Alright party people whose ready to work those legs?!

I hope you raised your hand on that one because today I’m sharing a short, sharp lower body workout that you can do anywhere, anytime in just 20 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 –

6 basic exercises – Squats – Jump Squats – Step Ups into a Reverse Lunge – Walking Lunges and Alternating Jumping Lunges we will do 10 reps of each exercise 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. 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.

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 –

20 Minute Lower Body Plyometric Workout

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 onto our bonus smoothie recipe . . .

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.

How does a nice tall, light, fresh, delicious, nutritious, creamy, dreamy, subtly sweet peach and mango smoothie sound?

Let me tell you, if you think this smoothie sounds good wait until you taste it!

The combination of sweet peaches, tart, tangy coconut yogurt and mellowed out mango tastes like magic!

This peach and mango smoothie really is simply divine, the perfect way to refuel and re-energize that beautiful body of yours and treat yo’ self on this fabulous Friday.

Oh and I should probably mention that not only is our peach and mango smoothie seriously delicious, it also happens to be vegan, dairy free and paleo friendly – so much to love I tell you ♥♥♥

Peach & Mango Smoothie
{Vegan. Gluten Free & Paleo Friendly}
Makes 1 all natural, light, fresh, thick, creamy, delicious, nutritious, subtly sweet peach and mango smoothie.

Ingredients –

1/3 cup coconut or Greek style yogurt

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

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

1/2 cup diced peaches – I used frozen but fresh will work just fine

1/2 cup diced mango – I used frozen but fresh will work just fine

1 teaspoon of vanilla

1/4-1/2  cup of ice – more or less to desired consistency.

For serving –

Coconut Flakes

A sprig or two of fresh mint

Method –

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

2 – To serve, pour into a chilled glass/mason jar or bowl and top with shredded coconut and fresh mint if desired.

Note – You could also add in a scoop of protein powder (vanilla or unflavoured would work really well in this recipe) and some great lakes gelatin for an extra boost of protein if you’re into that kinda thing – do what you feel baby 🙂

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;

and have yourself a killer day 👊🏼 xoxo

_________________________________________

Question of the day –

What workouts are you loving lately?!

Feel free to share recipes, or links to your fave recipes in the comments below or on the Facebook page and please for the love of all that is good in this world when you do make this smoothie (or any of the recipes you find on this blog of mine) go ahead and snap a pic and share it either on the Facebook page, or tag me on twitter or Instagram. Sharing is caring remember.

Do it, do it You know you want to 🙂

__________________________________________