on one side first!).
We’re also looking for light to medium weight so that we can keep things going safely, while getting the heart rate up.
As with any of these recommendations, if you need to make it tougher then start adding weight and/or reps, or just decrease your rest time!
With all of these steps and cues in the Turkish get-up, you might be asking yourself:
“Why? What’s the point and benefit of learning this? What muscles are even worked?”
You might have heard of the 2012 study that linked the ability to stand up from the ground easily with a longer life. This was attributed in part to the fact that flexibility, strength, and coordination are all important things to maintain as one gets older. But even if you’re not a senior in their golden years, you can still build up and benefit from more of each of those attributes.
In addition, and this is something very often overlooked in people’s routines, it’s good to move in different directions.
The sky’s the limit here.
Too often we head to the gym and move around like we’re on tracks: moving forward or backward, two feet together, both arms pressing or pulling at the same time.
If we never explore different planes of motion and stress the arms and legs independently of one another, then when we’re called to do this outside the gym (cue Morpheus saying “Welcome to the real world”), there can be some troubles. Now any sort of movement is fantastic – so don’t stress out or second guess yourself – but when you’re looking to level up your workout, then look to work your arms and legs independently of each other.
This might be as simple as a lunge:
Or a one-arm row:
You can also look to move in different directions – this might look like a lunge to the side:
As opposed to always lunging to the front.
Then, of course, you can also pick up and explore the Turkish get-up. Feel how we’re moving in unfamiliar directions and stressing our muscles in unique ways with the exercise.
When performing Turkish get-ups, you’ll strengthen muscles like:
Chest and arm – as we press the weight into the starting position.
Core – specifically the obliques and abdominals, as you move from the floor to a standing position (and back down). As you move through several positions, your core will be engaged the whole time.
Shoulder – as we put our other hand on the ground and get the supporting arm vertical.
Glutes – as we bridge up our hips.
Quads – as we get into and stand up from a lunge position.
Grip – as we squeeze the weight hard to control it.
But really, it’s just about every muscle you have.
That’s because the Turkish Get-up is what we call a “total body movement,” meaning it requires every muscle in your body, all working together.
So your shoulders will stabilize the weight above you, all while your glutes and core are engaged.
On top of that, the Turkish Get-up will also help improve:
Coordination – following the correct sequence during the Turkish get-up will help your body awareness, also known as “proprioception.” This will help you improve coordination.
Mobility – getting off and on the ground takes some work. Adding a weight to the equation makes it even more so. This is a perfect recipe to improve mobility.
Balance – you shift a lot during the Turkish get-up, using one limb and then another. This will require some balance.
Functional Fitness means training that will carry over to your day-to-day life. With the TGU, it’ll help you remain strong to get off the floor or grab a heavy item from a shelf.
It’s no wonder people have been doing this exercise for well over 100 years (and some legends say over 200 years!)
Some believe that ancient wrestlers, in what is now Turkey, invented the get-up to prepare for their intense competitions.
Additionally, it also demonstrated their immense strength to each other (everyone loves to show off now and then).
To support this theory, it’s also worth noting that the Turkish get-up is traditionally done with kettlebells (we go over different options here), which have historical use in the region.
For example, as BJJEE points out, you can find old kettlebells at the Taksim Pera Museum in Istanbul, Turkey:
So that’s probably why it’s called the “Turkish get-up.”
You might also hear the TGU referred to as “The Turkish Stand-up” or “The Kettlebell Stand-up.” Don’t worry, it’s all the same exercise.
Even as we tout all these benefits, we also understand that the Turkish get-up is an intimidating exercise!
After all:
There are a lot of steps.
You’re not sure if you’re doing them correctly.
You might eventually have a weight balanced over your head!
Never fear! There are a lot of things that a beginner can do to tackle the TGU, build confidence, and have fun with it.
Here are four ways a beginner can get started with the TGU:
#1) Do the Turkish Get-up with no weight (or a Bodyweight TGU)
As we mentioned earlier, a good starting point would be to work the movement with nothing but your own bodyweight.
There’s enough to think about with your own coordination, before having to worry about controlling another object too!
#2) Split up the Turkish Get-up
Another really good way to ease into the full TGU is to work on parts of it. You can do this anywhere along the line for as many steps as you want, but some of my favorite variations:
Part #1) From the start (lying on the floor), to getting up to your hand, and then back down again.
Part #2) From sitting up on your hand, to bridging your hips up and sweeping the leg under, and then reversing it.
Part #3) From foot, knee, and hand on the ground, to getting into a reverse lunge position, then standing up, then reversing it all (reverse lunge back down, put your hand down in the triangle)
#3) Do the Turkish Get-up with a Shoe
As Coach Staci showed in the video at the top of this article, a fun variation you can try before adding any weights is standing up and down with a shoe in your hand!
Specifically, we want to rest the shoe on our open hand, so that if you let your arm drop or drift forward, the shoe might topple out.
#4) Do the Turkish Get-up with a Medicine Ball
If you want a more “fun” variation of that, you can do a TGU with a medicine ball in your hand. Pick a larger one so that you can’t grab and control the ball (unless you have hands like the Hulk!). This will really test your abilities to keep the arm vertical and control every aspect of the motion.
And if you think this is too mean-spirited, just know that in many kettlebell certification courses, they expect you to do this open-handed with a cup of water! Any wavering from a good position will result in an impromptu shower!
It’s all in good fun though, and will give you a really, really good idea of what steps you need to practice more.
Despite the detailed steps, there are a few prevalent mistakes that often crop up. Let’s talk about what we SHOULD do to avoid them.
#1) Keep Your Eye on the Weight!
This is so key that you should write it on the bottom of all your kettlebells. It can be tempting to look around as you play one-person twister with yourself, but keep watching that weight! It is much, much easier to control it when you do. If you do have to bail and drop the weight to the ground, it’s also easier to direct if you’ve been watching it the entire time.
#2) Use Two Arms to Bring the Weight into the Starting Position.
Early on, it’s common to grab the weight with one hand, especially with lighter loads. However, as weights get heavier, this becomes impractical and risks shoulder strain. Practice rolling to your side and using both hands to secure the weight, ensuring a controlled and safe setup.
#3) Try to ROLL SIDEWAYS to Your Forearm and Hand.
As we’re lying on our back with the weight over our chest, it’s incredibly common for people to want to sit forward and up to get into position. Maybe it’s years and years of sit-ups in gym class. While you can get away with this with light or no weight, it quickly becomes impossible with heavier weights.
Instead, think about rolling to your side (the side opposite the weight) to get onto your forearm and then hand. You should press down with the leg that’s bent (the leg that’s the same side as the weight) to help the movement.
#4) Create That Triangle Before Moving Up into the Reverse Lunge.
After we bridge our hips and sweep the leg underneath, it can be tempting to try and rush the next step and try to get upright and stand up. As with all these steps and mistakes, you’ll be able to get away with this with lighter weight, but not heavy.
After you sweep your leg under, pause. Ensure you’re forming a stable triangle with your hand, knee, and foot. This foundational position provides the stability needed as you ascend.
#5) Press the Weight Up and Back as You Stand Up.
This is a cue that might not make sense until you try it and feel it, but the common mistake we’re trying to correct here is when people stand up from the lunge position, and their arm (and weight) shift forward. This often then results in them losing the weight to the front and dropping it.
To counteract this, focus on driving the weight up to the ceiling and back behind your head. This intention will help keep the weight over your own center of gravity so you can stand up triumphantly.
#6) On the Way Down, Roll to Your Elbow, Then the Nearest Shoulder, Then the Farthest Shoulder.
Another cue that may sound puzzling until you’re finishing up a TGU with heavy weight. Common mistake here is to get excited and rush the end. Your hand is on the ground, your hips are on the ground – things are so close you can taste it!
Well, you might be tasting the weight in a moment if you simply fall backwards to your entire upper back. Just as we want to focus on rolling upwards at the start (as opposed to trying to sit forward and up), we want to do the same thing on the way down.
Get down to the elbow, keep the upper body slightly rotated as you lower down to touch one shoulder, THEN let the rest of your upper back and second shoulder roll down and rest on the ground.
Plus, don’t forget…
#7) Engage Your Core Throughout the Turkish Get-up.
Given the technical nature of this exercise, it’s easy to let your core relax. Actively engage your core throughout the entire movement to ensure stability and control.
#8) Move Slow.
Resist the temptation to rush through the Turkish Get-up; it’s a recipe for injury. Move deliberately and in control throughout the entire sequence. If necessary, opt for a lighter weight—there’s no shame in prioritizing safety.
How to Grow Strong (Next Steps)
If you’ve made it this far, then you’re obviously pretty serious about growing strong.
A twinge or pain in the knees after doing lunges may be a sign that you’re doing the exercise incorrectly. And it’s always important to listen to your body when it comes to movement. Pain during or after lunges may be a sign that the exercise isn’t right for you.
Ahead, we speak to medical experts and a trainer to find out if lunges are bad for your knees and to get tips on doing a proper, pain-free lunge. Fortunately, there are a good amount of lunge alternatives to help build up strength and avoid putting unnecessary stress on your joints.
Are Lunges Bad For Your Knees?
According to Matthew Harb, MD, an orthopedic surgeon at the Centers For Advanced Orthopaedics, lunges are an excellent way of preventing knee pain and injury. Even if you’re dealing with severe knee conditions such as osteoarthritis, lunges offer some solid benefits. “I typically recommend lunges because this simple exercise works all of the important muscle groups around the knee,” Dr. Harb tells POPSUGAR. “We know that building strength and endurance, as well as preserving range of motion in the knee, are paramount to long-term knee health.”
Although this is definitely great news to hear, Alyssa Kuhn, DPT, founder of Utah-based practice Keep the Adventure Alive, says lunges can offer some risks. While she acknowledges that lunges are a “powerful exercise for you knees,” it’s really dependent on your knee strength. “Not everyone’s knees are always ready for lunges,” Dr. Kuhn tells POPSUGAR. “They can be a painful exercise to some, especially those dealing with knee pain. If you have significant levels of pain when doing lunges, your knees may be telling you they aren’t ready for the exercise right now.”
What Happens When You Do Lunges Incorrectly?
If you don’t pay close attention to your form when doing lunges, you could seriously hurt yourself. Jessica Mazzucco, a New York-based certified fitness trainer for The Glute Recruit, tells POPSUGAR some signs to watch out for if you’re doing lunges incorrectly.
“Lunges at extreme angles can put added stress on the joints, and cause pain in the knees,” Mazzucco says. “If you are leaning too far forward, your knee can’t bend properly to a 90-degree angle, which can lead to knee injury and make balancing hard. Also, if your hips are weak, your knee may push out past your toes because your hip muscles don’t keep the knee in line. This puts added pressure on the knee, resulting in pain and/or injury.”
What Is the Correct Way to Do a Lunge?
To help prevent knee injury or pain, Dr. Harb offers these step-by-step instructions on doing a lunge correctly:
Stand with feet shoulder width apart.
Take a big step forward with your right leg.
Lower your body until your right thigh is parallel with the floor and your left knee is very close to the floor.
Hold the lunge at the bottom for 15-30 seconds and then return to the starting position.
Repeat the same motion with the left leg.
Perform this exercise 5-10 times on each leg.
What Modifications Can I Do to Avoid Hurting My Knees?
Mazzucco suggests doing lunge variations to avoid knee injury. Some of these include a modified lunge where you bend halfway instead of all the way, or lunging backward to help prevent your knee from moving too far forward. She also recommends trying static lunges, an exercise in which your feet don’t move, but you still go down in lunge position, pause, and come back up.
“Make sure your right shin is vertical to the ground to prevent your knee from pushing over the right foot,” Mazzucco says. “Static lunges are better for avoiding knee pain than walking forward lunges because walking lunges require momentum, making it hard to stop your movements, which can add pressure to the knee.”
In addition to these alternative lunge exercises, Dr. Kuhn also suggests elevating your front foot on a small stair or box when doing lunges. Having some form of support nearby – whether it’s a pole or kitchen sink – can also help relieve any knee pressure as well. If you suffer from knee conditions such as osteoarthritis, you can take the bend out altogether.
What Should I Do If My Knees Hurt After Lunges?
If none of the aforementioned suggestions and lunge modifications alleviated knee pain after lunges, it’s highly recommended that you take this exercise out of your workout. “There’s a difference between a little burn that goes away versus a sharp pain in your knees,” Mazzucco says. “Good pain affects positive change in the body, while painful twinging can indicate you are putting yourself at risk for injury.”
Dr. Harb agrees and even suggests scheduling an appointment with your doctor to see if there are any possible underlying conditions that are causing your knees to hurt during and after lunges. It’s also advised that you talk to your doctor before starting any type of new exercise program or if you are experiencing persistent pain that won’t go away. Lunges should be a quick and efficient workout that you feel all over your leg – not a painful experience for your joints.
The dead bug exercise doesn’t sound like a glamorous core move. After all, what comes to mind is a dead roach or beetle on its back with its legs in the air. In reality, though, this beginner-friendly core move has a lot to offer – and there are plenty of reasons to add it to your exercise routine.
The biggest reason is because it’s a beginner-friendly, surefire way to build core strength and stability, which are both key to moving well in training and in life. In addition, doing dead bug regularly will contribute to better posture, coordination, power, and control. It can be performed anywhere on the go without equipment.
Ready to learn about this beginner-friendly move? Keep scrolling for everything you need to know about the dead bug exercise, including benefits, muscles worked, how to adjust it to different fitness levels, and step-by-step instructions to perform it safely.
The Benefits of the Dead Bug Exercise
The dead bug targets 360 degrees of core muscles, including the transverse abdominis (the deepest core muscle), rectus abdominis (the muscle in the front and middle of the abs), obliques (the muscles on the sides of your torso), and pelvic floor (the muscles along the bottom of your abdominal cavity, which work to hold up your internal organs).
Breanna Cummings, trainer for the NYC Nike Well Collective and Lifetime Fitness NYC, says the dead bug is a favorite to recommend for her clients. She describes it as a “functional movement that mimics daily life.” That’s because, compared to other core exercises like crunches or sit-ups, dead bug places the spine in a neutral position. It helps you build more core strength and stability while allowing your limbs to move freely – hugely important skills for moving through your day-to-day. “Think about how you carry groceries into the house, or pick up your favorite little human. All of these activities require a neutral spine, core strength, and stability,” she explains. The dead bug exercise also works shoulder and hip mobility, because it asks you to move your shoulders and hips through a large range of motion.
Its emphasis on core strength and mobility makes dead bug a great move for general strength and conditioning, as well as for athletes. For example, “runners need to be able to create power while keeping their core engaged in a neutral spine, so the better you’re able to perform the dead bug, the more efficient you will be,” Cummings explains.
If prescribed by a trainer, physical therapist, or doctor, dead bug can also be used to recover from injury and help with lower-back issues. The move is performed lying on your back and asks you to find and maintain a neutral spine, as well as a braced core; it’s also done slowly and, usually, in tune with your breath. This offers a really safe way to build core strength compared to more dynamic movements and helps people learn what it means to brace or engage your core.
How to Do a Dead Bug
Here’s how to perform a dead bug with safe and proper form, according to Cummings.
Lie on your back on the floor. Lift your legs up to tabletop position, with your knees directly over your hips bent at 90 degrees and your shins parallel to the floor. Extend your arms toward the ceiling, stacked directly over your shoulders, palms facing each other.
From this position, flatten your back to the floor by tilting your pelvis slightly upward. This is your starting position.
Exhale to slowly extend one arm behind your head while simultaneously extending your opposite leg until it’s straight, hovering just off the floor. Try not to let your lower back lift off the floor (if it does start to lift, don’t lower your leg as far, as shown below).
Hold for one second, then inhale to lift both your arm and leg back to the starting position.
Repeat on the other side. That’s one rep.
Dead Bug Variations and Modifications
Even though dead bugs are a beginner-friendly move, there are ways to both decrease the challenge – so you can really connect to your core – and up the ante. Try these three dead bug variations.
Banded Dead Bug: Adding a resistance band usually makes an exercise harder, but in this case, it’s a modification; this dead bug variation helps you activate your core and breaks down the movement to just the feet. Try this modification if you’re having trouble moving both your arms and legs while keeping your core engaged. Loop a resistance band onto a pole or piece of furniture, then lie face-up on the floor so the band is just past your head. Holding onto the band with both hands, press your back flat onto the floor, and pull the band until your hands are above the middle of your chest. Lift your legs up to tabletop, and hold for 15-20 seconds. Next, try performing the dead bug movement with your feet only, holding the band in place above your chest.
Weighted Dead Bug: If you have access to a weighted plate or dumbbells, this is a great exercise. You only need to add 5-10 lbs. to this exercise. It works not only your core but also shoulder mobility. To do it, hold the weight in your hands and perform dead bug by moving the weights toward the floor as far as you can. Be careful here: you only want to go as far as you feel a stretch in your shoulder. If you go too far, you can put yourself at risk for shoulder injury.
Medicine Ball Iso Dead Bug: This one will set your core on fire! Grab a 5-8 lb. medicine ball. Lie on the floor, and place the medicine ball in between your right elbow and left knee. Engage your core, and press your back against the floor. Extend your opposite arm and leg in the usual dead bug motion while maintaining tension on your other elbow and leg to hold the medicine ball up. With this move, it’s important that you focus on your breath, breathing in and out through your nose. If the medicine ball is too heavy, you can substitute for a yoga block or a stability ball; all versions of this move make sure your core stays locked and engaged while you work the opposing side.
We love Star Wars around these parts (our site is literally called “Nerd Fitness”), so you’re in the perfect place to begin your training, my young Padawan.
We specialize in creating nerdy-themed workouts and today one of our coaches will walk you through an exercise routine that would make even Mace Windu proud.
Workout Summary: This workout includes a number of explosive movements meant to fire up your nervous system, build explosive muscles, and get your body to start thinking “POWER!”.
It also includes some static holds, whole-body movements, and even grip strength moves.
THE STAR WARS WORKOUT:
(Coach Jim filmed this during the pandemic, which not only explains why he shot it in a hallway, but also why he looks a little “scruffy looking.”)
Walk or stand for 60 total seconds with weights at your side.
Rack carry:
Walk or stand for 60 total seconds with weights at shoulder height.
The Jedi Master Variation: Rack carry with some lunges – 2 x 60 seconds –
Walk or stand for 60 total seconds with weights at shoulder height. Master-level if you’re able to knock out 10 total lunges (5/side) during that time).
The goal with Chewbacca Carries is to pick up the heaviest weight (or luggage) you can manage and then carry it around your house for the set amount of time. This builds up bone density, tendon strength, and muscular strength, and fires up your body’s central nervous system.
Rest: Again, slow down 1-2 minutes in between sets. Keep things safe.
He shoots first (literally) and asks questions later.
He also runs into situations where he might not have the upper hand.
This round of your Jedi Workout looks like:
Padawan:March in place for 3 minutes of intervals (6 sets of 20 seconds on, 10 seconds off)
Knight:High knees in place for 3 minutes of intervals (6 sets of 20 seconds on, 10 seconds off)
Master:Alternating sets of high knees and burpees for 3 minutes of intervals (6 sets of 20 seconds on, 10 seconds off)
A Tabata Timer might be helpful in setting your intervals here.
We’re having you mostly run in place because you’re probably trapped inside your house (or escape pod). If you have a big backyard, feel free to use it.
For our Padawans out there, you’ll march in place:
When you reach Knight status, do some high-knees:
For the Jedi Masters out there? You’ll mix in some burpees with your high-knees:
For this last variation, do alternating sets of high knees and burpees for 3 minutes of intervals:
Master:One arm bar hang – 2 x 30 seconds for each arm
Sometimes, Jedi find themselves dealing with a creature that wants to digest them for 1,000 years.
That’s where your hanging skills will come in use!
Our Padawans will start with some simple doorway leans:
You’ll hold onto the edge of a doorway and lean back for 60 seconds of hang time – should feel harder on the grip than doorway rows
If you’re following our “Knight variations,” you’re going to be doing bar hangs:
Not enough? Then train to hang from one arm:
This skill will become useful if you ever lose an upper appendage in a lightsaber duel (it happens to the best of us).
Note: this can be challenging on your joints if you’re not used to hanging, so progress slowly on this one! Start with just a few seconds and work your way up!
Complete this workout with regularity, and work your way up to the Jedi Master levels for each.
As I discuss in our guide, How to Build Your Own Workout Routine, I generally recommend newbies complete a full-body workout two to three times a week.
Our Star Wars Workout would be considered “full-body” since we hit every major muscle group. You could also alternate it with a more conventional strength training practice.
Here are some options for next steps with Nerd Fitness:
Option #1) If you want a professional coach in your pocket, who can do video form checks, provide feedback, and adjust your workouts based on the equipment you have available, check out our 1-on-1 Online Coaching Program!
For example, let’s say you find yourself stuck indoors, and you want somebody to custom-build you a workout program based on the equipment and furniture you have. That’s where an online coach is a game-changer!
Personally, I’ve been working with the same online coach since 2015 and it’s changed my life. You can learn more by clicking on the box below:
Option #2) If you want an exact blueprint for working out at home (while doing nerdy-themed workouts!), check out NF Journey. Our fun habit-building app helps you exercise more frequently, eat healthier, and level up your life (literally).
Try your free trial right here:
Option #3) Become part of the Rebellion! We need good people like you in our community, the Nerd Fitness Rebellion (the real name).
Sign up in the box below to enlist and get our Rebel Starter Kit, which includes all of our “work out from home” guides.
Get your Nerd Fitness Starter Kit
The 15 mistakes you don’t want to make.
Full guide to the most effective diet and why it works.
Complete and track your first workout today, no gym required.
Alright, I want to hear from you and your experience:
Did you try the Star Wars Workout?
What level are you on?
Any exercises that we missed that would be perfect for a Jedi?
Just make sure you take it slow with your handstand and don’t be an “Overeager Beaver,” a label we define in our guide “15 Mistakes That Newbies Make When Trying to Get Healthy.”
Download it and the rest of our guides for free when you sign-up for our weekly newsletter!
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The 15 mistakes you don’t want to make.
Full guide to the most effective diet and why it works.
Complete and track your first workout today, no gym required.
Don’t neglect your pull muscles when creating your bodyweight workout. Here are the top 7 to include:
#1) INVERTED BODYWEIGHT ROW (HIGH):
An inverted bodyweight row can be a great “pull” exercise if you can’t do a pull-up yet, or if you don’t have a proper pull-up bar nearby. Because a good sturdy table can be used for inverted rows:
Alternatively, you could do doorframe rows if your table seems sketchy:
#2) INVERTED BODYWEIGHT ROW (LOW):
Once you get comfortable doing an inverted bodyweight row, try going lower to increase the difficulty.
You can check out The 5 Best Pull-up Alternatives for more ideas on how to perform rows, including how to build your own station:
Our next stop on building a bodyweight workout finds us at the core. Here are the 10 best exercises to include:
#1) REVERSE CRUNCH:
#2) KNEE-PLANK:
#3) PLANK:
#4) SIDE PLANK:
#5) HIP BRIDGE HOLD:
#6) HANGING KNEE TUCK:
#7) JUMPING KNEE TUCK:
#8) HOLLOW BODY HOLD:
The hollow body is one of the best ways to engage the midsection and stabilize the body. We utilize the hollow body exercise as part of our strategy for getting your first handstand.
Once you get comfortable holding the position, try…
You now have a bodyweight workout you can do in your own home.
You can mix and match from each category or progress to more difficult moves as you get stronger.
Now, you don’t HAVE to do these exercises at home. You can even do them while exercising around the world, as I did!
If you want to learn all the fine details of building a workout, make sure you check out our extensive guide “How to Build Your Own Workout Routine.“ It’ll walk you through creating a program of bodyweight exercises – or using weights if you want to train in a gym.
Don’t want to bother creating your own bodyweight workout? No problem, I have two options for you:
Start at the Beginnerworkout and move onto the Advanced when it becomes easy.
This should help you get started with a bodyweight training routine. But we hear frequently that people want MORE instruction, MORE guidance, and MORE workouts.
If that’s you, we have MULTIPLE options to take the next step. Pick the option below that best aligns with your goals and timeline:
1) If you want step-by-step guidance, a custom bodyweight training program that levels up as you get stronger, and a coach to keep you accountable, check out our killer 1-on-1 coaching program:
2) If you want an exact blueprint for working out at home, check out NF Journey. Our fun habit-building app helps you exercise more frequently, eat healthier, and level up your life (literally).
Try your free trial right here:
3) Join the Rebellion! We need good people like you in our community, the Nerd Fitness Rebellion.
Sign up in the box below to enlist and get our guide, Strength Training 101: Everything You Need to Know. It’ll help you start incorporating these bodyweight moves into your training.
Download our comprehensive guide
Everything you need to know about getting strong.
Workout routines for bodyweight AND weight training.
How to find the right gym and train properly in one.
Alright, your turn: I’d love to hear how your bodyweight training is going!
Did you make your own workout?
Try one of ours?
Include different moves we didn’t cover today?
Leave a comment below with your results or any questions you have on bodyweight training.
With today’s Advanced Bodyweight Routine, you can burn fat, build muscle, and get a great workout in! All with no gym membership required!
It’s the kind of workout we build through our online coaching program. If you’re in a hurry, sign-up for our free weekly newsletter and we’ll send you PDFs of our “Work Out at Home” guides!
If you’re ready, click the sections below to get right into the action:
Don’t forget to warm up. You can run in place, jump rope, do a few push-ups, pedal on a stationary bike, jog up and down your stairs, etc. Since we are doing advanced movements here, the warm-up becomes even more critical.
If you are following this bodyweight workout plan because you’re trying to get in great shape without needing a gym, download our free-guide: Strength Training 101: Everything You Need to Know. It’ll provide an exact plan to follow for growing strong.
Download our comprehensive guide
Everything you need to know about getting strong.
Workout routines for bodyweight AND weight training.
How to find the right gym and train properly in one.
If you don’t have a resistance band, you can do negative pull-ups instead. Jump and hold yourself above the bar, and then slowly, under control, lower yourself to the ‘starting position’ of a pull-up. Then repeat!
This is a great way to build up enough strength to eventually get your first pull-up.
An inverted bodyweight row can be a great “pull” exercise if you can’t do a pull-up yet, or if you don’t have a proper pull-up bar nearby. Because a good sturdy table can be used for inverted rows:
11) INVERTED BODYWEIGHT ROW (UNDERHAND)
12) ASSISTED BODYWEIGHT DIPS
With a resistance band, you can start performing assisted dips. A great exercise while you build up strength for normal dips.
13) BODYWEIGHT DIPS
14) KNEE PUSH-UP
15) ELEVATED PUSH-UP
16) REGULAR PUSH-UP
We have a whole article on how to do a proper push-up, but we also cover it extensively in this 5-minute video:
17) DECLINE PUSH-UPS
18) KNEE PLANK
19) PLANK
20) SIDE PLANK
21) JUMPING JACKS
If you are looking for even MORE bodyweight exercises you can use in your workouts, make sure to check out our mega-resource:
As I said earlier, this whole routine is scalable based on your ability. For example, here is a sample routine for somebody who has conquered the Beginner Bodyweight Workout but can’t do the full routine above:
“HOW OFTEN SHOULD I DO THE ADVANCED BODYWEIGHT WORKOUT?”
Do this routine 2-3 times a week, but never on consecutive days. It’s a message we really strike home in our guide, “How Often Should I Work Out?”
You don’t build muscle when you’re exercising, you build muscle when you’re resting, so try not to do a strength training routine (of the same muscle groups) two days in a row.
If you’re still uneasy about this advanced workout, start with our Beginner Bodyweight Workout instead. You can download a worksheet to get started when you sign-up for our free weekly newsletter:
Grab Your Beginner Bodyweight Routine Worksheet. No Gym Required!
Complete this workout at home, no equipment required
Avoid the common mistakes everybody makes when doing bodyweight exercises
This should help you get started with a really powerful bodyweight training routine. But we hear frequently that people want MORE instruction, MORE guidance, and MORE workouts.
If that’s you, we have MULTIPLE options to take the next step. Pick the option below that best aligns with your goals and timeline:
1) If you want step-by-step guidance, a custom bodyweight training program that levels up as you get stronger, and a coach to keep you accountable, check out our killer 1-on-1 coaching program:
2) If you want a daily prompt for doing workouts at home, check out NF Journey. Our fun habit-building app helps you exercise more frequently, eat healthier, and level up your life (literally).
Try your free trial right here:
3) Enlist in the Rebellion! We need good people like you in our community, the Nerd Fitness Rebellion.
Sign up in the box below to enlist and get our guide, Strength Training 101: Everything You Need to Know. It’ll help you start incorporating these advanced bodyweight moves into your training.
Download our comprehensive guide
Everything you need to know about getting strong.
Workout routines for bodyweight AND weight training.
How to find the right gym and train properly in one.
4) Level Up Your Workout! If you’re looking for more workout routines to follow, I got you covered:
I’d love to hear how this workout was for you.
Leave a comment below with your results or any questions you have on advanced bodyweight training and how else we can help.
For the Rebellion!
-Steve
PS: Where do you go after you’ve crushed the Advanced Bodyweight Workout? Well, have you ever heard of the PLP Progression? There’s really no limit on how challenging that can get.
This High-Intensity Interval Training (HIIT) guide is probably the best interval training guide in the galaxy.
My justification for such a bold claim?
We’re really good at this stuff, AND we have dinosaurs and Muppets.
Plus, lots of great gifs:
We build custom interval training programs just like the ones in this guide for our 1-on-1 Online Coaching Clients, including workouts for at home, the gym, or even while traveling.
In this Ultimate Guide to Interval Training, we’ll cover:
If you’re interested in starting a HIIT practice (which you are, ’cause you’re here), you may want to try our new app! It contains a fun adventure that will take you from sitting on your couch to a full HIIT workout – with plenty of benchmarks in between for you to find your groove. No guesswork needed, just jump into the app and follow it’s next steps.
In 2018, High-Intensity Interval Training (HIIT) was ranked the number one fitness trend by American College of Sports Medicine.[1]
They wrote:
HIIT typically involves short bursts of high-intensity exercise followed by a short period of rest or recovery and typically takes less than 30 minutes to perform.
Essentially, HIIT is just following a specific regimen where you vary your speeds and intensity throughout a shorter run, swim, bike, or row.
Any exercise can be a form of HIIT, but here’s a common routine:
Jogging lightly for three minutes.
Pushing yourself harder for a minute (run or sprint).
Repeating this cycle 4 more times.
Because everybody is busy and overwhelmed, fast results in the least amount of time is why most people discover HIIT.
Plus, you can do HIIT with just about anything, including a jump rope:
You may be asking, “Steve, just how short and intense are we talking about here? Also, your new haircut looks spiffy.”
The 1996 landmark Tabata study demonstrated the benefits of extreme HIIT.[2]
Dr. Izumi Tabata, from Japan’s National Institute of Fitness and Sports, was obsessed with interval training.
The doctor sought to see exactly what kind of gains were obtained from short, intense, periods of exercise. He conducted an experiment with Olympic athletes on stationary bikes and put them through intense bouts of exercise followed by short periods of rest.
The results were fascinating.
Tabata found:
That 6 weeks of moderate-intensity endurance training did not affect anaerobic capacity, but that 6 weeks of high-intensity intermittent training (HIIT) may improve both anaerobic capacity and VO2max simultaneously.
Let’s translate that: compared to regular cardio, HIIT had a greater impact on improving BOTH:
Aerobic increases (endurance).
Anaerobic increases (power).
Even crazier?
Tabata was able to demonstrate improvements in his athletes with just FOUR-MINUTE bursts.
So what’s happening here?
Simple: your heart is a muscle.
If you keep your heart beating at a constant rate, never expanding it outside of its comfort zone, it will never grow stronger.
By introducing chaos and pushing your muscles outside of their comfort zone, they must adapt and grow more resilient in order to survive.
Intense interval training challenges your heart by constantly forcing it outside of its comfort zone.
Coach Jim explains 7 different ways to achieve progressive overload in this video:
Since Tabata’s 1996 study, many other trials have shown the positive impact of interval training.
Here are some of the benefits of High-Intensity Interval Training:
#1) HIIT can burn lots of calories in a short amount of time.
Revving up your effort requires more out of you, including calories.
One study backed this up, finding HIIT burned about 20-30% more calories than regular cardio.[3]
The researchers stated:
These data suggest that individuals can burn more calories performing an HIIT session than spending the same amount of time performing a steady-state exercise session.
The name of the game here is “intensity.” The more intense you go, the more calories you’ll burn.
#2) HIIT for lowering blood sugar.Managing blood sugar is really important for health, not just for diabetics.
Those trying to lose fat should be aware of their blood sugar and corresponding insulin levels.
The good news for our current discussion? HIIT has been shown to help lower and manage blood sugar levels.[6]
#3) HIIT for heart health. Touching on the “antifragile” topic again, HIIT has been shown to help with overall cardiovascular health.
It does so in the same way traditional endurance training does, but at a fraction of the time (almost half).[7]
Alright, let’s chat about how to actually do some interval training.
The key to HIIT is being able to go from “easy” to “difficult.” All sorts of different exercises can get you there:
Aerobic (cardio).
Bodyweight (strength training).
Resistance (weight training).
HIIT is generally associated with running (aerobic), so we’ll devote this section to just that.
The easiest way to experiment with HIIT would be to run.
Here’s how to start with a basic HIIT running workout. Go to a park in your neighborhood. Warm-up with some light jogging, high knees, and mobility – leg swings, arm swings, etc,
And then begin your workout!
Run/jog at a brisk pace for 30 seconds.
Jog/walk at a slower pace for 2 minutes.
After your rest, shoot for another 30-second run/jog.
Continue until you get tired or after about ten “push/rest” intervals.
And BAM! You just did HIIT.
Don’t get disheartened if you find yourself stopping a lot during your first week of HIIT training.
You’ll be surprised how quickly you get better at this!
Also, “running” or “jogging” is subjective. Whatever walking fast means to you is great. Do that for your periods of intensity.
It should be noted, that the entire “Couch to 5K” concept rests on interval training through running.
It’s all broken down into “walking,” “jogging” and “running.”
If you’re curious, check out our in-depth Couch to 5k review. If you want to start interval training, “Couch to 5K” could be a good way to do it.
More of an indoor person?
Consider a treadmill, where it actually sets intervals for you based on your desired difficulty.
Just be careful on it…
We’ll be talking about machines a lot more in the next section, but a treadmill is all you need to do a HIIT workout.
Experiment with the speed and incline to find a setting that you would consider “intense.” Many machines can be programmed to flip between this and an “easy” setting.
And you know what that means… boom! It’s built for HIIT.
When we designed NF Journey (our awesome new app), we used an “intense” and “easy” interval switch for most of the workouts.
If you want, you can sign-up for a free trial right here to see what I mean:
Elliptical. If it has a dial for resistance, it can be used for interval training. For a couple of minutes, go on low resistance (0-2 level). Then crank up the resistance for one minute (up to 8-10). Repeat this process 12 times, which will give you a 20-minute workout.
Stair Climber. Much like the elliptical, alternate between periods of low intensity for two minutes, then one minute for high intensity. The difference with the climber is the dial will control the speed of the stairs. Be careful.
Rowing Machine. Start with a two-minute warm-up. On minute three, row like you’re being chased by the Kraken for a full 60 seconds. Then catch your breath. The rowing machine might be hard to do for a full 20 minutes, since it’s a lot of upper body. Shoot for ten minutes at first.
Jumping Rope.Jumping rope is a full-body exercise. Also, it’s fun. There’s no dial here, your own body controls the pace of the jump. Follow the same two-minute easy, one-minute intense as above. Jump rope can also be done with friends!
So far we’ve just been talking about aerobic exercises.
Let’s cover our other categories, of bodyweight and resistance.
Burpees. Stand up, then squat down, kick your legs out, do a push-up, bring your legs back in, and explode up into a jump. Try to do 20 repetitions, then rest for two minutes. Repeat until you hate yourself:
Push-ups. For 20 seconds, do as many push-ups as possible. Rest. Then do it again. If you’re worried about proper form, check out our push-up guide and watch this:
Pull-ups. Same idea as above, do pull-ups for 20 seconds, then rest. If you can’t do a pull-up, we got you covered in our pull-up progression guide:
Kettlebell swing. For ten minutes, do 20 kettlebell swings on every minute. This will be intense, and worthy of congratulations when you’re done. Check out our 20 Minute Beginner Kettlebell Workout for everything you’ve ever wanted to know about kettlebells.
Battle ropes.If your gym has battle ropes, they’ll be a great tool for HIIT. For intensity, the amount of slack in the rope determines the load. The more slack on the rope the tougher, and more intense, the workout. Also, don’t get stuck in just up and down movements. Some variation will help target different muscles.
Weight lifting.The critical piece will be moving from one exercise to another quickly enough. For example, hustling from the bench press to the lat bar: we call this circuit training!
To answer your next question: yes, you can also do circuit training as a form of HIIT.
Circuit training is going through a sequence of exercises, or stations, back to back.
Coach Lauren explains the ins and outs of circuit training in this video:
So in a circuit, you could go from push-ups to pull-ups, back to push-ups, only resting briefly from one exercise to another.
Circuit training would be perfect to mix into a HIIT workout, since you can design your circuit to be very intense.
Plus, there’s a Batman workout hidden in there. You’re welcome.
We create custom HIIT programs for busy people like you that are ACTUALLY fun. If you’re looking for a supportive coach to guide you and tell you exactly what to do each day, we got you covered!
If you just want a beginner circuit to get started with, you can try out our Beginner Bodyweight Workout Routine. Plus you can download a free worksheet to track your progress with this circuit when you join the Rebellion below:
Grab Your Beginner Bodyweight Routine Worksheet. No Gym Required!
Complete this workout at home, no equipment required
Avoid the common mistakes everybody makes when doing bodyweight exercises
Learn how to finally get your first pull-up
Oh, what’s that? You want to have even MORE fun while getting the benefits of HIIT?
Sure. Let’s think outside the box:
Basketball, tennis, soccer, and Ultimate (frisbee) are AMAZING styles of exercise that use interval training (it’s all start and stop!).
Run here, catch this, and wait for the next round to start.
That’s what we’re looking for in a HIIT workout.
So pick a form of FUN exercise that gets your heart racing faster and slower throughout the activity (yes, I suppose even THAT activity would count).
Regular exercise is an integral component of long-term weight management. However, unless implemented in very large volumes, short-term exercise in isolation (including HIIT) is unlikely to produce clinically meaningful fat loss.
What’s that mean?
As long as your energy expenditure is the same (and you’re in a caloric deficit), steady-state cardio is equivalent to HIIT for fat loss.
In other words, if you want to lose body fat, how you eat will be responsible for 80% of your success or failure.
It doesn’t matter how many intervals you do – it’s not gonna help you lose weight if you don’t also fix your nutrition.
There’s a lot to consider when embarking on a HIIT practice.
No matter which routine you end up starting with, make sure you follow these words of wisdom:
Ease into it. As the saying goes, “you must walk before you can run.” The importance is building a HIIT practice. If you need to go “less intense” before progressing to “intense,” that’s fine. It’ll help build your aerobic capabilities (endurance), which will be important when working on intensity. Start with walking.
Keep proper form. Doing your movements correctly will help prevent injury. Here’s how to run properly. This is even more critical in your later intervals, where you may be exhausted and tired. If you find yourself breaking form, go ahead and slow down. Intense isn’t worth an injury.
Get rest. Our bodies actually build muscle while we are resting. So take some “off days” from your HIIT practice. Want to stay active on these days? Do some fun exercise!
Take it easy, focus on your form, and make sure to prioritize rest.
One moment it’s intense, the next you’re onto a short rest break.
A good way to know when it’s time to go from one sequence to the next is a timer. A loud “beep” can tell you when it’s okay to catch your breath or when you have to kick it in gear.
Here are 5 HIIT timers you can try out:
Runtastic. Don’t let the name fool you, this free app is for more than just running. You can customize for many different interval workouts, depending on what exercise you go with. And the interface looks slick.
Seconds. It’s free and customizable to any form of HIIT. It can also integrate with your music, which is pretty sweet.
Seven. If you’re new to HIIT, Seven would be a good app for you. It’s free, plus it has illustrations for exercises. You also get to customize your own virtual personal trainer, which may be the future of fitness. The bots are coming…
Sworkit.First off, it’s a clever name (taken from “Simply Work It.”) Second, it’s free. Third, it can display your workout, goals, and calories burned. I like it.
J&J Official Seven Minute Workout. This free app from Johnson & Johnson is actually really awesome. It has premade workouts you can choose form based on your fitness level, or tweak them to make it your own.
Also, we need to talk about interval timers. Most of the apps referenced are completely customizable.
For example, you can change the intense interval from 120 seconds to 90 seconds.
This is critical because it’s up to you to decide how long you can do intense vs. rest.
Generally, folks recommend one minute of intensity and then two for rest when doing HIIT.
However, this all depends on the individual, and the exercises performed.
For example, burpees are tougher to do than jumping over a rope:
So feel free to make changes like 30 seconds of intensity and three minutes of rest. Make it your own.
Whatever way you chose to do HIIT, is fine, as long as you actually do it. The benefits of HIIT kick in when going HARD for you.
In other words, you don’t have to be an Olympic athlete to get the benefits of HIIT.[10]
A light jog totally works. Just don’t do it in a mascot costume.
As we discussed, if you’re consistent, you’ll improve.
So don’t stress about where you have to start.
For now, download an app and get going. Ours will help you train with HIIT too:
This is an example of a beginner HIIT workout we might prescribe for our Coaching Clients who are starting to train for their first 5K.
Let’s do seven intervals, two minutes each:
Warm-up. For three minutes, walk at an easy pace.
Intervals.For the first 60 seconds, power walk, like you’re trying to beat someone to the front of the line at Starbucks.
For the next 60 seconds, just walk.
Repeat six more times.
Cool down.You can do some more light walking, or a little bit of stretching here would be great.
Total time: 20 minutes.
I want to stress, that you can do just about any exercise in exchange for this routine. Just minus “power walk” and add “push-ups and bodyweight squats”
It’ll still be a great HIIT workout.
“But Steve, that’s still multiple choice!”
Right, right… sorry. Stick to power walking! Done!
How to Start Interval Training now
Do our power walking routine above. It’s a great place to start.
If you’re looking for EVEN MORE stuff to do, we have a few options for ya:
1) Check out our popular 1-on-1 coaching program. You’ll work with our certified NF instructors who will get to know you better than you know yourself and program your workouts and nutrition for you.
2) Exercising at home and need a plan to follow? Check out Nerd Fitness Journey!
Our fun habit-building app helps you exercise more frequently, eat healthier, and level up your life (literally).
Try your free trial right here:
3) Enlist in the Rebellion! We need good people like you in our community, the Nerd Fitness Rebellion.
Sign up in the box below to enlist and get our guide, Strength Training 101: Everything You Need to Know. It’ll help you start incorporating interval training into your workouts.
Download our comprehensive guide
Everything you need to know about getting strong.
Workout routines for bodyweight AND weight training.
How to find the right gym and train properly in one.
There are a zillion ways to do HIIT, so don’t let the options paralyze you.
Pick one. Anyone. And get to it.
Interval training, in any form, is a solid fitness choice and a great practice to have in the workout arsenal.
Any questions?
Which HIIT workout style is your favorite?
Leave it in the comments below!
-Steve
PS: Make sure you check out the rest of our content on interval training:
If you are interested in learning how to gain weight the right way, you have come to the right place!
My name is Staci Ardison.
I overcame an eating disorder, discovered a love for heavy strength training, and now I help women like you get stronger for a living.
Believe it or not, I’m 50 pounds heavier in the photo on the right (and WAY stronger, and healthier, and happier!).
I’m currently a Senior Coach here in the Nerd Fitness Coaching Program, where we train women to pick up heavy weights, get strong, and build confidence.
Speaking of picking up heavy weights, here I am deadlifting 455 pounds:
This is what I LOVE to do.
In this Ultimate Guide to Building Muscle as a Woman, I’m going to be covering:
“If you want to gain weight, eat more calories than you burn regularly. Want to put on the right KIND of weight? Exercise and eat the right way too.”
Now, there’s plenty of nuance to this when comparing men and women:
Due to our natural hormones, it’s generally more difficult for people with typical female anatomy to gain muscle than people with typical male anatomy.[1]
We have a lot of factors (such as hormonal birth control) that have been proven to make it even harder as well.[2]
But that doesn’t mean it’s impossible!
It just means we have to work harder for it.
Ugh, I know.
Now, one thing I want to touch on quickly: if you see a woman who is absolutely jacked and at an extremely low body fat percentage, I guarantee she has been working her butt off for a very long time with the goal of building muscle.
It’s not something that happens overnight, or by mistake.
In addition, some women with larger amounts of muscle mass choose to take steroids to help assist them in gaining muscle, because we simply don’t have the hormones naturally to get to that size.
So if you’d like to build muscle, but not as much as a professional bodybuilder – don’t worry, it’s not something that happens by accident.
With that out of the way, let’s talk about body fat and body types:
As we point out in that body fat percentage guide, we women can look very different at any weight depending on our body shape and how much muscle we have. It comes down to our own personal goals!
This guide is going to primarily focus on two things:
How to eat to gain weight and build muscle.
How to strength train to build muscle.
We’ve helped thousands of women with our online coaching program, many of whom are trying to gain weight and strength train for the first time in their lives.
Everybody is on their own journey, at their own pace, and everybody will end up with different results too!
If it can be harder for women to gain muscle (compared to men), why go through the trouble?
I’m glad you asked!
Here are the top 7 reasons why women should strength train:
#1) When you’re stronger – everyday life is easier. No need to call for help to get that 50lb bag of dog food off the top shelf, or carrying an air conditioner unit up a flight of stairs. LIFE is easier when you’re stronger.
#2) Less injury risk – when you build strong muscles, you’re also building stronger bones, ligaments, and tendons, making you less prone to injury doing things you love (like playing in a quidditch league).[3]
#3) Helps combat age-related muscle loss,[4] allowing us to remain independent longer as we age:
#4) Muscle is harder to maintain, which means you need to eat more just to hold on to it.[5]
#5) Reduce pain – having a strong body makes living easier on your joints, as well as allows you to hold a better posture, and reduce back / hip pain.[6]
#6) Appearance – this is a personal preference! Some women like to have a lot of muscle, and some don’t. While you can’t spot reduce fat, you can choose to build more muscle in specific areas, changing your body shape. Growing up, I was an extreme pear shape, but due to strength training, I now have more of an hourglass shape.
#7) Live longer – want to spend more time on Earth? Strength training and growing muscle will help you do just that.[7]
As we said above, gaining weight comes down to thermodynamics and science.
Every day, we burn a certain number of calories just existing, which is called our BMR (basal metabolic rate). We then factor in our daily activity level, and get a number that is called our “total daily energy expenditure.” You can calculate yours below.
(Note: we have used The Mifflin-St Jeor Equation to create this calculator! [8]).
Since we want to gain weight, we want to take our TDEE and add 250 calories to it to get our daily goal. This should result in gaining about half a pound per week.
Now, although eating ANY EXTRA calories from any source will result in weight gain, our goal is to gain the RIGHT kind of weight, in a healthy way.
And thus, we’ll be focusing our efforts on a “healthy muscle building” strategy.
We could easily add more calories each day, and gain weight quicker, however, the slow method gives you the best chances at gaining mostly muscle, with minimal fat. The faster you try to gain weight, the higher the percentage that will likely be fat – so starting off at half a pound per week is a great place to start!
In addition to the number of calories we’ll be adding, we also want to pay attention to the type of foods we’re eating.
As we cover in our “Nerd’s Guide to Healthy Eating,” we’re going to build muscle by consuming the three big macros in the correct quantities:
Protein: rebuilds muscle after you break it down.
Carbohydrates: provides your muscle with fuel and body with energy.
Fat: helps your bodily functions and can also be burned as fuel in the absence of carbs.
Let’s look at each of these individually:
PRIORITY #1: PROTEIN
Protein can come from any number of sources, including:
As we cover in our “How much Protein do I need?”, claims for the amount of protein required for muscle growth vary wildly from source to source (and athlete to athlete).
Here is our recommendation:
If you’re of healthy weight, active, and wish to build muscle, aim for 1 g per pound of body weight (2.2 g/kg).
If you’re an experienced lifter on a bulk, intakes up to 1.50 g/lb (3.3 g/kg) may help you minimize fat gain.
Let me simplify it for you:
“To build muscle, target at least 1 gram of protein per pound of body weight (2.2 grams per kg).”
If you’re curious, from our healthy eating article, this is what a portion of protein looks like:
Here’s how much protein is in a serving of food:
4 oz (113 g) of chicken has around 30 g of protein.
Fat is a macronutrient that can help you reach your calorie goals (in the right quantity), as fat can be high in calories. Plus, you can eat lots of it without feeling full. Helpful if you’re trying to put on weight.
Healthy fat can be found in foods like:
Avocado
Almonds
Walnuts
Macadamia nuts
Olive oil
Almond butter
Peanut butter
Science has recently come around on saturated fat too.[10] Once completely vilified, but now considered okay for moderate consumption.
Saturated fats can come from things like:
Whole milk
Full-fat dairy
Coconut oil
Grass-fed butter
Fatty cuts of meat
Lard
To help you gauge: a serving size of fat is roughly the size of your thumb!
For reference, this is a single serving of almonds (162 calories):
THIS is a serving of olive oil (119 calories):
As you can see, you can eat an extra 500 calories of “healthy fats” by eating lots of “heart-healthy” fats like nuts or adding more olive oil to your meals.
PRIORITY #4: VEGETABLES!
Last but not least, you need vegetables in your diet.
As you start to eat more food, your stomach, intestines, and other bodily functions will thank you for consuming more high-fiber vegetables!
A serving of veggies is about the size of your fist.
Here’s a quick, non-complete list of high-fiber veggies that can fill your plate:
Years from now, you’ll look back and thank “Past You” for starting strength training today.
And don’t worry, I’m going to tell you exactly what to do so you can start strength training TODAY!
Here’s why strength training is so important: when you eat a caloric surplus (more calories than your body needs each day), the extra calories have to go somewhere.
If you don’t do any exercise, your body will choose to store the extra calories as fat for later.
However, when you strength train, your muscles are broken down. Then they’ll use the extra calories to rebuild themselves bigger and stronger over the next 48 hours!
“Staci that sounds great, but I’ve never strength trained before, and I don’t know what I’m doing…Halp!” You might be saying into your computer or phone.
Fear not! I’ll help. Strength training doesn’t need to be scary or overly complicated.
Simply put, “strength training” means two things:
#1) “Movement of any weight against “resistance” (including your body weight) – Doing ANY exercise that pushes your muscles outside of their comfort zone, forcing them to rebuild stronger to prepare for the next challenge.
#2) Progressive overload: doing slightly more than last time (lift a heavier weight or do 1 more rep) consistently. Your muscles will have to constantly adapt and rebuild themselves stronger. This is called “progressive overload.”
Coach Jim breaks down different strategies for progressive overload in this video:
This means if you drop down and do ONE push-up or knee push-up right now…
Here’s what you need to know about strength training:
Strength training is one of the BEST things you can do for yourself.
Strength training will help you put on muscle while eating in a surplus.
While you can’t spot reduce fat, you can focus on building more muscle in specific areas, which can help you attain the specific look you’re going for.
If you don’t like the gym, you don’t need to go, ever. But I hope you do. Because that’s the easiest way to start training with weights.
Regardless of your fitness level, body fat percentage, strength level, or biological sex, you have every right to be in the free weights section in the gym, training with heavy weights, with everybody else. The people in the gym who are very strong with a lot of muscle started somewhere, too!
I used to be a CrossFit instructor, and my favorite thing about CrossFit was that it destigmatized barbell training and heavy lifting for many women.
In order for us to strength train and build muscle, we’re going to approach this intelligently.
We’re not going to pick up small dumbbells and do lots of reps.
We’re not going to sit down at various machines and scroll through our phones while doing leg curls.
Instead, we’re going to:
Get very strong with compound movements that recruit LOTS of muscles to work together.
Do our workouts quickly and get out of there. The workout should take no longer than 45-60 minutes.
This is how we efficiently build muscle in the minimum amount of time. What are the exercises that we’re going to target?
1) The Push-Up: The best exercise you could ever do for yourself when it comes to using your bodyweight for push muscles (your chest, shoulders, and triceps):
2) The Bodyweight Squat: This exercise serves a dual purpose: it is the foundation for building strength AND helps build proper mobility. If you are going to ever do barbell squats, you need to work on hitting proper depth with a bodyweight squat first!
3) The Inverted Bodyweight Row: Until you can get your first pull-up or chin-up, these exercises are GREAT to start building your pull-muscle strength (your back, biceps, and forearms).
4) The Pull-Up and Chin-Up: Once you can support your body’s weight above the bar, the world becomes your playground. No strength training routine should be without pull-up or chin-up work! (Click here if you can’t do a pull-up or chin-up yet):
And now we’re into the best weight training exercises:
5) The Barbell Squat: Probably the best exercise when it comes to building strength and muscle throughout your whole body. It also burns crazy calories and makes life better. This is a MUST:
6) The Barbell Deadlift: Maybe the best exercise of all time. Actually no, it IS the best exercise of all time. It’s certainly the most primal: “pick the weight up off the ground. Done.”
7) The Barbell Bench Press. Lie on a bench, squeeze your shoulder blades to keep your back tight, and then lower a barbell until it almost touches your chest. Pause, and then press it back up towards the sky. Repeat! And get strong.
8) Barbell Overhead Press: Stand with your feet about shoulder-width apart and lean back by pushing your hips forward. While keeping your entire body tight, press the bar overhead.
Once the bar passes your forehead, move your body back under the bar by driving your torso forward and back into a standing position. At the top of the lift shrug your shoulders slightly and lock your elbows.
These are some of the best compound exercises you can complete in order to build muscle. Want more muscle? Great! Get stronger at these movements!
One quick note: when I first started lifting, it took a while to build up the strength to be able to bench press or overhead press with the 45-lb bar. If your gym doesn’t have a lighter bar, dumbbells are a great option!
Your mission, should you choose to accept it:
Commit to trying ONE of these movements in the next week. Use 20 seconds of courage, recruit a friend who has lifted or trained before, and try your best.
I have three options for you next:
Select one of the muscle-building routines for women in the next section.
I’m going to walk you through three different levels of strength training, and by the end of today, you’re going to know exactly how to get started.
My advice: do 2-3 strength training routines per week, with 1-2 days off in between. As the saying goes: “muscle isn’t built in the gym, it’s built in the kitchen!”
So your goal should be to do a strength training routine, and then make sure you eat a caloric surplus so that your body has enough calories to rebuild your muscles bigger and stronger!
10 Dumbbell rows (use a milk jug or other weight).
15 Second Plank.
30 Jumping jacks.
We also have a downloadable worksheet of this beginner’s workout that you can print out and hang on your fridge to track your progress! Get it when you sign up below:
Grab Your Beginner Bodyweight Routine Worksheet. No Gym Required!
Complete this workout at home, no equipment required
Avoid the common mistakes everybody makes when doing bodyweight exercises
Learn how to finally get your first pull-up
LEVEL 2: DUMBBELL WORKOUT
If you have dumbbells at home or access to a gym, you can pick our Level 4 workout from our 6-Level Gym Workout Routine.
So your Dumbbell Workout is 3 circuits of the following:
10 goblet squats (holding the dumbbell like a goblet with 2 hands):
If you like this Kettlebell workout and want to follow along on a worksheet, simply print out our Kettlebell Workout and bring it with you:
Grab Your Beginner Kettlebell Routine Worksheet!
Complete this workout at home or gym with 1 kettlebell.
Avoid the common mistakes everybody makes when doing kettlebell exercises.
Build strength, burn fat, level up your life!
LEVEL 3: BARBELL GYM WORKOUT
Here’s a Barbell workout you can follow from our Level 5 Gym Workout Routine.
BARBELL BATALLION WORKOUT A:
3 sets of 10 barbell squats
3 sets of 10 bodyweight rows:
BARBELL BATALLION WORKOUT B:
3 sets of 5 barbell Romanian deadlifts (video pulled from our courses in Nerd Fitness Prime)
3 sets of 10 bench presses:
3 sets of 5 pull-ups, assisted pull-ups, or negative pull-ups:
PICK A WORKOUT, AND GET STARTED!
The whole point is to do challenging movements that really make your muscles work, and then try to do ONE more rep, or lift a SLIGHTLY heavier weight next time!
“Staci, that’s still too many choices! Can you just tell me what workout routine to follow?”
Okay fine! Here’s what I would do if I was you.
Still overwhelmed? Check out our coaching program. We get to learn your story, and then build a program and strategy around your goals that you CAN do.
I interviewed multiple other coaches on our team and asked for their best advice on how to build muscle as a woman.
Here’s what they said:
Susy (Coach, BS in Psychology, Certificate III & IV in Fitness, 5+ years of experience)
Tip #1: Food is your friend when you are looking to build muscle and get stronger – your body will need fuel, so you may need to eat more on the days that you work out!
Tip #2: Strength and muscle building requires structure to your workouts – you progress through getting better at specific movements, so make sure that you enjoy the style and structure of your workouts so that you can be as consistent as possible.
Tip #3: Your progress will always be fastest if you avoid injury, so correct form and listening to your body is super important. Your muscles will fatigue and feel sore, but joint pain and sharp, stabby pain means something isn’t moving quite right.
Kerry (Coach, NASM-CPT, 6+ years of experience)
Tip #4: Fall in love with the process. Getting stronger is a journey, one that is both rewarding and challenging. So no matter where you are starting from, take the time to celebrate each small step along the way towards a more badass version of yourself!
Christy (Coach, BS in Applied Health/Fitness, National Personal Training Institute Graduate, Precision Nutrition Certification, 6+ years of experience)
Tip #5: To get strong, you gotta lift weights. When lifting weights to get strong, you gotta be okay with testing your boundaries every now and then.
After exercising with your current weight, for the next training session…stop…and try a few reps with the next weight UP to test it out! It might surprise you how much more weight you can lift!
Here are some other tips to help you build muscle.
Tip #6: Boost your testosterone naturally: Consume enough saturated and monounsaturated fats, keep your sugar intake low, and make sure you’re getting enough Vitamin D and Zinc.
These are items linked with boosting your testosterone naturally.[12]
Speaking of testosterone – I know you may think of this as a “male” hormone, but it plays a huge part in women muscle building,[13] fat loss,[14] increase bone mass,[15] and many other health-related issues[16](remember: estrogen is made from testosterone).
Men make about ten to fifteen times what we make naturally,[17] but it doesn’t mean we don’t need it too.
Another way we can help our testosterone levels is to watch our cortisol levels.
Cortisol is a hormone that is promoted by stress and reduces free testosterone levels (in addition to signaling for your body to store fat).[18]
Steve drinks two smoothies a day to reach his protein goals and you can check out our Guide to Protein Shakes for his personal recipe.
On the go with no blender? I like to keep protein powder with me in a small Ziploc bag – that way I can grab a bottle of water, rip off the corner of the Ziploc bag, and use that as a funnel to get the powder into the water bottle. Then, just replace the cap and shake and you’ve got a protein-filled snack!
Tip #9: Get more sleep! When you build muscle, your body is working overtime, burning extra calories. It’s going to need some time to recover. Remember, muscle is built when you rest, not when you actually lift.
Go to bed!
Tip #10: Start today!
Gaining muscle comes down to eating right and strength training. Let’s get you lifting today!
You’ll work with our certified NF instructors who will get to know you better than you know yourself, check your form, and program your workouts and nutrition for you.
2) If you want an exact blueprint for growing strong, check out NF Journey. Our fun habit-building app helps you exercise more frequently, eat healthier, and level up your life (literally).
Try your free trial right here:
3) Join the Rebellion! We need good people like you in our community, the Nerd Fitness Rebellion.
Sign up in the box below to enlist and get our guide, Strength Training 101: Everything You Need to Know. It’ll help you begin your journey on building muscle.
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Everything you need to know about getting strong.
Workout routines for bodyweight AND weight training.
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Lastly, I’d love to hear from you!
PLEASE leave your questions, eating or strength or otherwise below so we can answer them and become best friends and practice karate kicks in the garage:
How can I help you get bigger and stronger?
What part of this journey are you still struggling the most with?
What are your favorite bulking-up foods!?
Share with your friends in the comments so we can all go buy it in bulk at Costco.
-Staci
PS: Make sure you check out the rest of our Strength Building Articles!
