The workout below is for Day 10 of the SELF 2022 Spring Challenge. Check out the full four-week workout program right here. Or go to the workout calendar here. If you’d like to sign up to receive daily emails for this challenge, you can do that here.
We bet your upper body is feeling it from yesterday’s circuit, so for today, we’re going to bring your lower body into the mix with a smoking inner-thigh and butt workout.
This challenge is all about building mastery over certain movements and feeling comfortable with them. So for today’s lower-body strength routine, you’ll recognize some of the major moves here, like the Romanian deadlift and the sumo squat. But we’re also introducing a few new players here, some of which are variations of moves you’ve seen before, and one which is completely new.
Starting with variations of moves you’re already familiar with, we have the hip thrust and the lateral lunge. The hip thrust is a phenomenal exercise for your glutes and your hamstrings, and it’s pretty similar to the glute bridge. With a glute bridge, though, your shoulders and back rest on the floor, while with a hip thrust, both are elevated on a bench (or your couch or your ottoman, if you are working out at home). Elevating your back and shoulders provides a greater range of motion, which makes the exercise a bit more challenging than the glute bridge—and really smokes your butt muscles, especially the largest one, the gluteus maximus.
Next we have the lateral lunge. You’ve already lunged before in this challenge with the reverse lunge. But instead of stepping your foot backward, you’ll be stepping to the side. So along with working your quads, you’ll add an extra challenge to your inner-thigh muscles, or your hip adductors, and your hip abductors, the small muscles that work your side butt.
Speaking of inner-thigh muscles, we have a new exercise in this lower-body strength routine that really hones in on them: the side-lying inner-thigh raise. This is a bodyweight-only exercise, but you don’t need added weight to really feel this one. This is a small, controlled movement, so really make sure your mind-muscle connection is on target.
This is a complete lower-body routine, and these five exercises are more than enough for a quality workout! But if you want to add more fire to the mix after this inner thigh and butt workout, stick around for our bonus finisher: It’s 60 seconds of a crab walk to jump, which is really going to burn out your glutes.
Quick note here: You have a rest day on schedule for tomorrow, so if you discover you have a little extra gas in the tank as you go through this routine, you can up the challenge by performing an extra round, shooting for a few more reps, or taking on that 60-second bonus move finisher.
WORKOUT DIRECTIONS
Aim for 8 to 15 reps of each exercise. Rest for up to 30 seconds between exercises. Rest for 1 to 2 minutes after each round. Complete 2 to 4 rounds total.
EXERCISES
- Sumo Squat
- Romanian Deadlift
- Lateral Lunge
- Hip Thrust
- Side-Lying Inner-Thigh Raise
BONUS MOVE
After your last circuit, try the bonus move for 60 seconds.
- Crab Walk to Jump
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Katie Thompson1 Sumo Squat
- Stand with your feet wider than shoulder-width apart, toes turned out, hands at your sides. (You can also clasp them in front of your chest if you prefer.)
- Engage your core and keep your chest lifted and back flat as you shift your weight into your heels. Push your hips back and bend your knees to lower into a squat as you extend your arms forward.
- Drive through your heels to stand and squeeze your glutes at the top for 1 rep.
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Katie Thompson2 Romanian Deadlift
- Stand with your feet hip-width apart, knees slightly bent. Hold a dumbbell in each hand at your thighs.
- Hinge at your hips, bending slightly at your knees. Push your butt way back and keep your back flat. Your torso should be almost parallel to the floor, and the weights should reach your shins.
- Keeping your core tight, push through your heels to stand up straight. Keep the weights close to your shins as you pull.
- Pause at the top and squeeze your butt. This is 1 rep.
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Katie Thompson3 Lateral Lunge
- Stand with your feet together and hands either on your hips or clasped at chest height.
- Take a big step out to the right with your right foot. Hinge forward at the hips, push your butt back, and bend your right knee to lower into a lunge.
- Pause for a second, and then push off your right foot to return to the starting position. This is 1 rep.
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Katie Thompson4 Hip Thrust
- Sit on the floor with your back to a bench (or a sturdy step or even your couch). Bend your knees and place your feet flat on the ground, hip-distance apart. Rest your upper back on the edge of the bench and place your dumbbells on your lap. (You can use one or two, depending on size and comfort of the weights.)
- Drive through your heels to lift your hips up toward the ceiling, keeping your upper back in place against the bench.
- Pause and squeeze your glutes at the top.
- In a slow and controlled motion, lower your butt back toward the ground. This is 1 rep.
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Katie Thompson5 Side-Lying Inner-Thigh Raise
- Lie on one side with your legs out straight and stacked on top of each other and your torso flat on the mat or propped up on your forearm.
- Cross your top leg over your bottom leg, bending at the knee so that your top foot is in front of your bottom knee.
- Lift your bottom leg toward the ceiling in a slow and controlled movement. Keep your torso stable throughout. Return to the starting position. This is 1 rep.
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Katie Thompson6 Crab Walk to Jump
- Stand tall with your feet hip-width apart and core engaged.
- Send your hips back and bend the knees to drop into a quarter squat.
- Staying in the squat position, step to the right with your right foot and allow your left to follow. Take two more steps to the right with your right foot.
- Explode up, jumping and extending your legs fully, sending your arms behind you to help with momentum.
- Land lightly on the balls of your feet and immediately drop into a squat again. Repeat on the other side. This is 1 rep.
- Continue to alternate directions.
