Innovative Leg Day Exercises

If you are a frequent traveler like me, or have no equipment and still want to get leg day done, have no fear. There are so many leg and butt muscle burners that can help you get the shape and tone you need without any equipment. Here are a couple:

Donkey Kickbacks

They are called kickbacks so you don't simply kick to the side. Keep your upper body straight and stationary, and try to kick back at an angle just with your leg. Make sure the hips are not jutting up and down so you can really feel this in your bum. Do it for 20 seconds, and repeat 4 times on each side. 

Low Lunge Walks

I bet this doesn't look that tough until you do it. Keep your front leg stable on your heel, straighten your back leg, and lean forward with your fingers touching the floor. For one rep, bring your back knee to touch your front shin and place it back in its original position. Do this as fast as you can. Repeat that for 4 sets of 20 seconds each on each side. 

Cheers Eights & Weights!

Butt: Work on Your Glutes with a Bosu Ball

Deadlifts are great because they really work your glutes if they are done right. Many a day have a been in pain from deadlifting the day before. But I digress...

There are ways to build your balance, build core strength, and work on isolating your glute muscles at the same time. On of these ways is to do a one-legged deadlift on a bosu ball. It challenges your focus a lot. Note that it may be important to start with lighter weights and build up as your body gets used to the exercise. Why? Because it is tough to balance on one leg on an unstable surface, with a heavy dumbbell pulling you down.

Not sure what the heck I'm talking about? Watch the video below for more details.

Cheers Eights & Weights!

Leg Day Routine: Donkey Kicks, Supported Lunge, and Static Raised Lunges

Well, it's leg day somewhere always :) If you are looking for some new exercises to diversify your leg day routine, here are some. All you need for these is a chair, table, or stool. Do each of these for about 4 sets of 10 reps on each leg (that's 20 per set) to really burn those glute, quad, and hamstring muscles.

Cheers Eights & Weights!

Leg Day: Weighted Wide Deep Squats

Squats are pretty well-known, and easy to do. But varying your squats can help you target different muscles. Check out the video below for the form for wide squats with 10lb weights to work on that booty and those legs.

Cheers Eights & Weights!

Butt Workout: Modified Bridge with a Ball

You probably have done the regular bridge. Here's my twist on "the bridge". You'll need an exercise ball. How to do it: 

• Lay on your back with your hands straight beside you. 
• Lift your knees and bring your feet closer to your butt. 
• Open your knees and put the exercise ball between them.
• Squeeze the ball tight and use that energy to lift your butt off of the floor. 
• Keep squeezing your butt as you hold your hips up. 
• Try to hold your hips up for about 1 minute. 
• Hold your core tight the whole time. Then release back down. 

The lift works your glutes but holding the ball adds in more tension and works your inner thighs. This should burn!

Cheers Eights & Weights!

It's Leg Day! And We're All About Our Deadlifts :)

I try to incorporate many different kinds of deadlifts in my workouts, but the two in the video below are the ones I spend a lot of time on. Why? The first one really torches your ab and glutes, while the other one really torches your glutes. Try them today. Do about 3 sets of 15 reps of each, and do not skimp on the weights you use.

Cheers Eights & Weights!

March Booty Challenge!

Summer is approaching. That's right. If you follow me on Twitter, you know I say that almost every day. With summer comes fewer clothes, and 'poof!' all the junk food we've been eating suddenly starts to show. Well, not if we're prepared. How can we get prepared? Let's start with our booties.

Squats: How Low Can You Go?

Contrary to what you might think, this was not at all inspired by Ludacris' song. Okay, may be a little bit. A friend asked me this morning about proper squat form, and I thought about how many folks are doing the squat wrong without realizing it.

Donkey Kicks - Eights & Weights Video

You have not worked out your full body in the summer if you have not got your bum in order. And how do we help you do that? Make some bum toning videos!

The video below is the donkey kick. What does it involve, kick your legs like a donkey :) The form is pretty basic:

Kneel with your knees under your hips and your palms directly under your shoulders. Pick up one foot and kick back, using your butt to lift your leg straight backward. Keep your lower back straight (Tighten your abs to help you do this). As you extend your leg, also tighten your thigh muscles like you are trying to draw them close together. That works your inner thighs as well.

Try it at home and let us know what you think. See the video below for better detail:

Please note that you can put our videos together for a quick workout. So far, we've seen the pushup, the side plank with a twist, the squat, sit-ups, the roundhouse kick, the lunge, and the mountain climber. You can check out all our videos here: http://www.youtube.com/user/EightsandWeights. Your feedback is much appreciated.

Cheers Eights & Weights!

Proper Squat Form - Eights & Weights Video

I got a chance to make a video for my favorite exercise! Today, we're looking at the proper form for a squat. As you know, this exercise works out your bum, thighs, and even your core if done right. Here are a few points to note with the squat:

• Keep your knees behind your toes. If your knees are going beyond your toes, you're not working your bum as hard and you could hurt your joints.
• Keep your upper body as upright as possible with your shoulders down and core tight. You get a core workout if you do that as well.
• For balance, you can straighten your hands out as you lower in to the squat. Otherwise, keep your arms beside you.
• Squeeze your bum as you lower down and as you come up. You get an even better workout that way.

So I've told you how to do it, and now I'll show you how to do it. I put together the video below. Watch and enjoy.

Cheers Eights & Weights!

Eights & Weights Challenge: Squat Jump Tucks

It is summer, and we do like to work hard and fast to get our bodies in shape. So I thought I should challenge you to try another difficult exercise this week: The Squat Jump Tuck.

If you have knee troubles, you should respect your injury and probably not try these. If you don't, give it a shot and see how many you can do. This exercise is both cardio and strength working your butt, abs, thighs, and your legs. It works your abs because you are using your abs to lift your legs, not your upper body.

Alright, here it is. Images speak louder than words.

1. Start in a squat

2. Jump  with the power coming from your abs. As you jump, lift your legs up in the air keeping your upper body up, and tap your knees to your open palms. So it is like you're raising your lower body to meet your upper body.

3. Jump back down into a squat and repeat.

I can't get over the second image. I look like I'm literally on the wall behind me :) Let me know how it goes. 

Cheers Eights & Weights!

Plyometrics: Ski Jumps

So maybe it's the Insanity workout I've been doing, but I suddenly realized ski jumps are hard! In natural fashion, when I find a difficult exercise, I like to share with you guys :)

We have talked about some plyometric exercises in the past, and the basis behind this type of workout. Basically, the concept is to do cardio, but do it with power so you're both burning fat and building muscle. The ski jump is one of these types of exercises. It is really good for your butt, your legs, and even your abs because you use them to keep yourself up. 

So how does it work? If you've ever seen someone ski, it is that simple. You keep your upper body straight and your knees together as you squat and then jump from side to side. So stand, jump to the left into a squat, stand, and then jump to the right into a squat. As you squat, your arms should be swinging back like you're holding ski rods. Keep your abs tight and spring from your heels, not your upper body.

To make sure you are getting enough power as you jump from side to side, you may put an item in-between like in the picture above. It makes you work harder when you have something to focus on. That isn't a real ski jump, but I wanted to demonstrate the towel that she jumps over.

Was that confusing? I figured so I got you a video :) Watch and enjoy, incorporate into your workouts to build that beautiful bum, and then let me know how it goes.

Cheers Eights & Weights!

Photo credit: kcapture.wordpress.com

10 Minute Workout: Buns and Thighs

Interested in those short shorts or just want strong legs and a tush you could bounce a quarter off of? Well, you'll like today's workout. Continuing with our 10-minute series, this workout is quick and effective. Don't be fooled by the short period of time; you will feel your buns afterwards. 

Exercise TV does have videos available for free in some hotels as well, so if you are ever travelling and don't have a gym nearby, check your TV.

Cheers Eights & Weights!

Donkey Kicks

Back to our summer workout theme, we're toning those butts today. We have so many great butt exercises, and I wanted to share one with you today that you may not have seen. It's called the donkey kick. Try it out!

Cheers Eights & Weights!