This lower body workout for beginners is the sequel to the ‘Shy Girl’ full body workout. ‘Shy girl workouts refer to the ability to perform an entire session in one location of the gym in the hopes of overcoming gym anxiety.
After the overwhelming success of my first ‘Shy Girl Workout’ post and knowing how useful it was for many first-time gym-goers, I’ve decided to design a second workout for those who loved this workout style so much!
This is a lower body workout with particular emphasis on the glutes because, in all honesty, they’re my absolute favourite muscle group to work!
Not only is building strong glutes popular for aesthetic reasons but there are so many other health benefits such as improved running technique, posture, athletic performance as well as reduced lower back pain!
So if any one of these awesome benefits sounds appealing to you, then definitely try out this beginner lower body workout.
Why would a ‘Shy Girl’ workout be beneficial to me?
Before I hand over the new ‘Shy Girl’ beginner lower body workout to you, let’s take a quick recap of the advantages of working out in one location in the gym.
It’s great for beginners
This lower body workout is designed specifically for beginners. This means that I have included exercises that are both beginner-friendly and considered fundamental movement patterns so that you can develop your ability and confidence in performing these exercises.
This will benefit you in the long run since you’ll already have strong foundations in place as you move on to more advanced workouts or different variations of these lower body exercises in the future.
It will help overcome gym anxiety
What I love most about the ‘Shy Girl’ aspect of this workout is that you can focus entirely on yourself without moving constantly around the gym.
This can massively help an individual who experiences gym anxiety since there is less worry about using new and odd-looking pieces of equipment, as well as the fact that they’ll feel less ‘in the spotlight’ when staying in one location of the gym!
This enables the individual to familiarise themselves with their gym surroundings, with the hope that one day they may have the confidence to explore the gym a little bit more.
It saves time
Finally, ‘Shy Girl’ workouts are great for those who just want to get in and back out of the gym in as little time as possible.
The minimal equipment required to complete this workout means there is zero waiting for machines involved, therefore helping you stay efficient with the time you spend in the gym!
Beginner Lower Body ‘Shy Girl’ Workout
First things first, find the perfect spot in the gym for your lower body workout to take place.
Grab a pair of light-moderately heavy dumbbells depending on your fitness level and get to work!
As with the full body ‘Shy Girl’ workout, you can save this beginner lower body workout by clicking the download link under the image.
There’s also a full description of the workout below if you’re unsure about any of the exercises. Good luck!❤️
Detailed Instructions for the Beginner Lower Body Workout
Warm Up
Before we begin the main portion of the workout, we must warm up and prepare our muscles for the upcoming resistance training session! This reduces the risk of injury and helps improve our athletic performance during the workout.
- Heart-raising activity:
- Star Jumps for 1 minute,
- High Knees for 30 seconds, and
- Jogging on the Spot for another minute
2. Dynamic stretches:
- Leg swings (30 seconds per leg)
Instructions: Hold onto a wall or sturdy surface for balance. Swing your leg forward and backward in a controlled motion to loosen up your hip joints and stretch your hamstrings.
- ‘Open and close the gate’ hip openers (30 seconds per leg)
Instructions: Lift your knee up and rotate it outwards, like you’re “opening” a gate, then reverse the motion to “close” it. This helps improve your hip mobility.
- 10 Bodyweight squats
Instructions: Keep your feet shoulder-width apart, engage your core, and lower down as if sitting in a chair. Push through your heels to stand back up. This activates your glutes and warms up your legs.
The Workout
Now let’s move on to the ‘Shy Girl’ lower body workout for beginners!
To set up, all you need is a gym mat and a pair of light-moderate dumbbells depending on your fitness level (around 5kg is normally a good place to start but feel free to try more or less weight if this suits you!).
Exercise 1: Dumbbell Romanian Deadlift (8-10 reps | 3 sets | 1.5 mins rest between sets)
Instructions: Hold a dumbbell in each hand, stand with feet hip-width apart. Hinge at the hips, lowering the weights toward the ground while keeping your back straight. Squeeze your glutes as you stand back up.
Exercise 2: Reverse Lunges (Dumbbell Optional) (8-10 reps | 3 sets | 1.5 mins rest between sets)
Instructions: Step back into a lunge, lowering your back knee towards the ground. Push through the front foot to return to standing. Optionally hold dumbbells at your sides for extra resistance.
Exercise 3: Glute Bridges (Dumbbell Optional) (10-12 reps | 3 sets | 1.5 mins rest between sets)
Instructions: Lie on your back with your feet flat and knees bent. Lift your hips towards the ceiling, squeezing your glutes at the top, then lower down. You can place a dumbbell on your hips for added weight.
Exercise 4: Dumbbell Sumo Squats (10-12 reps | 3 sets | 1.5 mins rest between sets)
Instructions: Stand with feet wider than shoulder-width apart, toes pointed slightly out. Hold a dumbbell with both hands between your legs. Lower down, keeping your chest up, then push through your heels to stand up.
Exercise 5: Donkey Kicks (12-15 reps | 2 sets | 1 min rest between sets)
Instructions: Get on all fours, keeping your back flat. Lift one leg, bending at the knee, and push your heel towards the ceiling. Lower and repeat on the other leg.
🔥Burnout: Jump Squats (10-12 reps | 1 set)
Instructions: Stand with feet shoulder-width apart. Lower into a squat, then explosively jump up, reaching your arms overhead. Land softly and go straight into the next rep. This final move will give your legs a great finishing burn!
Cool Down
Congratulations on completing the ‘Shy Girl’ lower body beginner workout!
All that’s left to do is carry out a few stretches to start the recovery process for the muscles you just worked.
There are only 3 stretches to complete, making the cool-down last only a few minutes (so there’s absolutely no excuse for skipping this final step!).
- Standing Hamstring Stretch (Touching Toes) (20-30 seconds)
Instructions: Stand tall, then slowly reach down towards your toes, feeling a stretch along the back of your legs. Hold and breathe deeply.
- Standing Quadriceps Stretch (20-30 seconds per leg)
Instructions: Stand on one leg, grab your other ankle and pull it towards your glutes. Feel the stretch in the front of your thigh. Hold onto a wall if you need help with balance.
- Child’s Pose (20-30 seconds)
Instructions: Kneel on the floor, sit back on your heels, and extend your arms forward. Lower your forehead to the ground and relax. This is a gentle stretch for your lower back and hips, helping you cool down and relax.
FAQs
Beginners in lower body resistance training should focus on simple yet effective exercises such as bodyweight (or dumbbell) squats, lunges, and glute bridges. These help develop foundational strength, enabling the individual to master the basics before moving on to more complex exercises.
A beginner should start a lower body workout routine using light weights or performing simple bodyweight movements to allow them to practice good technique before moving on to heavier lifts. They can use mirrors or record themselves to check their form if they do not have a personal trainer to assist them.
Total beginners should aim to do no more than 2 lower body workouts a week, with at least 1 day of rest between each session. This allows their muscles to sufficiently recover between each session.
A yoga mat, resistance bands, and a pair of light dumbbells are common gym equipment for beginners. The resistance bands and dumbbells can be used to add more resistance to exercises like squats and lunges.
Even if you don’t have much equipment, you can still target and challenge your leg muscles by ensuring you complete bodyweight movements with excellent technique and good mind-muscle connection.
You can also incorporate popular progressive overload techniques that make your muscles work harder such as lowering yourself slowly or adding pauses at the bottom of your squats to increase the tension during the exercise.
This post contains the second workout in the ‘Shy Girl workout series’: a gym-based lower body beginner workout. Don’t forget to save the workout for later!
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