Happy Friday from Barcelona! I’ve been traveling a lot lately and am pretty happy to be staying put for the next couple of weeks. I have a constant internal struggle of wanting to explore as much of Europe as possible, then on the flip side, spending time in Spain and becoming more of a local. Not to mention that travel is a pricey hobby and all these trips are adding up.
So while I’ve got more travel on the brain, for the next few weeks, Barcelona it is! Next month we’ll be in the US for two weeks (back-to-back weddings which is great, across the country from each other which is less great), and then back at the European travels. More planning to come!
Friday’s Fitness: Lower Body Burn
I’ve been getting into a good workout routine while I’m in Barcelona, it’s still a mix of Kayla’s BBG and workouts on my own. Today I’m sharing a lower body workout (full of squats!), that I did earlier this week. I started my workout with a 30 minute pyramid run. On the treadmill I started at a manageable steady pace and gradually increased my speed until about minute 15, then began decreasing my speed until I hit the steady pace I started at.
Afterwards, I hopped off the treadmill and onto the floor to get in some lower body focused work. The below routine took me just over 15 minutes to complete. The time will vary based on how long it takes you to do all your squats and other moves.
Pin this workout for when you need a quick routine that your legs will definitely be feeling.
Lower Body Burn Helpful Hints:
- When it says “20 second squat hold”, that means you should go to your lowest squat point and hold it steady for 20 seconds. If your knees hurt, it means you’ve gone too low. You want to feel challenged but not in pain during this move. Remember your proper squat form, sit back into your heels and keep your chest lifted.
- “Squat pulses” are when you go to your lowest squat position, raise up 1 inch, then go back down to the lowest point. You’ll repeat this 20 times in the first part and 10 times in the later part.
- For the weighted squats, hold a dumbbell or medicine ball at chest level. If you don’t have any weights, a water jug or wine bottle can do the trick 😉
- For the weighted squat hold and the weighted squat pulses, do the same thing you did in the first part of the series, but continue to hold the weight at chest level.
- Each set ends with a row. In round 1 the row is 1 minute, in round 2 the row is 2 minutes and in round 3 the row is 3 minutes. If you’re new to rowing, keep in mind that 60% of the effort should be coming from your legs. When you push off the base, really press your feet into it and feel your legs propel you back.
- If you don’t have a rower, you can sub in running on the treadmill. If you don’t have a tread, run up and down the stairs, jump rope, or do any other cardio move that will get your heard rate up.
I’d love to hear what you think of the workout. Were your legs shaking? Let me know in the comments & have a great weekend!
