Try this bodyweight leg workout if you're short on time but keen to get a sweat on

Ready? Set? Sweat.

Next up in our workout series? The best bodyweight leg workout you can do any place, any time, according to  certified trainer (NASM) and creator of the Fit Body App, Anna Victoria.

We bought you the best glute workout, best lower body workout, and best full body workout – but what about if you want a leg-specific sweat session that doesn’t require any workout equipment or resistance bands?

That’s where this quick circuit comes in – a sweaty high intensity interval training blast that promises to get your heart rate up and the burn real.

While HIIT workouts won’t be for everyone – personal trainers advise you opt for a low impact workout if you have sensitive joints or are prone to injury – they do offer great bang for your buck if you’re short on time but want to get a good session in.

Not your thing? Our guides to yoga poses, Reformer Pilates, and Barre exercises offer other low impact alternatives. Ready? Set? Sweat.

This is the best bodyweight leg workout to try tonight

Length: 12 and a half minutes.

Rounds: Do each move for 60 seconds, and each of the two circuits two times in total.

Equipment: None needed.

1. Squats

2. Squat Jumps

3. Single Leg Glute Bridge

Alternative: Glute bridge.

4. Lunges

5. Backwards Lunges

6. Split Squat Jump

Rest for 30 seconds then repeat this circuit once more. 

Why should I try a bodyweight leg workout? 

Fun fact: while full bodyworkouts offer the whole shebang, leg workouts – when carried out correctly – promise to engage the majority of your major muscle groups, helping to not only injury-proof your body, but boost day-to-day healthy movement patterns, too.

Not only that, but movement – especially mindful movement–  has been proven to boost your mental health, as our explainer on the link between exercise and mental health shows.

Winner, winner.

Bodyweight workouts get a bad rep, though…

Sure, they might not involve lifting hundreds of pounds of weights (the name literally means, using only the weight of your body), but bodyweight workouts, in Victoria’s opinion, “should be a part of every person’s training regiment, regardless of fitness goals.”

This is largely because they’re simple, easy to incorporate, and great for cardio fitness, too.

Case in point: they can basically be done anywhere. Time poor Mum or eternally busy office worker who’s keen to fit a workout in but feels like they never have time? A bit like Joe Wicks workouts, they’re ideal for squeezing in while your baby naps or you’ve got a short (emphasis on the short) period of time free.

Secondly, as bodyweight exercises aren’t super complicated, they’re a great way to perfect your form. You can’t go far wrong with simple moves like lunges and splits, and practicing them regularly in bodyweight form means that if you were ever to take up weight training and add weights to a session, you’d be confident how to do the moves beforehand.

Lastly, bodyweight workouts allow you the option to challenge your body in new, non-traditional ways. “Think times under tension, isometric holds, or adding a plyometric component,” shares Victoria. Do note, though, if you’re looking to seriously improve your fitness over time, you’ll need to be adding an element of progressive overload to your sessions – that is, you’ll need to be lifting heavier, running faster, or challenging your body in new ways.

Want to take things up a notch? Add a resistance band to really get your glutes and hamstrings fired up.

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