Leg Day Shred Workout // Day 27 HR12WEEK 2.0

Leg Day Shred Workout is Day 27 in Heather Robertson‘s 12 Week Program. This is another excellent and intense cardio + strength workout from Heather. Just like many of her other lower body strength workouts in her 12 Week Program, this workout uses contrast training (pairing a strength exercise with a plyometric exercise that mimics the weighted exercise you just did in some fashion and/or uses the same muscle groups). I’m not a trainer, so I don’t know every detail or benefit of contrast training, but I do know that some of the benefits include building more power and strength in your muscles, recruiting more muscles, and nervous system adaptation. I really like the structure of this workout the best (so far) because you do each strength exercise 3 times before hitting it with the plyometric exercise. I found this workout to be very metabolic. According to my FitBit I spent a total of 18 minutes in my peak heart rate zone! So it got intense! One of the strength exercises in this workout is a Good Morning. You place a dumbbell behind your neck and you hinge forward deadlift style. I used a 25 pound dumbbell and it was uncomfortable on my neck the first time. So I rolled up my sweat towel and placed it between my neck and the dumbbell for the next two sets. That definitely made it more comfortable. Since this workout is just under 43 minutes, I used Heather’s 10 Minute Squat Challenge as a finisher.

This is a cardio + strength workout. Each strength exercises is done 3 times followed by a cardio burst. The exercises are done interval style: 40 seconds of work followed by 20 seconds of recovery. There is a timer in the lower right hand corner of the screen counting down your intervals and recoveries. During the recoveries Heather previews the next exercise. For some of the exercises that include impact, Heather shows a low impact modification during the recovery.

Leg Day Shred Workout is 42:51 minutes; 4 minute warm up and 5:30 minute stretch. Equipment: dumbbells and fitness mat. Heather is using 10, 15 and 25 pound dumbbells. The weights listed below are what I used.

Circuit 1:

1. Goblet squat (one 40# DB)
2. Repeat #1 two more times
3. Jump squat
4. Stiff leg deadlift (35# DBs)
5. Repeat #4 two more times
6. Spot sprint (sprint in place)
7. Reverse lunges (alternate legs) (16.5# DBs)
8. Repeat #7 two more times
9. Scissor squat hops (4 scissor runs + one squat jump)
10. Sumo squat (one 50# DB)
11. Repeat #10 two more times
12. Squat & hop (hold one DB in both hands by end/bell, squat and place DB on floor, release DB and jump, land in squat, grasp DB again and stand) (one 40# DB)

30 second rest

Circuit 2:

1. Cossack squat (hold one DB in both hands goblet style, alternate stationary side lunges but the straight leg is rotated so heel is on floor and toe is raised to ceiling when you are in lunge) (one 30# DB)
2. Repeat #1 two more times
3. Side lunge hops (alternating side lunges w/ a hop-shuffle when changing sides)
4. Good mornings (hold one DB behind neck, keeping legs straight, hinge forward with a straight spine then raise back to start) (one 25# DB)
5. Repeat #4 two more times
6. Butt kick runs
7. In & out squats (step out squats holding one DB goblet style, step out into squat, step back in and do a narrow squat, alternate sides when stepping out) (one 30# DB)
8. Repeat #7 two more times
9. Heel clicks (squat jump, clicking heels together when jumping)
10. Stand ups (start in high kneeling on mat with DBs held at shoulders, step forward into kneeling lunge with one foot, step the other foot forward so you are in squat, straighten/stand, then lower back into squat and step one foot back into kneeling lunge then step other foot back so you are back in starting position of high kneeling, alternate lead leg) (15# DBs)
11. Repeat #10 two more times
12. Leap frog (stand with legs wide, squat and tap fingers on floor, then jump, raising arms overhead)

For more info on Heather Robertson’s workouts and other (free) streaming workouts I’ve sampled and reviewed, check out my Streaming page.