Hamstring & Quads is Day 20 in Heather Robertson‘s 12 Week 4.0 program. In this lower body workout, Heather has you alternate working opposing muscle groups. You will do 3 exercises for the hamstrings (then repeat them), then do 3 exercises for the quads (and repeat them). My legs were definitely feeling it. This workout includes a new-to-me exercise that I thought would be more complicated than it was–#12 below, hamstring curl. I thought holding a dumbbell by the bar between my feet would be more difficult than it was. If the exercise pops up again in this program I will probably use a heavier dumbbell next time.
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. At the bottom of the screen during the preview, there is a small graphic with a weight recommendation–light, medium or heavy.
Hamstring & Quads is 34:30 minutes; 30 second intro, 3:20 minute warm up and 5 minute stretch. Equipment: dumbbells, yoga block and a fitness mat. The weights listed below are what I used.
- Kickstand (single leg deadlift, back/non-working leg is in kickstand, hold one heavy DB in both hands) (one 40# DB)
- Repeat #1 on other leg
- Romanian deadlift (hex trap bar @ 105#)
- Repeat #1-3
- Split squat (stationary/static lunge, back foot is elevated on yoga block) (25# DBs)
- Repeat #5 on other leg
- Goblet squat (one 50# DB)
- Repeat 5-7
- 30 second rest
- Single leg deadlift (lift other leg up straight behind you when hinging forward, hold one DB in same side hand as working leg) (one 40# DB)
- Repeat #10 on other leg
- Hamstring curl (lay on stomach, grip one DB between feet, lift DB bending knees to 90 degrees then lower) (one 20# DB)
- Repeat #10-12
- Stand up (reverse/step back lunge, lower knee to tap mat at bottom of lunge, when you return to standing, bring back leg forward into a knee raise) (20# DBs)
- Repeat #14 on other leg
- Squat & hop (do one goblet squat then set DB on floor in front of you and do one squat jump) (one 40# DB)
- Repeat #14-16
For more info on Heather Robertson’s workouts and other (free) streaming workouts I’ve sampled and reviewed, check out my Streaming page.
