Skipping leg day is a non negotiable, but sometimes an hours workout just isn’t doable, even 45 minutes can be a stretch. That’s where this high intensity resistance training (HIRT) workout comes in – it’s 30 minutes, will fire up your leg and glute muscles and burn lots of calories too. Just grab a pair of dumbbells and a small resistance band. Don’t have those? Your body weight and two big water bottles will do, or throw some books into a rucksack.
There's lots of great reasons to try HIIT, from burning calories to shedding body fat and building muscle, all in a short time period. Strength training works on boosting muscle and strength, therefore combining the two gives you the benefits of a strength and cardio workout in one. However, an additional benefit of HIRT workouts is that they're often lower impact, as resistance training is more gentle on the joints.
Louis Chandler is a former professional soccer and boxing athlete. He took part in both sports for 12 years before moving to L.A. in 2017. Since then, he has worked with top athletes, models, and actors and is known for his fun and empowering workouts that mix HIIT and functional strength training
Louis' lower body workout
For this workout you've got three different stations to work through. Each circuit is made up of three exercises and you'll do each exercise for 40 seconds of work, followed by a 20 second rest. Once you've done one entire round of a circuit, take a 40 second rest, then repeat that circuit two more times before moving onto the next one. Here's your workout:
Circuit 1
Grab your dumbbells for this circuit, two water bottles, or use your bodyweight.
- Dumbbell squat with a pulse
- Dumbbell side lunge to the left
- Dumbbell side lunge to the right
Circuit 2
Grab your resistance band and place it around your knees or just use your bodyweight
Sign up to the T3 newsletter for smarter living straight to your inbox
Get all the latest news, reviews, deals and buying guides on gorgeous tech, home and active products from the T3 experts
- Two squats followed by two side steps to the right (then the left)
- Glute kickbacks on all fours (right side)
- Glute kickbacks on all fours (left side)
Circuit 3
- Reverse lunge with a knee drive (right side)
- Reverse lunge with a knee drive (left side)
- Three high knees and hold (if high knees is too hard, replace it with a light jog on the spot)
We hope you enjoyed that! Make sure you put aside 10 minutes to do some stretches while your muscles are still warm and to prevent any aches the following day. We've got plenty of other leg workouts here on T3 - like this five move bodyweight workout or this four-move dumbbell workout, ideal for doing at the gym or at home.
This feature is part of T3's Get Fit 2024 campaign. We’ll be bringing you a wealth of guides, features, deals and news to help you get healthy, fit and ready for anything the new year can throw at you. Whether you’re a newcomer to fitness or someone with a passion for it, we’ll bring you all the best workouts, diet advice and gear to set you on the right track.
Bryony’s T3’s official ‘gym-bunny’ and Active Staff Writer, covering all things fitness. In her spare time, you will find her in her natural habitat - the gym - where her style of training is a hybrid of bodybuilding and powerlifting. Bryony loves writing about accessible workouts, nutrition and testing innovative fitness products that help you reach your fitness goals and take your training to the next level.
-
Gemini 2.0 announced – one step closer to being the ultimate assistant
Android phones are about to get a powerful update
By Sam Cross Published
-
Is the ‘Heavy Duty’ training method best for maximum muscle growth?
Mike Mentzer’s Heavy Duty method is becoming increasingly popular again, but is it the smartest training tool to fast-track size and strength?
By Bryony Firth-Bernard Published