The best way to build your glutes without using weights

November 23, 2017 11:46 AM

This curtsy lunge modification adds both size and strength.

Short on time, but dont want to skip leg day? The curtsy lunge (some people call them “ice-skaters”) is a perfect move to help you build serious muscle in no time.

It’s a challenging move that takes as much coordination as it does strength, and it’s a good way to get in your leg workout quickly.

Now, we’re about to make the curtsy lunge a little bit harder. As Paige Hathaway, Global Ambassador at F45 Training, shows us in the video above, a simple hop can add all sorts of pain to a curtsy lunge.

“This is an F45 exercise, so I’m excited to show you guys it,” she says. “It targets the glutes and the hamstrings.”

You start with your typical curtsy lunge—feet shoulder-width apart, and lunging back diagonally. This move targets more muscles than your typical reverse lunge, and adds a bit of a coordination challenge as well.

But instead of coming back from the lunge into an upright position, Hathaway adds an extra challenge to the mix: a hop. “We’re going to add an element,” she says. Hopping on your front foot gives your other leg extra work.

It’s a plyometric motion that adds explosive power, burns more fat, and builds more muscle.

Hathaway recommends doing this move on 30 seconds for each leg. That’s a quick burn for someone who’s short on time—and loves to work their legs.