Lean Legs Bootcamp // Day 37 HR12WEEK 2.0

Lean Legs Bootcamp is Day 37 in Heather Robertson‘s 12 Week Program. This is a tough lower body strength workout. Most of the exercises are done unilateral style (focusing on one side of the body) and every strength exercise is done 3 times, so you really hit the muscle hard. I know by the 3rd set of the Tick Tock Lunges (first circuit), I was done with those! I didn’t want to do that third set! I did it of course! And Heather gives your heart rate a spike with a cardio burst between each strength circuit. For the split squat in circuit 2, Heather elevated her back leg on another dumbbell behind her. Bulgarian lunges/split squats already challenge your balance, but putting your back foot on a dumbbell behind you is really crazy! I used my square step at 16 inches. Much more stable! I used my 25 pound dumbbells for everything except the sumo squats (I used my 50 pound for that) but for the deadlifts, I could have lifted heavier. Since I had already previewed this workout and knew you did 3 sets of everything, I went conservative but having done the workout, I think 30 pound dumbbells would have been more appropriate for all of the deadlift variations.

This workout has 3 circuits, each containing 4 exercises. Each circuit is done 3 times. Before you move on to the next circuit you get one cardio burst interval. The exercises are all 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. Heather shows a low impact versions of some (but not all) of the exercises that have impact.

Lean Legs Bootcamp is 50:19 minutes; 4 minute warm up and 5:30 minute stretch. Equipment: dumbbells, a chair or bench and fitness mat. Heather is using 15 and 25 pound dumbbells. The weights listed below are what I used.

Circuit 1:

1. Tick tock lunge (pendulum lunge–one forward lunge + one reverse lunge with same leg, hold one DB at shoulder) (one 25# DB)
2. Side leg lift (in modified straight arm side plank (on one hand and one knee) with top arm raised to ceiling and top leg extended straight, raise and lower straight top leg)
3. Repeat #1 & 2 on other side of body
4. Repeat #1-3 two more times

Cardio interval: Jump squat & jack (one jumping jack + one squat jump)

30 second rest

Circuit 2:

1. Split squat (stationary/static lunges, back leg is elevated on chair or bench (Heather has one DB on end and her back toe is resting on it), holding one DB goblet style) (one 25# DB)
2. Single leg deadlift (hold one DB in both hands, hinge forward into single leg deadlift lifting back/non-working leg behind you) (one 25# DB)
3. Repeat #1 & 2 on other side of body
4. Repeat #1-3 two more times

Cardio Interval: Scissor squat hops (4 scissor runs + 2 squat jumps)

30 second rest

Circuit 3:

1. Curtsy lunge (static/stationary curtsy lunge holding one DB on shoulder of working side) (one 25# DB)
2. Repeat #1 on other side of body
3. Sumo squat (one 50# DB)
4. Sumo deadlift (deadlift with legs wide and toes turned out) (25# DBs)
5. Repeat #1-4 two more times

Cardio Interval: Stand up & hop (start in high kneeling on mat with hands behind head, step forward into kneeling lunge with one foot, step the other foot forward so you are in squat, jump, landing back in squat, 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)

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