We get it, you’re pressed for time. Busyness is the 21st-century plague that none of us want to admit to, but none of us can get away from. That being said, if your goal is to build a strong, durable body, then skipping leg day is a big no, no matter how busy you are.
While full-body workouts are probably the answer for the time poor gent (that way even if you miss a session or two, no particular body part is missed out), it still pays dividends to have an express session in your back pocket for a variety of goals.
Enter our 15 minute, dumbbell only leg day.
An ‘AMRAP’ (as many reps as possible) circuit that combines squats, lunges, carries and deadlifts into a leg-building supercut that promises to light up your quads, hamstrings, glutes and core – while testing your grip strength and grittiness for good measure.
After a thorough warm-up, set a timer for 15 minutes and work through as many high quality rounds as possible of the following quad-killing crucible. Rest as necessary to keep your form tight, but remember you’re on the clock here, so keep it moving.
1. Front Squat x 10
Begin by cleaning your dumbbells onto front of your shoulders (A). From here, drop into a front squat, until your thighs pass parallel to the ground (B). D don’t go out too hot on these; you’ve got a long way to go
2. Walking Lunge x 20m
After your final squat, drop your 'bells to your sides and get ready to lunge across the gym (A). Keeping your chest up at all times, take a long step forward with one leg – bending your front knee until your back knee touches the ground (B). Stand up explosively. Pause and repeat with the other leg, moving forward. Turn around at the 10m mark or continue on if you have the space.
3. Romanian Deadlift x 10
Lunges complete, and dumbbells still in hand, lets target those hamstrings (A). With a slight bend in the knees, push your hips back and slowly lower the 'bells towards the ground (B), while pinching your shoulders back and maintaining a flat back. When you feel a stretch in your hamstrings, pause and explosively return to and upright position.
4. Farmers Carry x 20m
If your grip will allow it, keep moving (A). Let your arms hang freely at your sides, take a deep breath into your core and begin a fast, deliberate march (B). When you reach the 10m mark, spin around – unless you have room to go all the way.
5. Dumbbell Deadlift x 10
Finally, drop your dumbbells to the floor just outside of your feet, hinge down and grip them with a flat back and neutral spine (A). Engage your lats and stand upright, ‘pushing the ground away’ with your feet (B). Your arms should be hanging straight throughout this movement. Push through the burn to make it through to the next round.
With almost 18 years in the health and fitness space as a personal trainer, nutritionist, breath coach and writer, Andrew has spent nearly half of his life exploring how to help people improve their bodies and minds.
As our fitness editor he prides himself on keeping Men’s Health at the forefront of reliable, relatable and credible fitness information, whether that’s through writing and testing thousands of workouts each year, taking deep dives into the science behind muscle building and fat loss or exploring the psychology of performance and recovery.
Whilst constantly updating his knowledge base with seminars and courses, Andrew is a lover of the practical as much as the theory and regularly puts his training to the test tackling everything from Crossfit and strongman competitions, to ultra marathons, to multiple 24 hour workout stints and (extremely unofficial) world record attempts.
You can find Andrew on Instagram at @theandrew.tracey, or simply hold up a sign for ‘free pizza’ and wait for him to appear.
