Lower Body Strength (Supersets Workout) is Day 31 in Heather Robertson‘s 12 Week 4.0 program. This is a solid and enjoyable lower body strength workout. Heather puts together some effective supersets in this workout. For some Heather pairs a weighted exercise with a body weight isometric pulse, for one the pulse is also weighted and for another it’s all body weight–isometric wall sit and plyometric squat jumps. She works your lower body from all angles and modalities.
There are 5 supersets and each superset is done 3 times. 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.
Lower Body Strength (Supersets Workout) is 37:26 minutes; 30 second intro, 3:05 minute warm up and 2:45 minute stretch. Equipment: medium and heavy dumbbells, and a fitness mat. The weights listed below are what I used.
Superset 1:
- Suitcase squat (stand w/ feet approximately hip width apart and do squats holding a DB in each hand at sides) (35# DBs)
- Chair squat pulse (no DBs, lower into chair pose with arms extended overhead and hold isometrically while pulsing up and down)
- Repeat #1 & 2 two more times
Superset 2:
- Single leg deadlift (hold one DB in same side hand as working leg, keep one leg mostly stiff, hinge forward into deadlift keeping back straight while lifting opposite/non-working leg up straight behind you) (one 30# DB)
- Repeat #1 on other leg
- Repeat #1 & 2 two more times
Superset 3:
- Hip thruster (lay on mat, knees bent and feet on mat close to glutes, one heavy DB or barbell on hips, raise and lower hips) (barbell @ 86#)
- Hold & pulse (same position as #1, keep hip raise isometrically and pulse upwards) (barbell @ 86#)
- Repeat #1 & 2 two more times
30 second rest
Superset 4:
- Sumo squat (stand with legs wide and toes turned out, hold one DB in both hands) (one 75# DB)
- Sumo pulse (no DB, lower to bottom of squat and hold isometrically while doing small pulses)
- Repeat #1 & 2 two more times
Superset 5:
- Wall sit (wall squat, no DBs, hold isometrically)
- Jump squat (Heather offers a low impact modification)
- Repeat #1 & 2 two more times
For more info on Heather Robertson’s workouts and other (free) streaming workouts I’ve sampled and reviewed, check out my Streaming page.
thank you for the review! It inspired me to try her out. Solid and enjoyable as you said. I loved the squat jumps at the end- good to end with a bit more of a cardio blast. I prefer those of Caroline’s programmes which have a bit of a cardio element, I think. One question- when she did the weighted glute bridges on the floor, did you use your barbell in that position or do a more standard hip thruster exercise sitting with your back on the bench or chair edge? I ask because I can’t seem to get the physics of it right using a barbell on a glute bridge on the floor.
LikeLike
Nope, I just lay on the floor with a barbell on my hips. I actually never considered doing this until I saw Caroline Girvan doing it. She does it all the time on her CGX app. It has enabled me to finally increase the weight I use for bridges since my heaviest dumbbell is 80 pounds. It does depend on your plate size. Caroline uses a traditional barbell. I use a dumbbell converter–it turns dumbbells into a barbell. What I like about it is that when the DBs stand on end I can get my legs under it easily, then as I roll it up my legs I turn the bar so the dumbbells are horizontal and all the weight is on my hips. I only see it being an issue if you are using huge plates and there is a lot of space between the floor and the bar–if the bar isn’t resting on your hips while you are laying on your back then the plates are too large. But as long as the bar is on your hips when you are at rest then you are lifting the full weight of the barbell when doing the bridge.
LikeLiked by 1 person
Thank you! So interesting. I do prefer glute bridges to the annoyance of setting up HTs so since you say it can be mastered it encourages me to try again!
LikeLiked by 1 person