Challenge Yourself With This 30-Minute Expert-Level Abs and Legs Workout

If you’ve already got standard planks and lunges down to a science, it might be time to level up these moves. Not only will doing so challenge your muscles, but your mind as well. “Knowing that we’ve gotten through hard workouts gives us the boost of confidence we need when faced with situations outside of our comfort zone,” Peloton instructor Rad Lopez previously told Well+Good.

Plus, focusing on more difficult tasks in sports performance may help you pay attention to multiple things at once (in and out of the gym) and increase blood flow to your brain, 2024 research in Memory suggests.

That’s why Or Artzi, CPT, a lead group fitness instructor at Equinox and creator of the fitness platform Orriors, created this expert-level abs and legs workout (with a little bit of arms thrown in just for fun!).

Join the club

If you’re following along with our January 2025 Good Moves Club Winter Challenge (sign up here if you haven’t already!), this is the workout for day 22, week 4. You can follow along with Artzi and the full-length workout below. This efficient workout includes a warmup and six strength-based exercises.

The warmup

Do each exercise for 30 seconds. Complete one round. 

1. Walkout

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Stand with your feet hip-width apart and arms by your sides.
Hinge forward at your hips and reach toward the floor.
Keeping your feet in place, walk your hands forward and come into a high plank so that your shoulders are over your wrists.
Pause, engaging your core.
Walk your hands back to your feet, then return to standing.
Repeat.

2. World’s greatest stretch (alternating sides)

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Start in a high plank with your feet hip-width apart and your shoulders stacked over your wrists.
Step your right foot forward and place it outside of your right hand.
Keeping your hips square, lift your right hand toward the ceiling, rotating your chest toward your right leg. Allow your gaze to follow your fingertips.
Pause, then return your right hand to the floor and extend your right leg back to plank position.
Repeat on the opposite side.
Continue alternating sides.

3. Cat-cow pose (Bitilasana Marjaryasana)

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Start on all fours with your hands and knees on the floor. Align your elbows and shoulders over your wrists and your hips over your knees.
Slowly arch your spine, dropping your belly toward the floor. Look up as you draw your tailbone toward the ceiling (cow pose).
Slowly transition into a rounded spine, tucking your chin toward your spine as you tilt your pelvis forward (cat pose).
Continue alternating between cow and cat poses.

4. Deep squat with thoracic twist (alternating sides)

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Stand with your feet slightly wider than shoulder-width apart and hands clasped in front of your chest. 
Inhale, then bend at your hips and knees, lowering your butt until your thighs are parallel to the floor (or lower if that’s comfortable).
Exhale, pressing evenly through your feet as you place your left hand on the floor and lift your right arm up to the sky while still in a deep squat.
Twist your torso toward your right hand, reaching for the ceiling.
Pause, then return your torso to center. 
Repeat on the opposite side. 
Continue alternating sides.

5. Hamstring sweep (alternating sides)

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Stand with your feet hip-width apart and arms down by your sides.
Bend your left knee slightly and step forward with your right foot, flexing your toes up. Your right leg should be straight.
Lean your torso forward until it’s nearly parallel to the floor, reaching your arms behind you.
Then, sweep your arms forward and up so your biceps are next to your ears. You should feel a stretch in the muscles behind your right thigh.
Repeat on the opposite side.
Continue alternating sides.

6. Jumping jack

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Stand with your legs together and arms at your sides.
Jump your legs out to the sides while lifting your arms up over your head.
Finish the rep by jumping your feet back together and returning your arms to your sides.
Stay light on your toes and keep a soft bend in your knees as you jump.
Repeat.

The workout

You’ll need an elevated mat and a box, bench, couch, or chair to complete this workout. Perform each exercise one time through, then rest for 60 seconds before moving on to the next round. Do 2-4 rounds total.

Beginners: Do each exercise for 30 seconds, then rest for 30 seconds before moving on to the next exercise.
Intermediate: Do each exercise for 40 seconds, then rest for 20 seconds before moving on to the next exercise.
Advanced: Do each exercise for 60 seconds, then move on to the next exercise.

1. Step-down (each side separately)

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Stand on top of a step, bench, or box. Clasp your hands in front of your chest. 
Shift your weight so you’re balancing on your left leg. 
Bend your left leg and lean forward slightly as you extend your right leg in back of you.
Continue bending your left leg until you can tap the toes of your right foot to the floor. 
Reverse the move, pushing through your left foot to extend your left leg fully.
Repeat, doing all reps on one leg before switching sides.

2. Modified Copenhagen plank (each side separately)

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Lie on your left side with your feet stacked and your left elbow under your left shoulder, forearm along the floor.
Press through your left forearm and lift your body up so that you’re balancing on your left forearm and foot.
Lift your left foot off the floor and bend your left knee so it’s at a 90-degree angle. 
Extend your right arm up to the ceiling. 
Hold for the allotted amount of time, then switch sides.

3. Leg lower

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4. Deficit curtsy lunge (each side separately)

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Lie on the floor with your legs out straight and your hands behind your head with your elbows flared out to the sides. 
Brace your core and press your lower back into the floor.
Raise your legs straight up toward the ceiling and lift your head, neck, and shoulders a few inches off the floor.
Lower both legs down toward the floor, keeping your lower back in contact with the floor. Hover your feet a few inches above the floor. 
Lift your legs back up toward the ceiling. 
Repeat.

5. Pike push-up

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Start in a high plank position with your hands planted firmly on the floor, directly under your shoulders and feet hip-width apart.
Drive your hips up and back into an inverted “V” position. 
Bend your elbows and lower your head toward the floor.
Push through your palms and extend your elbows fully.
Repeat.

6. Double-leg switch to lunge

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Stand with your feet hip-width apart. Tuck your elbows into your ribs as if you were running. 
Take a small jump and land with your left foot in front of you, then immediately take a small jump and switch feet mid-air so you land with your right foot in front of you. 
Take a small jump and switch feet mid-air so you land with your left foot in front of you, then immediately bend both your front and back legs to a 90-degree angle.
Keep lowering until your back knee is about an inch off the floor (or as low as you can comfortably go).
Push through your left foot and explode upward, landing with your right foot in front of you. 
Repeat, alternating which leg you lunge with.