Boost lower body muscle and burn fat with this speedy 20 minute dumbbell workout

If you thought a lack of time meant you could skip leg day, think again. This five-move workout will hit your glutes, hamstrings, calves and quads, hard in no more than 20 minutes. If you own a pair of dumbbells, then you can crush this session from the comfort of your living room, as it's the only piece of equipment you’ll need. Or, if you’re a complete beginner, you can just use your bodyweight.

We get it, training upper body is a favourite for many – nothing quite beats walking around with pumped up arms and shoulders. But ‘accidentally’ forgetting to train your lower body will only do you a disservice in the long run. Strong legs and glutes are essential for balance, stability, and injury prevention (looking at you, lower back pain). Not to mention, will even help you get more from your upper body exercises, as it provides a stable base for your body to drive power from.

For this workout, you’ll complete four rounds of five exercises. Perform each exercise for the reps stated below, followed by a 20-second rest before moving on to the next. After completing all five, take a one-minute break, then repeat the circuit three more times. This session won’t build peak strength as your rest periods are very short but, with the right stimulus, it can certainly help boost muscular endurance and improve conditioning. Here’s the workout:

• Single leg RDL – 10 each side
• Lateral squat – 10 each side
• Double squat –10
• Glute bridge – 10 each side
• Sumo squat jump – 10

Now, if 20 minutes is still too much of a push, then here's a 10-minute leg workout instead – no excuses now! It is tough and we can't promise your legs won't feel like jelly afterwards, but that's what you get with a super short workout. If time isn't an issue, then here's another dumbbell workout for your weekly line-up – it'll only take you 30 minutes (so still relatively short) and it's gentle on the knees too.