How to get an effective lower body workout from home using just what you have in your living room

There are plenty of ways to get your sweat on right from your living room—no equipment (or very little equipment) needed. Your body provides you with everything you need to get an efficient, effective workout. Bodyweight workouts are becoming increasingly necessary due to social distancing and quarantine. They’re great because they teach you how to control your body with balance and proper form. Bodyweight exercises allow you to identify your weaknesses, helping direct what you should focus on during future workouts.

The Basic Lower Body Bodyweight Routine

Here's a breakdown of what you'll do during the Basic Lower Body Bodyweight Routine:

1. Air Squats (Perform 20 repetitions and repeat for a total of 4 sets.)
2. Front Lunges (Perform 20 repetitions with your right leg and then 20 repetitions with your left leg and repeat for a total of 4 sets.)
3. Lateral Lunges (Perform 15 repetitions with your right leg and then 15 repetitions with your left leg and repeat for a total of 4 sets.)
4. Hip Lifts (Perform 20 repetitions and repeat for a total of 4 sets.)
5. One-Legged Romanian Dead Lifts (Perform 10 repetitions with your right leg and then 10 repetitions with your left leg and repeat for a total of 4 sets.)

Exercise 1 of 5: Air Squats

Perform 20 repetitions and repeat for a total of 4 sets.

Stand with your feet hip-width apart with your toes pointed slightly outward. Your arms should be hanging loose by your side or behind your head. Then engage your core muscles and push out your chest slightly by pulling your shoulder blades towards each other. Bend your knees and squat down as if you were sitting into a chair. Keep your weight on your heels and keep your core tight. Your eventual goal will be to touch your glutes to the back of your calves but if you can only get to parallel right now, that’s fine. Make an effort to keep your knees externally rotated (don’t let them collapse inward). As you lower down, you can either raise your arms straight in front of you or keep them bent in front of your chest. Focus on keeping your torso upright and core tight. Straighten your legs and squeeze your butt to come back up, lowering your arms back to your side.

Exercise 2 of 5: Front Lunges

Perform 20 repetitions with your right leg and then 20 repetitions with your left leg and repeat for a total of 4 sets.

Step forward with one leg, lowering your hips until both knees are bent at about a 90-degree angle. Make sure your front knee is directly above your ankle, not pushed out too far, and make sure your other knee doesn't touch the floor. Keep the weight in your heels as you push back up to the starting position. Keep your upper body straight, with your shoulders back and relaxed and chin up. Always engage your core.

Exercise 3 of 5: Lateral Lunges

Perform 15 repetitions with your right leg and then 15 repetitions with your left leg and repeat for a total of 4 sets.

Stand with feet together and hands clasped in front of chest. Take a large step out to the right, immediately lowering into a lunge, sinking hips back and bending right knee to track directly in line with right foot. Keep left leg straight but not locked, with both feet pointing forward. Push off the right foot to straighten right leg, step right foot next to left, and return to starting position.

Exercise 4 of 5: Hip Lifts

Perform 20 repetitions and repeat for a total of 4 sets.

Begin with your shoulders on a flat surface such as your couch or a chair and with your knees bent, arms straight beside you, feet flat on the ground. Engage your core. Press into your heels to lift your hips up until your body is a straight line between your knees and your shoulders.

Exercise 5 of 5: One-Legged Romanian Dead Lifts (With or Without Milk Jugs)

Perform 10 repetitions with your right leg and then 10 repetitions with your left leg and repeat for a total of 4 sets.

A Romanian deadlift is a variation where you start at the finish position of the classic deadlift (standing tall, hips locked out), and then bend your hips back, allowing your knees to bend until you feel your hamstrings stretch. The single-leg Romanian deadlift is simply the unilateral version of that movement.