Looking to feel the burn on your leg day workout? This workout combines cardio and strength training, requires no weights, and will help you slim those legs.
Beauty is too often not in the eye of the self-beholder.
Growing up, I always thought my thighs were horrible. Like, so disgusting that it would stop people in their tracks, cause them to avert their children’s eyes and try not to make their own gasps audible.
This hyperbolic idea of other people’s reactions is not uncommon, of course. I mean, it’s amazing we get through adolescence. But its commonness doesn’t make it any less real. (And thank goodness that at some point we realize that other people just don’t care that much about us—a comforting and sobering thought.)
The reasons I thought this way were heightened by factors in my own life, but based upon a solid foundation of good ol’ societal programming. Thankfully, companies are way more aware and thoughtful about it nowadays, but back in my day (the 90s) and before, the signal was clear: You can’t have a beautiful body without slim thighs.
The need to burn.
So naturally then, and even naturally now, I am drawn to a workout that really make you feel the leg burn.
Like, really feel it.
Let me be clear: The “burn” feeling is in no way a real indicator of fat burning or anything special happening. But it doesn’t matter: it feels good, and getting to a place where we feel good about what’s happening during our workouts is (cue: God music) GOLD.
However, the burn feeling is stress on those muscles, which breaks them down and causes them to regrow. That muscle building in turn burns calories, but also raises your metabolism (muscle requires more calories) and you burn more fat overall.
So it’s indirect, but yeah, that burn turns into a fat burn. (But still, it’s fun to think it’s THE burn.)
Today’s leg burn workout.
Today’s is a great combination of cardio and strength training, and with some interludes of very high intense, short intervals to really amp up the leg burn even more during the workout. There are two of these interludes, and I like to call them “4 minutes of hell,” or 4MOH for short. It’s a fantastic way to put the workout into hyperdrive.
With a very short, very intense burn, when you return to the more deliberate sections, that intensity will have burned up a lot of your stamina. This is a good thing. With bodyweight workouts, we need ways to increase intensity, since the exercise can’t progress with weight.
Even without the 4MOH, however, this workout packs a punch. Both parts (1 and 3) pair a more slow-burn, deliberate move with a plyometric one, amping up the leg burn in two different ways, and giving you some cardio as well.
Knockin’ me out with those American thighs.
Yeah, okay, insert clever segue here. The AC/DC song Shook Me All Night Long was part of our high school ice hockey team (yes, we had a girls team!) mix tape. (Mix tapes—remember those? The best.) Every time he sang the lyric, “knockin’ me out with those American thighs,” the entire bus full of girls would yell at the top of their lungs in unison.
Anyway, it always struck me as a funny lyric.
Instructions.
New York Ninja Workout.
Part 1:
3 rounds
- 15 double sliding lunges L
- 15 pulse and jump twist, traveling
- 15 double sliding lunges R
- 15 jump twist and pulse, wide (not traveling)
Part 2:
12&12×10
- alternating back lunge pulses, jump lunge in between
Part 3:
3 rounds
- 2 static jump lunges and 2 one leg squats L
- 20 sumo squat and knee up (alternating sides, so 10 ea)
- 2 static jump lunges and 2 one leg squats R M
- 20 sumo squat and knee up
Part 4:
12&12×10
- squat pulses
- jump squats
Video instructions.
This post may contain affiliate links. Please see my full disclosure here.Double sliding lunges.
From standing, perform a side lunge, the non-weight-bearing leg sliding out to the side on a furniture slider. Reverse movement to standing. Go down in a back lunge with the same leg sliding backwards this time, then return to standing.
Twist jump and pulse, traveling.
Squat down, pulse and then jump up, turning 180 degrees and moving forward slightly, then squatting as you land. Go immediately into next rep. Once you can’t move forward any more, jump backwards.
Twist jump and pulse.
Squat down, pulse and then jump up, turning 180 degrees and squatting as you land. Go immediately into next rep.
Back lunge pulses.
Stand with one leg in front of the other, and lunge down until your knee kisses the floor. Both legs should be at right angles. Stay low, pulsing up and down in this lunge position for the interval duration.
Double static jump lunge and double one leg squat combo.
Perform 2 static jump lunges: Go down in a lunge, jump up on both feet and come back down with legs in same position. Then bring the back lunge in front and perform 2 one leg squats: Squat down on one leg with the other pointing in front of you, until your standing thigh is about parallel to the ground, then come up. Repeat.
Sumo squat and knee up.
Stand with your feet wider than shoulder-width, and your knees pointing outward slightly. Squat down, with arms crossed on your chest, lowering your butt towards the ground until your thighs are parallel to the ground. Stand back up while shifting your feet on to one leg while lifting the other knee in the air.
Squat pulses.
Get into a squat position by sitting your butt down and back, keeping torso relatively upright. Make sure your weight is in your heels and your knees don’t come far over your toes. Pulse up and down in this position for the duration.
Jump squats.
Perform a squat, but jump up at the end. Usually performed one after another, and bodyweight, minibands or light weight.