30-Minute Lower Body Trisets

How To Do A 2-Pulse Squat and 2 Calf Raises

1. Start standing feet shoulder-width distance apart, knees slightly bent, core engaged. Hold a dumbbell vertically at your chest between both hands (goblet-hold).
2. Lower down into a squat position, lowering your hips down parallel with your knees. Drive your knees out toward your outer three toes.
3. At the bottom of your squat, pulse by rising up an inch, then lowering down an inch and repeating for a two-count pulse.
4. Drive through your heels to stand tall, squeezing your glutes.
5. As you stand, perform a calf raise by lifting your heels off the ground.
6.  Slowly lower your heels back to the ground, then repeat for a second calf raise.

How To Do A Pendulum Lunge

1. Start standing feet hip distance apart, knees slightly bent, core engaged. Hold a dumbbell vertically at your chest between both hands (goblet-hold).
2. Step your left leg forward into a front lunge, dropping your back right knee down towards the ground as you lower your hips until both knees reach a 90-degree angle, front thigh is parallel to the floor.
3. Drive through your front left heel to stand tall, reversing the movement.
4. Rather than stopping at the top, immediately step your left leg back into a reverse lunge. Again, drop your back right knee down towards the ground as you lower your hips until both knees reach a 90-degree angle, front right thigh is parallel to the floor.
5. Then drive through your front right heel to stand tall, reversing the movement again as you immediately repeat the front lunge.

Modification: Option to tap the toe of the moving leg at the center between each front-to-back lunge movement. The tap will provide stability.

How To Do A Lateral Lunge

1. Start standing, feet hip-width apart, knees slightly bent. Hold one dumbbell in your right hand.
2. Step your left leg out to the side as you push your hips back, bending your left knee while leaving your right leg straight. Think of performing a single leg squat with your left leg while your right leg remains straight. The dumbbell in your right hand will fall just inside your left foot.
3. Then, drive off your left foot to reverse the movement, pushing back to center and returning to a standing position. Option to perform a knee drive on the left leg as you return to center to increase the balance challenge. Alternate sides on the next set.

Modification: Option to omit the dumbbell, performing this with just your body weight.

How To Do A Deadlift

1. Start standing feet shoulder-width apart and knees slightly bent. Hold a dumbbell in each hand at your thighs (overhand grip, palms face your body). Option to hold one heavy dumbbell horizontally with the heads of the dumbbell in each hand.
2. Hinge forward at the hips, pushing your hips back as you lower the dumbbells down along the front of your body. You should feel a stretch in the back of your legs (hamstrings). Focus on keeping your back in neutral alignment with your neck and shoulders throughout the entire movement (straight line from head to tailbone). Keep a slight bend in your knees to avoid ‘locking out’ the joint.
3. Then, drive through your heels, squeezing your glutes as you drive your hips forward to return to the starting position.

How To Do Dumbbell Swings

1. Stand with your feet wider than shoulder-width apart, holding a single dumbbell vertically between your hands.
2. With a slight bend in your knees and weight in your heels, ‘hike’ the dumbbell back between your legs to start the swing movement.
3. Drive through your heels to stand tall, pushing your hips forward as you squeeze your glutes to swing the dumbbell up. Aim for shoulder height, with arms extended out away from the body. Think long, loose arms (your arms are just a vehicle for moving the weight, your hips and glutes generate the power).
4. As the dumbbell begins to descend, think of catching the weight with a hip hinge, loading the glutes and hamstrings.

How To Do Frog Pump Glute Bridges

1. Lie flat on your back and bend your knees, making a 90-degree angle with your legs, feet on the mat. Place one heavy dumbbell horizontally across your hips.
2. Press the soles of your feet together and let your thighs fall open. Externally rotating the hips (heels together and knees out).
3. Squeeze the glutes to lift the hips off the mat. Think of performing a shallow hip thrust.
4. Hold at the top of the movement for a moment, tucking the pelvis under. Then slowly lower your hips with control back down to a hover position (glutes hovering off the mat) and repeat the movement.

Modification: Option to omit the dumbbell, performing this as a bodyweight exercise. You can also omit the external hip rotation and perform standard glute bridges with feet flat on the floor.

7. Hinge Swing Squat Thruster (Bonus Exercise)

Targets: Legs, hamstrings, glutes, hips, quads, lower back, abs and core.

How to Do a Hinge Swing Squat Thruster

1. Start standing, feet shoulder-width apart, knees slightly bent. Hold one dumbbell in your right hand (overhand grip, palms facing in).
2. Hinge at the hips, pressing your butt back towards the wall behind you. As your hips go back, the dumbbell in your right hand swings between your legs, arms extended long.
3. Then press through your heels to stand tall, using the power in your hips, glutes and hamstrings to swing the dumbbell up to shoulder height.
4. “Catch” the dumbbell at your right shoulder, holding it in a front racked position.
5. Sit your hips back as you lower into a squat, striving for a 90-degree angle between your hips and knees.
6. Then, drive through your heels, squeezing your glutes to stand tall and return to the starting position.
7. As you stand, perform a squat thruster, pressing the dumbbell overhead.

Modification: If the front squat causes lower back pain, just perform standard squats with the dumbbells at your sides. Option to perform a squat and calf raise.