The Most Challenging Leg Workout for Military Fitness

There are many ways to combine leg exercises with cardio options. This is a classic method for working the legs, glutes and hips, along with cardio events between resistance training. If you wish, you can do all the resistance exercises first and then select the cardio sets you missed.

If needed, you can opt for the nonimpact version of this leg day and replace any mile of running missed with 10 minutes of biking, stair-stepping, rowing or time on the elliptical machine.

Warm up with a squat half pyramid: Go up to 10 reps (55 total reps) spread over 10 sets, jogging 100 meters between each set. Add dynamic stretches during some of the 100-meter distances, as desired.

• One squat, jog 100 meters
• Two squats, jog 100 meters
• Three squats, jog 100 meters …

Keep going up until 10 and stop. The warm-up is complete.

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Bike-run combo (or pick one or the other): This section of the workout is about pushing your cardio time but only getting half of the impact. Adjust as needed for equipment availability or any injury that prohibits you from running. While the workout is designed to do both the bike and the run, you can pick one or the other.

Bike + Run Workout*

Repeat four times.

• Bike hard for five minutes (Tabata**) + run 800 meters at goal pace with no rest
• Air squats 25

* The above circuit can be time-consuming if you select both the run and the bike.

** The Tabata interval consists of 20 seconds of fast cycling, followed by 10 seconds of slow cycling, repeated for five minutes on the bike. The goal pace refers to when you aim to complete your next timed run. For example, if your objective is to run a 1.5-mile timed run in nine minutes, this indicates that you should strive to run at a pace equivalent to a six-minute mile or a three-minute half-mile (800 meters).

You have a choice to work the legs more with lunges or work the entire body carrying the weight of another person similar to your body weight with the fireman’s carry. Trade off the carry as needed for a total distance of 400 meters combined. The other option is to hold two dumbbells, kettlebells or water containers with handles for the 400-meter farmer's walk.

The one rule we have for the farmer’s walk is that if you must put it down, you have to run back to the starting line (without the weights) and then back to the weights to continue the farmer walk. Consider this a form of active rest.

400-meter grand finale (pick one):

• Walking lunges 400 meters
• Fireman’s carry 400 meters (of similar body-weight partner)
• Farmer’s walk 400 meters (50% of your body weight in dumbbells)

The following exercises are front and side hip muscle exercises and do not require any equipment.

Additional hip exercises:

• Leg levers 50
• Scissors 50
• Flutter kicks 50
• Dirty dogs 20/leg (fire hydrants)

Extra credit: (Do later in the day for the second workout if possible)

Depending on what you need to work on for your current fitness level and future training goals, pick swimming with fins or rucking to top off the leg day. The following workouts will add another 45-50 minutes to your training day, so consider this portion supplemental to the above leg and cardio programming (and optional).

Swim or ruck:

• Swim a 500-meter warm-up or tread for 10 minutes (no hands).
• Swim with fins for 2,000 meters

Or

• Ruck four miles (50-50 pounds)

This workout takes an hour or two, depending on your second workout choices. It is not designed for beginners. We use this type of workout to help special ops candidates prepare for the challenges of their future training. Any workout you find online that is not personally written for you should be adjusted accordingly depending on your abilities, time to train and equipment.

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