20-Minute Quick Leg Workout for Women

How to Do a Tempo Squat

1. Start standing with your feet shoulder-width apart, knees slightly bent. Hold a pair of dumbbells at your sides.
2. Lower down into a squat position, lowering your hips down parallel with your knees. In this variation, lower down to the bottom of your squat on a 3-count. Drive your knees out toward your outer toes.
3. Hold at the bottom of the squat for 2 seconds.
4. Drive through your heels to stand tall, returning to a standing position.

How to Do a Loaded Squat Jump and Retraction

1. Start standing feet shoulder-width distance apart, knees slightly bent, holding a pair of dumbbells at your sides.
2. Lower down into a squat position, lowering your hips down parallel with your knees. Drive your knees out toward your outer toes.
3. Explosively drive through your heels, using the power in your legs to lift your heels off the ground, performing a squat jump.
4. Land softly with bent knees, immediately lowering your hips and bending both knees to perform another squat.
5. Press through your heels to stand tall, returning to the starting position.
6. Continue this pattern, alternating 1 squat with 1 squat jump.

Modification: Omit the jump, performing calf raises instead.

How to Do a Curtsy Lunge

1. Stand with feet hip-distance apart, holding a pair of dumbbells at your sides.
2. Step your left leg back into a curtsy lunge (left knee should meet right calf) as your left knee lowers towards the mat. Lower your hips until both knees reach a 90-degree angle, front thigh parallel to the floor.
3. Squeeze your right glute to reverse the movement, stepping your left foot back to center and standing tall.
4. Repeat on the other leg, stepping your right foot back into a curtsy lunge before squeezing through the left glute to stand tall, returning to the starting position.

How to Do a Skater

1. Start standing in an athletic stance, feet hip-width apart, knees slightly bent, core engaged.
2. Push off your right foot to bound laterally to the left, landing in a loaded skater position on your left foot. Left knee bent, right leg tracking behind your left foot in a skater position.
3. Then, drive off your planted left foot to bind laterally back to the right. Landing softly on your right foot. Right knee bent, left leg tracking behind your right foot in a skater position.
4. Repeat, alternating the skaters on each leg.

How to Do a Front Foot Elevated Lunge and Knee Drive

1. Begin in a neutral standing position, feet shoulder-width apart, right heel on a weight or yoga block. Hold a dumbbell in each hand at your sides.
2. Step your left foot back into a reverse lunge. Lower your left back knee towards the mat, aiming for a 90-degree angle in both knees.
3. Drive through your right heel to stand tall. As you do so, perform a knee drive on the left leg, bringing the left knee in line with the left hip.
4. Step your left foot back, returning to a reverse lunge position, and repeat the movement.

Modification: Omit the elevation and the knee drive, performing reverse lunges from the ground.

How to Do an Isometric Lunge Hold

1. Stand with your feet hip-distance apart.
2. Step your right leg back into a reverse lunge, dropping your 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. Lower slowly and with control.
3. Hold at the bottom of your lunge position, performing an isometric lunge hold.
4. With control, lower it to the mat, returning to the starting position, and repeat.

How to Do a Lunge Jump

1. Stand with your feet slightly wider than shoulder-width apart, knees slightly bent.
2. Step your right leg back into a reverse lunge, lowering your hips until both knees reach a 90-degree angle, front thigh parallel to the floor.
3. Then perform a “lunge jump” by exploding up from your reverse lunge position. Switch your legs by landing softly in a reverse lunge with the left leg back, right leg forward.
4. Perform a lunge jump again, exploding up from your reverse lunge position, this time landing softly in a reverse lunge with the right leg back, left leg forward.

Modification: If lunges hurt your knees, you can perform knee slams instead of jump lunges.

How to Do a Romanian Deadlift

1. Start standing with your feet shoulder-width apart and your knees slightly bent. Hold a dumbbell in each hand at your thighs (overhand grip, palms face your body). 
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. Drive through your heels, squeezing your glutes as you drive your hips forward to return to the starting position.

How to Do a Calf Raise

1. Stand with feet hip-width apart. Keep your back straight and core engaged to stand tall. Hold a dumbbell in each hand at your sides.
2. Slowly and with control, lift yourself up onto the balls of your feet, heels rising above the ground.
3. Lift your heels until you feel a stretch along the back of your legs, balancing on your toes.
4. Slowly lower your heels back to the ground, returning to the starting position.

How to Do a Deadlift, Clean and Squat

1. Stand with your feet hip-width apart, knees slightly bent. Hold a dumbbell in each hand in front of your hips, palms facing in towards your body.
2. Hinge at the hips, pushing your hips back towards the wall behind you as you glide the dumbbells down the front of your legs. Engage your core to protect your lower back.
3. Drive through your heels to stand tall, using the power in your legs to drive the dumbbells up towards your chest, catching them at shoulder-height (this is the “clean” portion of the movement).
4. Hold the dumbbells at your shoulders and lower down into a squat position, lowering your hips down parallel to your knees. Drive your knees out toward your outer toes.
5. Drive through your heels to stand tall, lowering the dumbbells to your hips and repeat.

Modification: Option to omit the dumbbell clean, keeping the weights at your sides.

How to Do a Lateral Lunge

1. Start standing, feet hip-width apart, knees slightly bent. Hold a 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. Drive off your left foot to reverse the movement, pushing back to the center and returning to a standing position.

How to Do a Wall Sit

1. Place your back flat against a wall. Plant your feet firmly on the ground, hip-width apart.
2. Slide your back down the wall until your legs make a 90-degree angle, thighs are parallel to the ground, and hips are in line with knees.
3. Hold this position with your back firmly connected to the wall.
4. With control, stand up, return to the starting position, and repeat.