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20-Minute Squat-Free Lower-Body Workout with Dumbbells

20-Minute Squat-Free Lower-Body Workout with Dumbbells — video by jessicasmithtv Play · 20:22

Video by jessicasmithtv on YouTube · Open on YouTube

A leg session with no squats: a short warm-up, weighted side leg lifts, small-range lunges and single-leg deadlifts, then floor work for the glutes and hips (kickbacks, figure-four bridges, clamshells) and a stretch. Suits people whose knees dislike squats.

  • 20 min
  • All levels
  • Low impact (no jumping)
  • dumbbells, mat
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Step by step 9

Tap a time to watch that step in the video.

  1. Warm-up: knee lifts, then standing knee extensions and back leg lifts each side; hold on for balance if needed. 0:50
  2. Side lift and cross-over, like a windscreen wiper, for the outer and inner thighs, each side. 2:40
  3. Small-range split-stance lunges each side, or hold a static lunge if moving bothers your knees. 3:57
  4. Pick the weights up using your legs, then weighted side leg lifts and toe taps, lifting with muscle, not momentum. 5:01
  5. Small-range lunges holding the weights, pushing through the front heel; then the other leg. 6:55
  6. Single-leg deadlifts with the back foot light and spine neutral, plus a hip-rotation heel lift, each side. 8:07
  7. On hands and knees: kickback leg lifts, hamstring curls and heel pulses, each side; pad your knees if needed. 11:32
  8. Figure-four bridges, then side-lying clamshells and leg extensions, on each side. 13:57
  9. Stretch: crossed-leg hip stretch, inner thighs, a gentle forward fold and standing quad stretches. 17:57

The steps are a summary in our words, checked against the video — the coach shows every move.

Form cues from the coach

  • Pick the dumbbells up using your legs rather than leaning forward from the hips
  • Lift with muscle, not momentum, on the side leg lifts
  • In single-leg deadlifts keep the back foot light and the spine neutral

What it works

Tap an area for more videos that work it.

Joints it uses 2 takes load

  • Hips takes loadweighted side leg lifts, single-leg deadlifts, bridges
  • Knees takes loadsmall-range lunges with weights, kneeling
  • Shoulders movesall-fours leg lifts and curls
  • Wrists & hands movesall-fours leg lifts and curls
  • Lower back movessingle-leg deadlifts
  • Ankles & feet movesone-leg balance in leg lifts and deadlifts
  • Kneeling. Pressure on the kneecaps — a folded towel or cushion under the knees helps.
  • Weight on your hands. The wrists bend back under load. Fists, push-up handles or your forearms ease it.
  • Down on the floor. You get down to the floor and back up again.
  • Standing on one leg. Keep a chair or a wall within reach.

Easier option from the coach: Hold a static lunge; hold a support for balance; keep the back foot down in deadlifts

A guide to the joints this video’s moves load, from what the coach does — not medical advice. Some ache is normal; stop if a joint hurts sharply. How joints are rated

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Video by jessicasmithtv; the summary, steps, cues, body areas and joint notes are Notbroken’s, written from what the coach actually does in the video and checked a second time. Warm up first, take the easier options until a move feels easy, and stop if you feel sharp pain, chest pain or dizziness. General instruction, not advice for your body. About & safety