Erin Oprea, whose clients include Carrie Underwood, Maren Morris and Jana Kramer, is a celebrity trainer. Here, she provides 5 exercise moves to get stronger, leaner legs.
Today is leg day! I’ve got a great round of burners here that will have you feeling strong in no time. And believe me, I know legs; my clients are sporting some serious stems and it comes from consistency, hard work and variety! So, get pumped and push yourself through this amazing workout that I guide myself and clients through every day. Pro tip: this entire workout needs to be done 3 total times to complete!
Curtsy Lunge
Lunge back with your left leg, crossing it behind your right leg (as if you were doing a dramatic curtsy). Bend both knees until your right leg forms a 90-degree angle and bring your chest to your quad keeping your back flat as you do. Then drive through your right heel, come up part way, lift your back foot briefly from the ground, then return back into the curtsy lunge. Repeat 20 for each leg. You can use up to 20 lbs. to increase your difficulty but even without weight these will burn just fine.
Goblet Squat
Take your weight (10-20 lbs.) and hold it with both hands close to your chest with your feet about shoulder-width apart. Go down into a squat, keeping your hips back and squat low enough to touch your elbows to your knees and have your quads parallel to the floor. Don’t just lean over. Perform 15.
Squat Side Kick
Go down into a squat and as you come up, before standing fully, extend one leg out to your side so that your leg is squeezed tight and parallel to the ground. Go back down into the squat to repeat while never fully standing. Do 15 on each leg.
Cherry Pickers
With feet wider than shoulder width, go down into a deadlift, making sure to keep only a microbend in your knee (never locking it and never bending it into a squat). Keeping your back flat throughout the deadlift, slide the weight between your legs then stand squeezing your bottom. Repeat 15 times.
Go back into a reverse lunge then as you come up, drive hard through your front foot to get off the ground raising your knee as high as you can. Land softly straight back into the reverse lunge. Do 15 per leg.
