Super Legs & Butt Workout

Courtesy of those boys Dean Ash & Neale Cranwell from the Active Channel.  Now its true that these boys are hard core as both are professional bodybuilders, but during this particular leg workout session they looked like they were struggling just a bit.  Some of the things they were doing will not be everyone's cup of tea but the ones I'm going to explain to you could be done by both ladies and gents. 

Now Summer supposedly is on its way, so ladies that's the time when we can don our shorts and show off our legs and butt!  Men you know who you are, stop flexing those biceps we also like to see a decent back side!

Back to the routine, these exercises were performed on a Smith machine, you could also use a Squat rack.  If your gym doesn't possess any of these you could do a bodyweight version or a free weight version, but watch your technique.  The exercises are:

10 x lunges (10 on one side then repeat 10 on the other)
10 x narrow stance squats
10 x sumo squats (wide stance, toes pointed out)

So as you can see there's quite a lot of volume.  The boys didn't go too heavy either,  10k plates on each side of their olympic bar for their 1st set, then used the 20's for their 2nd set. 

Ladies if you have never trained in this manner before, or if any doubt at all please get an instructor to show you how first with an unloaded bar, technique is crucial.  Here's how to do the exercises;

1. Lunges  -  Stand directly underneath the bar, legs hip width apart with an overhand grip wider than shoulders.  Engage your abdominals, rack the bar into position, so it sits on the fatty pads at the back of your shoulders / upper traps.  Now take a step back with one leg so your knee is slightly behind your hip and your on your toes.  Action - drop this leg down towards the ground, you should be feeling this in the calve, hamstring and butt on this side.  Do the required number of reps then change legs.
2. Narrow stance squats  -  stance should be hip width or narrower.  You may need to inch forward of the bar a little, in this exercise you want to be able to get your bum down nice and low but not at the detriment of your knees.  They shouldn't overshoot your toes, you'll know when your in the right position cos you'll really feel it in your butt!  If you are unsure get an instructor to watch your technique.  Ladies if this exercise is difficult, first try holding onto something with one hand for support then send your hips back and down towards the floor with control, squeeze your butt on the way up. 
3. Sumo squats  -  This is similar to how you would perform a normal squat position, except your stance is wider than shoulders and your feet should be turned out to around 45 dgrees.  You may find you can't go as low.  But you should definately feel it in the butt and inner thighs.  Again perform the required amount of reps, take some rest and repeat all the exercises again which can be a heavier set if you prefer, but be warned, it may hurt!  If these are your last exercises don't forget to stretch.

After a few weeks if you were to do the above exercises 2 perhaps 3 times per week, along with other muscle groups and some HIIT  you should definitely be turning heads!

Good luck
Amanda

Side Note:  If you are in any doubt as to the suitability of this workout please consult with a professional (like myself) beforehand.

http://www.mw-pt.co.uk/primal-patterns/Functional-Moves