Alright party people, today I’m sharing one short, sharp lower body workout that you can do anywhere, anytime in just 15 minutes – no equipment required, are you in?

You guys know how how much I love, love, love my lower body workouts, The lower body is where your powerhouse muscles are (I’m looking at you quads, glutes and hamstrings) which means you get a serious bang for your workout butt, I mean buck 😉

Your heart rate will be pumping, endorphin’s flowing ah how I love that post workout rush!

So, here’s what we are going to do –

3 variations of lunges – Forward Lunge – Lateral Lunge with a lateral leg raise and a Reverse Lunge – we will do 8 reps of each lunge (8 per leg) then take one full minutes rest and repeat the entire sequence through for a total of 3 rounds, got it?

Nothing complicated, basic movements done with good form for a short but effective lower body workout.

We will move from one exercise to the next with minimal/no rest in between then once we have completed all reps of each exercises we will take 1 delicious minute of rest and recovery – catch your breath, grab a drink then we get straight back into it and repeat for a total of 3 rounds, deal?

Now, for those of you who are just getting started or may not have access to a gym of any kind of weights you can absolutely do with workout without any added weight and let me tell you, you will be feeling it.

Not even kidding, this was me the day my first attempt at this workout –

Just because you’re “only” using your body-weight as resistance doesn’t not make this an easy workout. Your quads and glutes will be burning by the final round and you will definitely be feeling the effects of it tomorrow I assure you.

You have been warned 😉

Body-weight workouts are great for those who are just starting out and they are also really effective in checking form which is so, so important

For our fully functioning/more advanced lifters who might be looking to make things a little more challenging by all means, feel free to add some weights – grab yourself a weapon of choice – a set of dumbbells, a barbell, kettlebells, some resistance bands or any combination you like. Make sure you choose something appropriate for your strength but, don’t be afraid to challenge yourself.

Although, we want quality not quantity, always! Never compromise your form, ever! If your form starts to fail your done, got it?

Take your time, concentrate, focus and breathe through each and every exercise. You are strong, you are amazing, you have big energy! You’ve totally got this!

And because nothing makes a workout challenge more fun than getting a buddy to join you. Why not grab your BFF or a family member or your fave workmate and have them join you, power in numbers baby!

Don’t forget to come back and let me know how you did once you’re done. Either leave me a message in the comments below, or you can give me a shout on the Facebook page or tag me (@EmSwanston) on Twitter , or Instagram (@emsswanston) . I mean it, I wanna hear how you did!

Ok enough chit chat time to work –

15 Minute Lunge Fest

As always make sure you are nice an warm before you start your workout – Run on the spot, do jumping jacks, jump rope, dance around your living room, anything to get you warm then it’s time to get serious.

Finish with a nice little cool down and stretch, maybe take a walk or something anything to help bring your heart rate down. Finish with a few of your fave stretches. Please don’t skip the stretch people, its like dessert for the body.

Now for our post workout refuel –  Smoothies are a great option for your post workout refuel, they are so quick and easy to prepare and a great option for those of us who don’t have much of an appetite post workout.

It’s so important to nourish and re-energize your body post workout, you want to make sure  you give those muscles some fuel so that they can rebuild and repair themselves after working so hard.

Today I thought I would share another bonus smoothie recipe for us to enjoy because I’m seriously obsessed with them, I just can not get enough.

How does a nice tall, ice cold, delicious, nutritious, cake batter smoothie sound?

Not only does it look all kinds of fun ans festive but this bad boy will help refuel and re-energize that beautiful body of yours. It also happens to be vegan, dairy free and paleo friendly but, most importantly, it’s downright delicious.

Seriously you  guys this smoothie tastes like straight up cake batter, although it’s nowhere near as sweet but still, pretty close to the real deal if you ask me.

Feel free to add a scoop of your fave protein powder and/or a scoop of Great Lakes Gelatin for an extra boost of protein.

Cake Batter Smoothie
Makes 1 ice cold, creamy, dreamy, subtly sweet, fun and festive, delicious, nutritious smoothie

Ingredients –

1/3 cup coconut or Greek style yogurt (if using Greek yogurt I suggest adding 1/4 tsp of coconut extract)

1/2 cup unsweetened vanilla almond milk (or milk of choice)

1 teaspoon of vanilla

1 Tablespoon of maple syrup

1/2 an overripe banana (preferably pre-frozen)

1/2-1  cup of ice – more or less to taste

Optional but recommended for serving –

Sprinkles!!!!

Method –

1 – Place all ingredients into a blender and process until smooth and creamy.

If you want to add sprinkles to the rim of your glass you will need to do this before you pour your smoothie into it.

Simply pour your sprinkles onto a small plate, brush the edge of your glass with a little maple syrup then dip the rim into the plate of sprinkles and voila’ sprinkled rim for the win!

Or you could just add some sprinkles to the top of your smoothie and then eat them with a spoon for a nice, added crunch factor. Either way, sprinkles for everyone ♥

Enjoy xoxo

Don’t forget to give me a shout out when you’re done – hit me up in the comments below via the Facebook page on Twitter or on Instagram

Now go have yourself a killer day xoxo