Take on Our 30-Minute Dumbbell 'Lunge and Lift' Challenge for a Serious Leg Day
When it comes to training legs, we know that the muscles of the quadriceps, hamstrings, and glutes are amongst the largest and strongest in the body, which means they need to be hit hard if we want to see meaningful gains. But ‘hard’ doesn’t always have to mean heavy. If you’re stuck without access to a squat rack, leg press or a pile of heavy iron, we’ve got just the session for you. A 30-minute, three-move leg workout, that’s going to help you grow those pins using just pair of dumbbells.
The Workout
This workout consists of a 30-minute ‘AMRAP’ – standing for ‘as many reps as possible’. After a thorough warm-up, grab the heaviest bells you can safely clean onto your shoulders, mark out a 10-20m track and get to work. Your goal is to achieve as many high quality rounds of our ‘lunge and lift’ circuit as possible before the 30-minute buzzer sounds. Rest as necessary to keep your form on point, but push yourself close to failure to ensure you aren’t leaving any gains on the table.
Make a note of the weights you use and the total number of reps and rounds you achieve. Each week try to progressively beat this ‘score’. Once you can do 20% more work than in your first attempt, it’s time to grab some heavier weights.
1.Dumbbell Front Rack Squat x 8-12
Clean the heaviest set of dumbbells you can muster onto the front of your shoulders (A). From here, drop into a front squat until your thighs pass parallel to the ground (B), before driving back up. Your grip and upper back may be tiring but keep upright. Ensuring your core is tight throughout is crucial.
2. Romanian Deadlift x 10-15
Drop your dumbbells to your sides (A). With a slight bend in the knees, push your hips back and slowly lower the bells towards the ground (B), keeping your torso rigid and dumbbells close to your shins. When you feel a deep stretch in your hamstrings, pause and explosively return to an upright position.
3. Walking Lunge x 20m
If your grip needs a reprieve, drop your bells and shake it off, but as soon as possible stand tall with your dumbbells at your sides (A). Keeping your chest up at all times, take a long step forward with one leg, bending your front knee until the back knee touches the ground (B). Stand up explosively, pause and repeat with the other leg, moving forward until you’ve covered 20m.
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