Hi Carolyne,
Glad to hear your quick test looked promising!
Re: lower body work — I can offer two different options:
a — Assuming you have dumbbells:
1 — split leg squat, each leg doing 3/7. The nice thing here is you can just alternate legs to have one leg doing it’s rest period while the other one is working.
2 — one handed, opposite side dumbbell squat — this one probably needs an article,but you have the working leg forward, the other one back so a staggered stance. Hold a single dumbbell in the *opposite* hand to the forward leg. Then, squat down to nearly parallel and back up. Do 3/7 each leg.
This one is excellent b/c by holding only one dumbbell and on the *opposite side*, it works the inside of the forward leg quad in a distinct manner vs previous split leg squat, and the unilateral aspect will work your upper core and obliques. I really recommend this one as it will integrate your core and legs as a unit.
3 — romanian deadlift with dumbbells, 3/7: this works the posterior chain (hamstrings, glutes). I do both legs but if you have time, working single leg is arguably a bit more intense.
4 — calf raises, dumbbells and 3/7.
That’s my current routine above and it works your legs front to back. Hip thrusts could be added as well if you have time and a barbell.
b — assuming no dumbbells and/or you just want to add a different aspect to your leg workout…stair sprints!!
I just started doing these on a 120 stair stairway at a hill by my house. It will work your legs like no other exercise (for realz) and turbo boost your cardio and fat loss and shred up your abs. The ab aspect was a surprise to me but it’s from the arm pumping and stabilization work needed as you sprint up.
Expect your legs to feel like puffed rubber when done (i.e. plan ahead that you will need some recovery time after the workout and a shower) and plan on a sore core the next day at least the first few times.
Apparently stair sprints are one of the most calorically demanding exercises with estimate 950 calories/hour. I’m hoping to do a much more detailed article about this but I’m in love with stair sprints now b/c it’s both intense and very effective, esp. for abs which as noted, was a big surprise to me.
Hope this is helpful for now!