Even the most motivated fitness junkie will struggle to fit in workouts when life gets hectic. When this happens, it's no good sitting and worrying about missing a workout; you can instead opt for shorter, more convenient training sessions. This lower-body workout uses basic equipment and only takes fifteen minutes of your time.
The two pieces of equipment required for this routine are a pair of the best adjustable dumbbells and a mini resistance band (which is typically found in some of the sets of best resistance bands). Both workout accessories sit amongst the more affordable pieces of exercise equipment and take up very little room, so are good investments for anyone looking to create a more manageable home-gym space.
Certified personal trainer Daniel Amin, known online as DanielPT, will lead you through a variety of leg and glute focussed exercises in this session to help you develop strength in your lower body. You will warm into the workout just using dumbells and then the mini resistance band will be brought in to add an additional force of resistance to your training.
Grab yourself one of the best water bottles, throw on some sweat-proof activewear, and get ready to work through this strength-building routine wherever you feel most comfortable. Each exercise will be performed for 40 seconds followed by 20 seconds rest and will be over with in just 15-minutes.
WATCH DANIELPT'S 15-MINUTE LEG & GLUTE WORKOUT
As you're only performing each exercise for a short amount of time, with even shorter recovery times (the same structure as a HIIT workout), your heart rate will rise. This means you will also burn fat as well as build muscle during this workout.
Amin says that he used two 38.5 lbs (17.5 kg) dumbbells for this workout with a medium-strength mini resistance band. Not everyone has been training for as long or has the same expert knowledge on weight training as him, so only ever work with what you feel comfortable lifting. Below is a list of each exercise included in the workout.
LEG & GLUTE DUMBBELL AND RESISTANCE BAND EXERCISES
- Full Stop Dumbbell Deadlift
- Reverse Cross Lunge (Left side)
- Reverse Cross Lunge (Right side)
- Dumbbell Stiff Leg Deadlift
- Dumbbell Goblet Squat + Mini Band
- Side To Side Goblet Squat With Band
- Uneven Squat + Side Abduction (Left side)
- Uneven Squat + Side Abduction (Right side)
- Reverse Lunge (Left side) KickBack (Right side)
- Reverse Lunge (Right side) KickBack (Left side)
- Weighted Hip Thrust + Abduction
- Goblet Squat + Abduction
- 2x 2x Lateral Lunge
- 90 Degree Side To Side Squat
- Kneeling 2x 2x Side Abductions
An added bonus of this leg and glute workout is that it will assist you in developing strength across other muscle groups. Scott Laidler, a high-level personal trainer with twelve years of industry experience behind him, told us, "Because of the compound nature of many lower body exercises, they actually work and rely on your core muscles to handle the resistance and generally provide stability to your body."
Laidler went on to explain big movements like squats, lunges, and deadlifts significantly work your core muscles, including the rectus abdominis, obliques, transverse abdominis, and erector spina.
He added, "If you really invest in your lower body strength training efforts, you might be able to ditch all those crunches and ab isolation exercises for good, as the abs are thoroughly and functionally worked in their natural upright and 'braced' position during these exercises."
But if you do still enjoy core-based movements as well as weight training some of the best ab workouts involve weights. For example, you can build core strength with this five-move kettlebell workout.
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