The warmest days of summer have yet to come, and earth-scorching heat inevitably equals shorts. And if fashion has anything to say about it these days, it means short shorts and even shorter swim trunks that would make James Bond himself blush. All this to say, you’d better get your leg days on. We rang up Ryan Farhoudi, beloved celebrity trainer to everyone from Dev Patel and Daniel Kaluuya to Garrett Hedlund, Jamie Bell, Logan Lerman, Dakota Johnson and countless others. Here, he breaks down a 5-step leg day workout you can do anywhere.
WORKOUT
1. Bulgarian Split
Stand 2 to 3 feet in front of a knee-high bench. Extend your right leg behind you and rest your toes on the bench. Keeping your torso upright, slowly lower your right knee toward the floor. Reverse the move and return to the starting position.
2. Jump Squats
Stand with your feet hip-width apart. Hinge at the hips and push your butt back. Lower until your thighs are parallel to the floor. Then press your feet down to explode off the floor and jump as high as you can. Allow your knees to bend 45 degrees when you land, and then immediately drop back down into a squat, and jump again.
3. Kettle Bell Deadlifts
Grab the kettlebell with both hands. Let the weight hang between your knees. Focus on keeping your shoulders pressed down, away from your ears, and slightly internally rotate your elbows in order to engage your shoulder scapula (shoulder blades) so that you are using your back and shoulders to help lift the weight. Keeping your core tight, push through your heels, and lift the bell, straightening your knees first, keeping your back flat, and then reversing the hinge at your hip to stand up the rest of the way.
4. Banded Crab Walk
Place the band above the knees. Squat low and maintain the depth for as long as you can.
5. Bench Step Ups
Place a bench in front of you. Hold a pair of dumbbells and stand facing the bench. Bring your right knee up and step up onto the bench. Placing all of the effort in your right leg, bring your body up into a standing position on the bench. Slowly lower yourself to the starting position and switch legs.
