Workout Series: What I Do For Toned Glutes & Legs

Yay! Finally a Fitness blog post. I know I know…long time coming but I plan on doing these more frequently and touching on nutrition, other muscle group workouts I love, home workouts, and so much more!

So to start this off, I want to note that this isn’t a fitness plan or workout guide (totally unqualified lol). These are just workouts I do that work for me and my body and tips I’ve learned along the way that have helped me (and are still helping me) achieve my goals! Hopefully, this post can help you guys and give you the inspiration you need to either switch up what you’re doing, incorporate new things, or start all together!

HIIT vs. WEIGHTED WORKOUTS

If you follow me on Instagram, you have probably seen me talk about or post about HIIT workouts and maybe you’ve wondered what the heck I’m talking about! HIIT stands for High Intensity Interval Training. It’s exactly how it sounds…high intensity, fast-paced workouts in circuits. Why I choose to do these types of workouts is because, for me, they keep me the leanest and most toned without having to do typical cardio like running or the elliptical. HIIT gets my heart rate into the cardio zone and helps me shed fat quick! Weighted workouts are EXTREMELY important. Cardio will burn fat, but does nothing to shape the muscles so you will never achieve a completely toned look with only doing HIIT or cardio. You need both!

The biggest question I received: HOW CAN I TONE MY LEGS WITHOUT THEM BECOMING BULKY?

Let me start out by saying that lifting weights DOES NOT I repeat DOES NOT make you manly looking! I have been lifting for 5 years now. It’s all about how much weight + how many reps. The Instagram model whose body you love didn’t get that way from staying on the treadmill! She is 100% using weights. It’s just how she’s using them!

Lower Weight + Higher Reps is muscle toning range. This is 90% of the time where I stay. I do between 12-15 reps of whatever workout I’m doing!

Higher Weight + Lower Reps is muscle building. I sometimes will do a few heavier squats with higher weight and maybe 8 reps to build my glutes more, but that’s about the only time I will go this route and it’s not very often! I tend to do a “heavier” leg day maybe once a month..and typically the only workout I go heavier weight and lower reps in are with squats! If you are really looking to build your glutes, you should incorporate a few heavier lifts to increase muscle size.

For me, I can build muscle pretty easy. So that’s why I like to do a mixture of HIIT leg workouts & weighted to maintain muscle size while shredding fat and maintaining a lean look!

TYPES OF HIIT LEG/GLUTE WORKOUTS

• Squat Jumps + with and without resistance bands
• Box Jumps
• Burpees (Going from a squat position then jumping as high as you can down into a pushup and then repeat)
• High Knees (yep highschool football style)
• Side Jumps (over a box or flat bench)
• Frog Jumps (deep squat all the way to the ground and push up as high as you can into a jump bringing knees to chest)
• Leg Lifts (add ankle weights for more resistance and a tougher workout) *get on all fours and bend leg pushing your foot into the air, then to the side (imagine a dog peeing on a tree lol), then leg at a diagonal (imagine your at the center of a room- you want to kick your foot/leg towards the back corner) I call these Butt Busters but if this is confusing please comment and I will try to explain better!
• Jumping Side-to-Side Lunges

For these, I like to create a circuit and rotate thru maybe five of these workouts three or four times! I am engaging these muscles but my main focus in to get my heart in the fat burning zone & then into cardio zone. There are probably SO MANY others I am missing..but these are my go-to’s!

TYPES OF WEIGHTED LEG/GLUTE WORKOUTS

• Squats (close stance & wide stance)
• Deadlifts (I usually stick to Stiff-Leg to really hit my Hamstrings & the area where your glutes meet your hamstrings! I love to define that area)
• Lunges (both walking lunges and static lunges)
• Good Mornings (really hits your glute/Hammy region)
• Glute Bridges (Amazing for directly engaging your glutes! Highly recommend)
• Cable Kick-backs (attach a cable to your ankle – your gym will usually have ankle straps)
• Leg Curls (again, great hamstring workout and helps burn cellulite)

Now, of course, there are leg extensions, leg press, and more Quad focused workouts, but my Quads don’t need to have their own directly focused workouts! The workouts above will engage your Quads, but for me, my Quad muscle tends to want to take over and so they get hit really well without me having to directly focus on them! You will learn over time how your muscles work and what you need to focus on more closely to get the results you want.

QUESTIONS FROM INSTAGRAM:

1. How often do I workout & how often do I train legs?
   1. Me and my boyfriend like to workout 5-6 days a week. I hit legs twice in that time and will do a HIIT leg day and a Weighted leg day! I wouldn’t target them any more than two days or else you will overtrain and see no results. If you don’t have the time to go that often, I recommend making sure you have at least 3 workout days to start seeing results. You have to remember that you use your legs all day every day, walking, bending down, these muscles are used constantly so they have to be hit extra hard to really see results! Anything less and you’ll have really slow progress if any. If you really want it you have to make time for it, even if that means working out in your backyard if you don’t have a gym membership! I have done that and you can do a lot.
2. How long did you work on your legs before you saw a difference?
   1. For me, my legs are my problem areas. I hold the most fat there and so it takes more effort for me to see progress there than anywhere else on my body. I’ve always been athletic and in sports/cheerleading so I can’t say a specific time frame, but if I get off track and want to get my legs/glutes back to where I like them, it probably takes me 3-4 weeks of working out consistently 5-6 days a week, doing legs twice in that time period and eating well! It’s not easy whatsoever but I feel my best when I’m working out and eating right! Consistency is KEY. Even when you feel like you’re not making progress, YOU ARE. I promise! Before and After photos are amazing. We see our bodies every day so it’s hard to realize what has changed.
3. What keeps me motivated?
   1. The feeling I get when I’m pushing myself and seeing results! I not only physically feel my best, but mentally I’m happiest when I’m really active and eating well! After a while, it’s just your lifestyle, you don’t really have to think about it! Also, my boyfriend is a HUGE motivator. He’s who got me into fitness! If you have trouble pushing yourself, get an accountability partner! Having someone to go thru it with you makes it that much easier!
4. Do you ever use bands in your exercises? 
   1. ALWAYS. Bands are 100% my favorite and you can use them for so much! I add them to my jump squats, regular squats, jumping jacks, butt busters, side lunges, just about EVERYTHING! I have an amazing set I will link below!
5. How do you keep your legs lean and not bulky while still lifting?
   1. I answered this one above, but it was the most asked question so I wanted to answer it here again. A mixture of HIIT & Weights, and when lifting weights going Higher Reps and Lower Weight! For me, this would look like doing 3 sets of squats with 10-15lbs on each side of the bar and doing 12-15 reps! You might need lower weight or higher depending on your strength or goals, but generally keeping your weight on the lower end. I do shock my muscles every now and again and maybe do 35lbs on each side for squats (again this all depends on your strength & form..make sure you are 100% correct before adding heavier weight) but this would be maybe like once a month! Remember this, you’ll never be able to build muscle like a guy. We just don’t have the hormones to look like that! If you have seen fitness girls looking really bulky..chances are they are taking something to look like that! So don’t be nervous at all to lift!
6. What does one workout session for me consist of?
   1. It depends on the goal for that workout. But typically I train HARD. Of course, I have off days, but I used to have the gym manager tell me I was the only person who really worked out hard at the gym! I put in my headphones and I stay in the zone! Typical gym time for me is about an hour, and I will probably do 5-6 workouts depending on the muscle group I’m working. If I’m strictly doing HIIT, it may only take 45 mins because ya’ll I go 100%! Just give it your all, every time! You will have off days of course, but when you get in the gym don’t be afraid to just do your thing!
7. Best squat proof/high waisted leggings?
   1. Lululemon & Gymshark are my favs for sure! I have a few really good Nike ones too.
8. What workout supplements do you use and how helpful do you think they are?
   1. I always take a pre-workout (Bucked Up is what we’ve been using recently and really like, C4 has always been good, and NitraFlex was always great for me) and I 100% see a difference in my endurance and overall energy. It helps me to really push through and it keeps my energy levels really high! The only other supplement I take is protein, and I’m honestly really bad about drinking it after a workout because I usually only want water lol. But they are great because they help with muscle recovery and to assist in the rebuilding of the fibers! So if you find a good protein you like you should totally be drinking it!
9. What foods are your favorite to eat before working out?
   1. I can’t eat too much before working out or I will feel sick the whole time! But I would say something with carbs, fat, and maybe sugar! To help with your energy. A piece of avocado toast or peanut butter on bread/apples will help give you the energy you need to last through your workout but won’t sit heavy on your stomach.
10. What are some good inner thigh exercises?
    1. The adductor machine, strapping a cable to your ankle (using an ankle strap) and pulling your leg away from your body while holding on to the bar, wide leg squats, basically when your leg is moving away from your body, that muscle is engaged, so finding ways to add resistance will target! It’s a tough area for sure but overall leg/glute workouts WILL engage that muscle so consistency in your workouts will show progress there!

Below are my ABSOLUTE FAVORITE BANDS! I use this set literally constantly and they are amazing quality. Also, I wanted to include THE BEST home leg/glute workout DVD. It’s freaking hard and you WILL see results if you’re unable to get a gym membership or you just don’t have the time to go! Even if you do have a gym membership I would do this workout once a week. It will kick your butt!!

I hope this was helpful ya’ll! If you have any questions PLEASE leave them below for me to answer!

XOXO, Sav