Sofia’s Legs & Abs

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Sofia’s Legs & Abs
By: Matt Heringer

As requested Sofia, here is your Legs and Ab routine that will flatten the stomach and have quarters bouncing off the backside. Follow the exercises in pairs - for example, squats and crunches, lunges and obliques. This has many benefits-

1) You can get much more done in a shorter amount of time and 2) It burns more calories and gets rid of the jiggle in the wiggle. Follow this up with some basic nutrition, and the little "extra" you might think you have will melt off.

Warm-up: 10 minutes on the stair stepper.

1A)  Single Leg Half Squats - With one foot on a bench behind you, squat half way down. When you get to the top, squeeze the butt.

1B)  Roman Chair Knee Lifts - Pull your knees to your chest. If this is too easy, keep your legs straight and lift.

2A)  Mule Kicks - Standing up, kick the leg straight back and squeeze the butt.

2B)  Side Lifts - .Lay on your side with the forearm on the ground and lift the center of the body up (hips).

3A)  Squat Jumps - With the hands across the chest, squat half way down and jump as high as you can.

3B)  Scissors - With the hands under the lower back, lift the legs six inches off the ground. Open and close your legs, crossing the right leg over the left leg when they come together. Repeat crossing the left leg over the right.

4A)  Side Lunges - Do a lunge to the side and touch your toes making sure to keep the chest up and the butt down.

4B) Bridges - Get on your hands and knees, lift the right arm and left leg straight out. Then switch sides.

Now here are the questions I get most when I give out this workout -  1) Are you crazy? No, I’m not crazy. 2) Won't my legs bulk up? No, you’re not going to bulk up the legs. There are two fundamental reasons for this. First, women lack the hormonal structures to build lots of muscle, and second, these exercises will focus more on the butt and the hamstrings more than anywhere else. 

Also, get out of the mind set that 3 sets is all you have to do. There is nothing written anywhere in the training manuals that says 3 sets of 10 is the golden rule. You may need to go past this and start with 5 sets, and do anywhere from 15 to 20 reps for the legs, and 30 to 40 reps for the abs.

And finally, finish off with another 10-15 minutes on the Stairmaster or walk on the tread mill with an incline of 7% or more. This workout will certainly get the legs burning. The old saying, “feel the burn” is exactly what you want. The "burn" is lactic acid and lactic acid literally burns fat.  I won’t get into the physiology of it, but trust me it works. And remember, the fastest way to a flat, tone stomach is lots of good cardio! A reduction of body fat in the abdominal region is what makes the abs flat, not thousands of crunches. In fact, a reduction of body fat overall is going to give you the sleek toned look you are going for. Good luck!