Dr. McDougall's Online Discussion Board

I love cardio. Between running and hiking I do about 42 miles a week. I've been slacking on weight training and my legs and behind are getting flabby. Interested in hearing thoughts on exercises best for lower body.

I swear by squats and deadlifts, and oh I hate doing deadlifts, but they work.

Have you ever tried Callanetics? It's definitely a flab-buster!

Pull out my Les Mills Pump dvd's. Squats, deadlifts and lunges should do the trick.

katmatry wrote:Pull out my Les Mills Pump dvd's. Squats, deadlifts and lunges should do the trick.

Awesome! I've done the Les Mills Body Pump classes at the gym. They are brutal, but do you ever feel good after a workout. Enjoy!

Sit on weight bench. Stick one leg straight out. Get up all the way on one leg and back down, touching butt only a second before rising back up. Do 15 or so on one leg, then switch. Good for hams, quads and glutes.

Lie down face up. Position big swiss ball under heels, then raise your butt so you have a straight line from shoulders to heels. Raise one leg straight up into air. Keeping your bridge high, pull in ball with your one heel as far as possible, then roll slowly back out. Repeat to failure At all times, no saggy butt! This works core as well as hams. Your hands will be flat on the floor beside you during the exercise.

I like walking lunges too and Bulgarian squats (one foot on weight bench - other foot way out on floor - bend knee on front leg as much as possible) JoAnn

Kettlebells. In the 30 years I've been an exericiser, doing all kinds of stuff (even teaching "aerobics" in the 80's and 90's and personal training in the 2000's) kettlebells are the most effecient, effective, funnest overall toning and fat blasting workout I've ever done. You can get an amazing workout in only 20 min, 3 days/week. My butt never looked as good as when I am working out with them regularly.

Add in some small muscle toning like callenetics or ballet barre stuff, and you have a killer workout in only about 30 min. Then you can walk and hike for fun with more stamina and strength from the kettlebells. In fact, marathoners who train with kettlebells reduce their weekly mileage but increase their times dramatically, while extending their running career because of less wear and tear due to increased mileage. Kettlebells improve performance in all sports because of the unique, whole body, functional training results they deliver. Great stuff.

christianvegan wrote:Kettlebells. In the 30 years I've been an exericiser, doing all kinds of stuff (even teaching "aerobics" in the 80's and 90's and personal training in the 2000's) kettlebells are the most effecient, effective, funnest overall toning and fat blasting workout I've ever done. You can get an amazing workout in only 20 min, 3 days/week. My butt never looked as good as when I am working out with them regularly.

Add in some small muscle toning like callenetics or ballet barre stuff, and you have a killer workout in only about 30 min. Then you can walk and hike for fun with more stamina and strength from the kettlebells. In fact, marathoners who train with kettlebells reduce their weekly mileage but increase their times dramatically, while extending their running career because of less wear and tear due to increased mileage. Kettlebells improve performance in all sports because of the unique, whole body, functional training results they deliver. Great stuff.

I did kettle bell swings in the gym today. Holy cow, they are brutal, but awesome!