30-Minute Quad and Glute Workout (Overload 30 Day 6)
Build strength, power and muscle mass with this effective glute-focused leg day. Today’s workout is simple strength training: combining six of the best quad and glute exercises in an effective circuit-training format. All you need is 30 minutes and a set of dumbbells.
This is DAY SIX of my Overload 30 Program.
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Day six of my 2-Week Overload 30 Program targets the legs, glutes, quads and calves.
Whether you’re training for athletic performance, aesthetics, functional fitness or injury prevention, the quads, glutes and calves are important muscle groups to prioritize.
Both circuits in today’s glute and quad workout workout include three different types of lower body exercises, each serving a slightly different purpose:
- Strength Exercises: this is your main lift, and typically a compound exercise that engages multiple muscle groups at once. These exercises increase muscle mass and build overall strength. Popular examples include exercises like squats, lunges or hip thrusts.
- Accessory Exercises: are more focused, targeting specific muscle-groups or smaller stabilizing muscles to support your main lift. These exercises reduce muscle imbalances and improve stability. Common examples are hamstring curls, leg extensions, step-ups, and cable kickbacks.
- Multi-Planar Exercises: involve moving in multiple planes of motion. This includes movements in the sagittal (forward/backward), frontal (side-to-side) and transverse (rotational) planes. Training in multiple planes of motions mimics real-life, daily movements and can help prevent injuries.
We’ll repeat each exercise three times to maximize muscle-building. I recommend grabbing your heavy weights for this one: your glutes and quads are large, powerful muscles and can handle heavier loads.
Workout Overview
Build powerful, strong legs with this glute-and-quad-focused leg day
I recommend warming up with hip mobility exercises to improve range of motion and make your squats and lunges more effective.
I suggest doing this leg and butt workout once a week as part of a well-rounded workout routine.
Workout Equipment:
Medium to Heavy Set of Dumbbells. We’re using 15-30 lbs. Option to add a bench and a weight plate or book.
Workout Instructions:
Follow along with the guided Quad and Glute Workout Routine on YouTube, led by me — your certified personal trainer, Lindsey Bomgren.
Your Workout Looks Like This:
- 2 Circuits (3 lower body exercises per circuit)
- Timed Intervals (40 seconds work, 20 seconds rest)
- Trisets (repeat each circuit x 3 sets)
- Start with a 1-minute buy in exercise and end with a 2-minute HIIT finisher
Workout Outline
1-MINUTE BUY IN:
- Step-Ups
CIRCUIT ONE:
CIRCUIT TWO:
HIIT FINISHER:
- Surfer Squat Jumps
- Single Leg Lateral Hops
1. Heels-Elevated Squat
Targets: Legs, quads, glutes, hamstrings, inner thighs (hip abductors), chest and core.
How To Do Heels-Elevated Squats
- Stand with your feet hip-width apart. Option to elevate your heels by placing a weight plate or book under your heels. Hold a dumbbell in each hand outside your thighs.
- Inhale as you bend your knees and sit your hips back (as if sitting down in a chair). Aim for 90 degree bends at each knee, focusing on pushing your knees out (not letting them cave in). Keep your torso in an upright position.
- Exhale as you press through your heels to stand tall, returning to the starting position.
2. Lateral Lunge
Targets: Gluteus medius (outer glute that controls hip movement and side-to-side movements), quads, inner thighs (or hip adductors), hamstrings and calves.
How To Do Lateral Lunges
- Start standing, feet hip-width apart and holding a dumbbell in your right hand.
- Step out with your right foot, shifting your weight into your right heel as you push your hips back, bending your right knee while leaving your left leg straight. Think of performing a single leg squat with your right leg.
- Then, drive through your right foot to reverse the movement, pushing you back up to center.
3. Lateral Step-Up
Targets: Quadriceps muscles and all three parts of the glutes — the gluteus maximus, gluteus medius, and gluteus minimus.
How To Do Lateral Step-Ups
- Start standing next to a bench, sturdy chair, or staircase. The bench should be on your right side. Option to hold a dumbbell vertically at your chest (goblet hold).
- Keep your hips and toes pointing forward as you step your right foot up onto the bench or chair, planting your right heel firmly on the surface.
- Using the muscle in your right quad and glute(rather than momentum from your left leg), press through your right heel to stand tall.
- With control, slowly lower your left foot down to touch the ground, then step your right foot off the bench, returning to starting position.
4. Deficit Lunge
Targets: Legs, quads (thighs) and gluteus maximus (butt), hip flexors and core.
How To Do Deficit Lunges
- Stand with feet hip-distance apart, holding a dumbbell in each hand outside your thighs. Option to elevate your left heel by stepping onto a heel wedge, weight plate or book.
- Step your right foot back into a reverse lunge, lowering your hips until both knees reach a 90-degree angle, front thigh parallel to the ground.
- Press through your left heel to stand tall, driving your right knee up and forward as you stand.
- Hold, balancing on your left leg while keeping your right thigh at hip level.
- Inhale, stepping your right foot back to return to the starting position.
5. Calf Raise
Targets: Calf muscles (gastrocnemius and soleus) and achilles tendon.
How To Do Calf Raises
- Start standing on a flat surface, feet shoulder-width apart. For balance support, place one hand on a wall or countertop. Option to hold one dumbbell in your left hand.
- Transfer your weight onto your left leg, then float your right leg off the ground, balancing on your left foot.
- Slowly raise yourself up onto the ball of your foot, lifting your left heel until you feel a stretch along your calf muscle.
- Hold for a second, then slowly lower your heel back to the ground and repeat.
6. Walking Lunge
Targets: Legs, quads, glutes, hamstrings, inner thighs and core.
How To Do Walking Lunges
- Start by standing at the back of your space, feet hip-distance apart. Hold a dumbbell in each hand, palms facing in towards each other (hammer curl grip).
- Step your right leg forward into a front lunge, dropping your back left knee down towards the ground as you lower your hips until both knees reach a 90-degree angle, front thigh is parallel to the floor.
- Drive through the front right heel to stand tall and rather than stopping at the top, immediately step your left leg into a front lunge. Drop your back right knee down towards the ground as you lower your hips until both knees reach a 90-degree angle, front thigh parallel to the floor.
- Repeat alternating front lunges as you move forward in a walking motion.
FAQs
Can You Train Quads and Glutes On The Same Day?
It’s more common to train the glutes and hamstrings together because both make up your posterior chain (backside of the body). Whereas the quads are part of the anterior chain (frontside of the body). However, training the quads and glutes together is functional because many leg exercises require you to recruit muscles in both your anterior and posterior chains.
What Exercises Work Both the Glutes and Quads?
Squats and lunges are some of the best lower body exercises you can do to target the glutes and quads. If you have bad knees, try these squat and lunge alternatives.
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