LOWER-BODY BOOT CAMP - Printer Friendly

LOWER-BODY BOOT CAMP

Leave no muscle fiber behind with this 15-minute shock routine

By the Hers Staff | Photos by Michael Darter and Jim Purdum

Everyone wants killer legs — the kind that turn heads and spark envy. But few look forward to the requisite training — a long, arduous gym session that fills you with dread the week leading up to it and leaves you completely drained and hobbling for the car after.

While training intensely is really the only way to get a top-notch physique, you don't always have to spend an hour and a half at the gym. You can plow through the following routine in 15-20 minutes (not counting a solid warm-up and post-workout stretch, of course). Don't get us wrong — you'll still spend the next few days opting for the elevator instead of the stairs. But at least you'll get home in time for Wheel of Fortune.

You'll run the gamut of muscle fiber recruitment with this. The explosive nature of plyometric jumps — a squat into a jump straight up — allow you to tax your fast-twitch muscle fibers. They require a great deal of energy and control, which is why they come first in the routine . From there you move to the king (or queen) of lifts — the barbell squat. This traditional exercise not only chisels your quads, glutes and hams but also calls your abs and obliques into play. After each set of barbell squats, you'll take your muscles to complete exhaustion by immediately performing squats to failure using only your bodyweight. You'll finish the day with wall squats, holding the bottom portion of a squat as long as you can. This final isometric burn taps into any muscle fibers you may have missed with the first two exercises.

* Follow each set with bodyweight squats to failure. Rest 2-3 minutes between sets.

^ Descend into the bottom portion of the squat with your back and hips against a wall — thighs parallel to the floor — and hold it as long as you can. Shoot for 30-60 seconds.