Lots of Lunges 20 Minute Leg Workout is a short but intense lower body strength workout from Caroline Girvan. As the title of the workout indicates, this is all lunges. I used this workout as a finisher this morning. I had just finished an intense lower body strength workout (Heather Robertson‘s Killer HIIT Legs Workout) so I was very well warmed up. Fatigued in fact! But I persevered. I am not sure if the workout I did before this had anything to do with it, but I found this workout to be very metabolic. According to my FitBit, when I came to this workout my heart rate was already in my cardio zone and it stayed there throughout this entire workout. Caroline starts you off with lunge variations using 2 dumbbells, the you drop to variations using one dumbbell and the workout ends with body weight lunges. That does not make them easier, especially when she already burned your legs out with the weighted exercises. By the time we got to the body weight lunges, I had to take a few person breaks to thaw my legs out! Caroline did, too!
All of the exercises in this workout are done interval style: 45 seconds of work followed by 15 seconds of rest. There is a timer in the upper left hand side of the screen counting down your intervals and recoveries. During the recovery Caroline previews the next exercise. There is also a little bar at the bottom of the screen that counts down the entire workout time as a percentage
Lots of Lunges 20 Minute Leg Workout is 25:31 minutes; 43 second intro, no warm up and 1:45 minute stretch. Equipment: dumbbells. Caroline is using 15kg/33 pounds dumbbells. The weights listed below are what I used.
- Static lunge w/ 2 dumbbells (stationary lunges) (18# DBs)
- Repeat #1 on other side of body
- Rear step lunge w/ 2 dumbbells (reverse lunges holding DBs at shoulders) (16.5# DBs)
- Repeat #3 on other leg
- Step out to curtsy lunges (16.5# DBs)
- Repeat #5 on other leg
- 1.5 rep static lunge (stationary lunge, lower to bottom of lunge, raise halfway, lower to bottom of lunge, raise all the way) (18# DBs)
- Repeat #7 on other side of body
- Curtsy lunge x1 dumbbell (stationary/static curtsy lunge holding one DB at shoulder of working leg) (one 20# DB)
- Repeat #9 on other leg
- Forward leaning lunge x1 dumbbell (stationary/static lunge with torso hinged forward over front leg, hold one DB in same side hand as back leg) (one 20# DB)
- Repeat #11 on other side of body
- 1/2 rep curtsy lunge (no DB, static/stationary curtsy lunge, lower to bottom of lunge but only raise halfway)
- Repeat #13 on other side of body
- Wide to narrow lunge (no DB, static/stationary lunge, with each lunge you step the back leg out further into a wide lunge then step it in closer into a narrow lunge)
- Repeat #15 on other side of body
- Curtsy to lunge (no DBs, start in lunge and step back foot to side so you are in curtsy lunge, step leg back to start so you are back in lunge–back foot remains behind you the entire interval)
- Repeat #17 on other side of body
- Static 1/2 rep lunges (no DBs, static/stationary lunges, lower to bottom of lunge but only raise halfway)
- Repeat #19 on other side of body
Finisher: (no DBs and no rest/recoveries)
- Lunge hold 15 seconds (lower to bottom of lunge and hold isometrically entire interval)
- Rear step 15 seconds (reverse lunge same leg side as #1)
- Repeat #1
- Repeat #1-3 on other side of body
- Alternating rear step lunges for 30 seconds
For more info on Caroline Girvan’s workouts and other (free) streaming workouts I’ve sampled and reviewed, check out my Streaming page
