If You Want to Work Out Four Days a Week: Lower-Body Routine 1

The workout below is for 6 Weeks to Stronger, SELF’s new six-week workout plan geared toward building serious strength. Check out the full program right here for the rest of your workouts and more important info!

For your second workout of the week, we’re going to move away from an upper-body focus and instead show your lower-body some love.

Your main move (and another straight set) for Workout 2 will be the Romanian deadlift, a lower-body classic that hits your hamstrings and glutes. It’s also a great one to go heavy with—whether you’re using a barbell or a pair of dumbbells—and the lower rep range we’ve programmed really allows you to go big. And thanks to the longer rest period, your muscles will be ready to do it all again for the rest of your sets. (For more general info about the program, take a look at our primer here.)

Then you’ll be on to a superset filled with more leg-specific moves: The reverse lunge, which primarily works your quads, and the glute bridge, which, as its name suggests, hits your glutes most of all. Even though you’ll be alternating between exercises here, your muscles won’t get too fatigued, because one primarily works the front of your lower body and the other your backside.

You’ll end your first leg day with two exercises that hit the smaller parts of your glutes—your hip abductors, which make up your side-butt. Strong hip abductors help stabilize you when running, which can help ward off injury, and they can also assist you with your big compound lifts.

Ready to get started? Take a look at the complete directions below and get (dead)lifting!

The Workout

What you need: Dumbbells (or a barbell if you prefer). You may also want an exercise mat for comfort.

Exercises

Straight Set:

• Romanian Deadlift

Superset 1:

• Reverse Lunge
• Glute Bridge

Superset 2:

• Step Down
• Standing Fire Hydrant

Directions

• For Straight Set, complete 5 to 8 reps. Rest for 2 to 3 minutes. Complete 4 sets total.
• For Superset 1, complete 8 to 12 reps of the first exercise; rest for 60 to 90 seconds before going on to the second exercise. Rest for 60 to 90 seconds before repeating from the top. Complete this superset 3 times total.
• For Superset 2 complete 12 to 15 reps of the first exercise. Rest for 30 to 60 seconds before going on to the second exercise. Rest 30 to 60 seconds, and then repeat from the top. Complete this superset 3 times total.