For this installment of Watchdog Workouts, you will be hitting the infamous leg-day. It’s self-explanatory. Now, over the course of this workout you will perform exercises for your lumbar, erector spinae, glutes, quads, hamstrings and calves as well as your hip adductors/abductors.
To begin, start by going on a short walk for 5-10 minutes. Either around your living space, or outside. By the time you finish, your legs should be feeling a little warm, and entirely functional. At this point, make sure to go through some stretches. This stretching index from MIT provides a wealth of information and instructional insight. Once you are warm, loose and feeling ready, take a drink of water and commence.
To lead off, you are going to do some lower back stretching. For this routine, you will begin with some straight-leg deadlifts, otherwise called Morning Glories. With your arms crossed, go through some slow bowing motions to no further than a 90-degree angle. After a few repetitions, notice how your lumbar is feeling, as well as your hamstrings. Once you’re all done with that, it might be nice to know the format of the workout. A circuit is three or more consecutive exercises. Each round will serve as one set for each circuit. Let’s start with a quick thigh circuit. Repeat each round 3-4 times or until moderately fatigued before advancing.
10 minutes: Circuit #1
- 10 alternating side lunges
- 10 alternating lunges
- 8 body squats (wear weighted backpack if necessary)
This first circuit consists of some basic lower-body movements, which will target your quadriceps, hamstrings, glutes, hips and stabilizer muscle groups.
10 minutes: Circuit #2
- 20 alternating fire hydrants
- 20 alternating deadbugs
- 12 glute bridges
The second circuit is a bit more complicated. For the fire hydrants, you will on all fours, alternating between each leg, opening your hip in a circular motion, not so dissimilar to a dog peeing on a fire hydrant. Deadbugs are another challenging exercise. For this one, you will be on your back, with all-fours straight up in the air (like a dead bug). Remember to have your spine flat to the ground, this can be done by keeping tension in the limbs while not arching one’s back. Then you will take turns bringing your opposite foot/hand to the ground, and back to the default position, then alternating offset limbs.
10 minutes: Circuit #3
- 20 calf raises
- 10 alternating reverse lunges
- 20 prone hamstring curls (weighted backpack required)
By the end of this workout, your calves, legs, and hips should be very broken-down. This is a good sign, as you are actually intending to break-down that muscle fiber through hypertrophy. Afterwards, stretch again and consume some protein to replenish your body and rebuild the muscle fibers. What doesn’t kill you makes you very weak! Stay hydrated and keep self-isolating, Bellevue, the best is yet to come.
