8-Week Bikini Ready Legs and Butt Program

Posted on by Posted in Strength Training 23 Comments

annak

Summer is just getting into full-swing, so what better way to get yourself bikini ready, than to start a serious lower body transformation program?  For all you ladies out there, getting a set of toned, tight legs, really isn’t that difficult.  All it takes is some dedication and a well-designed exercise program to take you from flab to fab.  The following program is designed to build lean muscle in your calves, quads, hamstrings, and glutes.  By using elements of an athletic training routine, we are able to significantly blast the muscle fibers in a way that traditional strength training cannot.

Think about it…athletes have pretty nice bodies, right?  It’s not coincidence. It’s the fact that these types of people use explosive plyometric training combined with strength training to failure.  Studies have shown that combining plyometric training with strength training is the best and fastest way to realize muscle gains.

Follow this program for 8 weeks and you are guaranteed to notice a serious change in your lower half.

Alternate between the following two workouts in each group as often as you’d like; just remember to leave 2 full days between training sessions.

Group 1; Weeks 1-4

Day 1

  • Barbell Squats 3 x 10
  • Box/Bench Jumps 3 x 25
  • Dumbbell Deadlifts 3 x 10
  • Dumbbell Lunges 3 x 15
  • Calf Raises on Smith Machine 3 x 20
Day 2
  • Sumo Squats 3 x 10
  • Exercise Ball Leg Extensions 3 x 15
  • Reverse Lunges 3 x 15
  • Bulgarian Squats 3 x 10
  • Leg Press 3 x 10
  • Calf Raises on Leg Press Machine 3 x 20
Group 2; Weeks 5-8
Day 1
  • Squat Jumps 3 x 25
  • Squats 3 x 12
  • Quad Extension 3 x 10
  • Dumbbell Step ups onto bench 3 x 15
  • Long Jumps 3 x 20
  • Jump Rope 3 x 1 minute
Day 2
  • Barbell Deadlifts 3 x 10
  • Lateral Hops 3 x 20
  • Reverse Dumbbell Step ups onto Bench 3 x 15
  • Prisoner Squats 3 x 25
  • Single Leg Press 3 x 12
  • Stationary Bike on Highest Resistance 3 x 2 minutes
Now that you know exactly what exercises you should be completing, lets quickly discuss HOW we are going to complete them.  First and foremost, and something I always preach; as a woman, lifting weights is NOT going to make you big and bulky IF you don’t the following:
  1. Take steroids
  2. Eat thousands of calories more than you are already eating (assuming you aren’t already eating massive amounts of calories)
Muscle doesn’t just grow because you lift weights.  If it did, millions of body builders wouldn’t have such a strict and regulated diet.  To build the kind of muscles you ladies are afraid of getting, you need to fuel your body with many, many calories to promote that growth.  Combined with the fact you are lacking the amount of testosterone needed to grow the kind of muscles a man has, you have nothing to worry about by lifting heavy weights to failure.
To expand further on that last point, lifting weights that are heavy enough to cause you to reach muscle fatigue is key.  While there are certainly differing opinions on the best way to train, it is in my opinion that individuals who train to muscle failure realize the greatest gains.  If you are breezing through your sets and requiring little rest time, you need to bump the weight up.  You should be savoring every second of that rest time between your sets.  You may be wondering how long your rest times should be, between sets.  A good rule of thumb is 60-90 seconds between sets.  Perhaps you can move a little faster early on in your routine, but require a bit more rest later in the workout.  That’s fine, take the time you need, but remember, keeping an uptempo and deliberate pace during your workout is important.  Don’t dilly-dally, or allow too much time to pass between sets.  You want to keep a steady amount of stress on your muscles so they are effectively worked.
Follow this routine for 8-weeks and you should notice increased muscle in your lower half, giving you a tight and sexy set of legs and butt.

If you liked this post, subscribe to our blog so you receive all of our expertly written health, fitness, and workout articles.  Also, sign up at shareitfitness.com to be given preferred access when we launch in March 2012!

twitter facebook googleplus linkedin

Matt

Co-Founder at Share It Fitness
Matt has been involved in the fitness industry for over 10 years and has worked with, and helped countless individuals improve their lives. After college, Matt started his fitness career working in the trenches as a personal trainer for a big corporate gym. It was here he saw how impersonal Big Fitness really was. Clients weren't people, they were just sales waiting to be made. After branching out and starting his own personal training business in San Diego, Matt soon developed the idea of Share It Fitness and started our (now highly successful) blog. A fitness junkie himself, Matt knows the importance of incorporating exercise into your life. When he isn't working at Share It Fitness, you can find Matt running, biking, taking yoga, or pumping iron around San Diego.

Related posts:

  1. Best Pyramid Workout Ever?
  2. Top 10 Muscle Building Tips
  3. Easy to Follow Plan to get Ready for Summer
  4. German Volume Training
  5. Develop a Lagging Chest
  • LAS11

    Do you have images to go with the exercises mentioned, so that I can follow the technique properly?

  • Annie Alvarez

    Love the article

  • Pingback: Health and Fitness Tips @Pinterest « Meme « Marvelous Mommy

  • Susan Kinney

    We are going to start this. It looks great

  • http://chelsababe.wordpress.com chelseafenwick

    Reblogged this on chelsababe.

  • Michelle

    You mentioned to leave two days between workouts, however, I also wanted to try your “do this – look like that” plan. Can I combine the two without hurting my body or going overboard?

    Thank you!

    • http://shareitfitness.wordpress.com ShareItFitness

      The 8-week bikini ready plan is a solid plan for sure, but the Do This – Look like That plan is definitely the more intense of the two. I wouldn’t recommend combining the two, as you’ll put yourself at risk of overtraining and possibly injuring yourself. If you want to especially focus on your lower body, I would consider replacing an upper body weight training day, with one of the workouts in the 8-week bikini plan. In a way, this will be an abbreviated combination of the two, without putting you at an increased risk of injury. Let me know how it goes!

  • http://blog.shareitfitness.com/2011/06/27/8-week-bikini-ready-legs-and-butt-program/ Diana Ullian

    You mentioned leaving two days between training sessions. Do you mean, for example, if I do Day 1 on Monday, Day 2 on Tuesday, I take Wednesday and Thursday off, then start back up on Friday? I had planned to alternate the two workouts Monday, Wednesday and Friday, then take Saturday and Sunday off. Would that work? Thanks!

    • http://shareitfitness.wordpress.com ShareItFitness

      My suggestion was…If you do the first workout on a Monday, you shouldn’t be doing the second workout until Wednesday, or, a full 48 hours later. So, looks like we’re thinking the same thing..I could have just worded that better! Mon, Wed, Fri, weekends off, sounds like a great routine. If you want a little extra work, try doing some HIIT sprints on Sat OR Sun. Let me know how it goes and thanks for following the blog!

  • Pam Fischer

    Do you do each group as a circuit, or do each individually?

    • http://shareitfitness.wordpress.com ShareItFitness

      Do each exercise individually. Really push yourself and go heavy so you are failing on the last rep or two of your 2nd and 3rd sets.

  • Teresa

    I think several of us are looking for examples of the exercises so we know exactly what they are and if we have correct form. Is there anywhere to go to find this?

    Thank you.

    • http://shareitfitness.wordpress.com ShareItFitness

      There will be every exercise demonstrated in video format on ShareItFitness.com. We are launching our full site very soon, so please head over to http://www.shareitfitness.com and leave us your email so you can be notified when the site is active. We’re giving away free premium memberships to everyone who does a pre-sign up.

      In the meantime, I would just go over to youtube and search for any exercise you are unfamiliar with. You should be able to find almost everything there. Hope that helps!

  • http://msamanthabarker@tumblr.com samantha

    I usually do HIIT running on the treadmill for my cardio, should I do this on the same day as I do the training sessions and rest my legs completely the day after lifting, or should I do my HIIT running on the days I don’t do the training sessions?

    • http://shareitfitness.wordpress.com ShareItFitness

      I would recommend a split schedule as follows (days in parentheses are instances, feel free to do these on days of your choosing):

      Day 1 leg workout (Monday)
      HIIT training (Wednesday)
      Day 2 leg workout (Friday)
      HIIT training (Sunday)

      With this format you won’t be overtraining by giving yourself a full two days rest after leg workouts. The only heavy part of this routine is Sunday/Monday, but a back-to-back once a week should be fine for you. If you find you are too sore/tired, adjust the above accordingly. Hope that helps!

  • Katelynn

    If you do not have access to these machine what do you recommend? I have dunbells, exercise ball and resistance bands

    • http://www.shareitfitness.com/ Matt @ Share It Fitness

      I would suggest substituting plyometric exercises like squat jacks, line jumps, long jumps, etc. If you need demos of any of the movements you are unfamiliar with, head over to shareitfitness.com and browse our exercise video library.

  • Jo Goland

    This week I did day one and two of the first cycle and it is a GREAT change up from my last leg routine. It also motivated me to learn how to do deadlifts with the bar bell (was doing with plates). I finished up with a few complexes, so needless to say ill be sore tomorrow morning. I look forward to the next 7 weeks & cant wait to share my results with you :)

    • http://www.shareitfitness.com/ Matt @ Share It Fitness

      That’s awesome Jo – glad to hear you’re incorporating a little variety into your routine. Looking forward to hearing about how things progress for you – any questions always feel free to ask!

      Also, if you haven’t checked it out yet, head over to http://www.shareitfitness.com. This is our full site which has tons of workout routines on OnDemand video, live fitness pros, forums , etc. Think you’d really like it. Anyhow, good luck and hope to see you around the site.

      Matt

  • http://twitter.com/ItsMeJoeyG Jo G

    Up to week 5 with this program, down 4 cm on hips, and 1.5 cm each thigh. Amazing! Substituted leg press for squats as the leg press machine kills my back. Great program and the plyo mix is a nice challenge. Can now deadlift 50kg – happy :)

    • http://www.shareitfitness.com/ Matt @ Share It Fitness

      That’s amazing – so glad to hear it! Don’t stop there…once you finish up with this program, check out any of our other programs and consider supplementing with our OnDemand fitness classes. If you haven’t checked them out, take a look at our main site, http://www.shareitfitness.com. Thanks for your support and keep up the good work!

      Matt

  • Pingback: 8 Week Bikini Body Plan

  • http://twitter.com/moran_joy joyce moran

    this is very helpful … thanks