Improve your lower body strength and stability for real-world movement and enhanced performance.
Master Coach Gabe Snow
January 15, 2025
When it comes to building functional strength in the lower body, it’s not about just lifting heavy weights or running endless miles on a treadmill. It’s about creating a foundation of movement that will help you navigate life’s challenges—whether you’re climbing stairs, carrying groceries, or moving with confidence in sports.
This workout is designed to improve mobility, strength, and stability while training your body to move in real-world patterns. We’ll focus on functional movements that mimic the daily actions our bodies naturally perform, helping you build strength, balance, and power. It’s all about controlled, intentional movement that translates to better function in real life.
Warm-Up (5-10 minutes)
Before jumping into the workout, we need to get your body moving. This warm-up will prime your muscles, increase blood flow, and prepare your joints for the exercises ahead.
1. Hip Circles - 30 sec each direction
Stand with feet hip-width apart. Gently rotate your hips in circles, loosening up your lower body.
2. Walking Lunges - 1 min
Step forward into a lunge and twist your torso toward the leading leg, engaging your core. This will help activate your glutes and core while improving your hip mobility.
3. World’s Greatest Stretch - 1 min
Step into a deep lunge, keeping your back leg straight. Place your hands on the ground and twist your upper body toward the front leg. This opens up the hips and stretches the hamstrings and lower back.
Strength Block A
1. Kettlebell Goblet Squat:
Sets: 4
Reps: 10-12
Why it’s functional:
This squat variation is one of my go-tos because it strengthens your quads, glutes, and core while improving your squat form. The goblet position forces you to maintain an upright torso, which mimics how we use our legs in real-life tasks like squatting down to pick up something heavy.
How to perform it:
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Hold a kettlebell with both hands close to your chest, keeping your elbows tucked in.
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Stand with your feet shoulder-width apart.
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Lower your body into a squat, pushing your hips back and keeping your chest tall.
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Push through your heels to stand back up.
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Keep your core engaged throughout the movement.
2. Bulgarian Split Squats:
Sets: 4
Reps: 8-10 each leg
Why it’s functional:
These target the quads, glutes, and hip flexors while requiring balance and stability. This exercise mimics real-life actions like stepping up onto a curb or balancing on one leg while picking something up.
How to perform it:
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Stand a few feet in front of a bench or elevated surface. Place one foot on the bench behind you.
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Lower yourself into a lunge, keeping your torso upright.
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Your front knee should track over your toes, and your back knee should approach the ground without touching it.
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Push through your front heel to return to the starting position.
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Repeat on the other side.
3. Deadlifts: (Conventional or Romanian)
Sets: 4
Reps: 8-10
Why it’s functional:
Deadlifts are one of the most effective functional exercises, targeting the posterior chain (hamstrings, glutes, and lower back). This movement mimics the act of picking up heavy objects off the ground, which is a fundamental part of daily life.
How to perform it:
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Stand with your feet hip-width apart and a barbell or dumbbells in front of you.
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Hinge at your hips (not your back) and grip the barbell or dumbbells.
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Keep your chest up, shoulders back, and core engaged as you lift the weight, driving your hips forward and straightening your body.
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Lower the weight back down by hinging at your hips and pushing your glutes back.
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Focus on moving through your hips, not your lower back, and keep your spine neutral.
4. Single-Leg Romanian Deadlifts
Sets: 3
Reps: 8-10 each leg
Why it’s functional:
This unilateral exercise challenges your balance and stability, working your hamstrings, glutes, and core while addressing any asymmetries in strength between your legs. It’s great for improving unilateral strength—something we often neglect in traditional exercises.
How to perform it:
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Hold a kettlebell or dumbbell in one hand.
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Stand on one leg, keeping your knee slightly bent.
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Hinge at your hips and lower the weight toward the ground, keeping your back flat and the other leg extended behind you.
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Squeeze your glutes and hamstrings to return to the starting position.
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Repeat on the other leg.
5. Box Jumps or Step-Ups
Sets: 3
Reps: 10-12
Why it’s functional:
Explosive movements like box jumps improve your power and agility, which are critical for everything from sports performance to simply getting up and down stairs with ease. Step-ups, if you prefer a lower-impact option, replicate climbing actions, strengthening your legs and hips.
How to perform it:
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For box jumps, stand in front of a sturdy box or platform. Jump explosively, landing softly with both feet on the box. Step down carefully.
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For step-ups, use a bench or box and step one foot at a time onto the surface, driving through your heel and keeping your chest up.
Final Thoughts
This lower body workout isn’t just about hitting the gym—it’s about preparing your body for the real world, which as we know means BEING STRONG. Each movement is designed to improve your ability to move, bend, and carry with strength and stability.
Don’t rush through it; focus on form and control, and as always, listen to your body. In the end, functional training isn’t about lifting the heaviest weight—it’s about building a body that moves efficiently and effectively.
