Noom’s perfect ‘legs, bums, and tums’ workout

So, you’ve found a diet plan that works for you. You’re loving it and already starting to feel more focused and energetic. But it’s not working as fast as you’d like. What then? Well, a diet without exercise is like Take That without Robbie: a solid effort but never quite as good. If you’re looking to achieve your health goals then have a little patience (sorry), your diet is just one side of the coin. The other is your workout plan.

A legs, bums, and tums workout is a great place to put your exercise habits into high gear. Not only will it help you burn calories, but it also tones key lower-body areas and supports your spine. Variety is the spice of life as they say and the legs, bums, and tums workout mixes it up enough to keep you engaged and combines cardio with resistance training so you get the best of both worlds in one go.

Is legs, bums, and tums good for losing weight?

Both aerobic and anaerobic exercise can be a useful part of any health plan. At Noom, our approach to exercise is that, while it helps optimise the weight loss formula, it needs to be combined with the right diet plan.

How many times a week should you do a legs, bums, and tums workout?

How often you put yourself through the LBT paces depends on your goals and level of existing fitness. For beginners, we recommend two sessions per week of the basics. Once you’ve found your stride, add an extra session or two per week, and really start toning those muscles!

A complete legs, bums, and tums workout

1. Lunges

Lunges are not just something you do during a midnight duel, but a staple of any legs, bums, and tums workout. They primarily target your quads, glutes, and hamstrings. 

How to do it

1. Start by standing up straight and stepping forward with one leg. 
2. Next, bend your knees until the front leg is at a right angle while keeping your back straight. Your back knee should be only a few inches from the ground.
3. Return to standing up straight, stepping back to bring both legs together.
4. Repeat to your satisfaction, then switch to the other leg.
5. Begin with three sets of 12 lunges per leg every other day and go from there.

How to lunge with the best of them

As with all exercises on this list, the easiest way to improve your lunges is to simply do more of them. Add more repetitions per set as your form and conditioning improve.

You can also make your lunge more challenging by adding weight. Pick up a couple of dumbbells and hold them at your sides during your lunge to progress faster.

2. Crunches & sit-ups

Everybody knows how to do a basic sit-up, but there are actually a few different versions to add to your legs, bums, and tums workout.

The sit-up

This will help you burn calories while strengthening your abdominal muscles and core. You can do it anywhere, from a yoga mat to your bed—but avoid doing it on hard surfaces! Your back will thank you and it will be easier to get off the sofa to top up your bowl of (green) snacks.

How to do it

1. Lay on your back on a workout mat or another soft surface of your choice. 
2. Raise your knees until your feet are flat and your legs are at a 90-degree angle.
3. Put your hands behind your head or pointed at your temples so you don’t pull yourself upwards. 
4. While keeping your feet flat and still, sit up from the waist and stretch your hands out until you can touch your feet.
5. Return to a reclining position.
6. Begin with three sets of 10 repetitions every other day and go from there. 

Whoah-oh, you’re halfway there

Make sit-ups more challenging by using the ‘halfway’ variant. In this version, your hands come up far enough to touch your knees instead of your feet before returning to your reclining position. Combine this version with a higher pace per rep for a more aerobically intense workout.

The reverse crunch

Another member of the ‘core’ exercise family, the reverse crunch targets your abdominals as well as your obliques and lower back.

How to do it

1. Lay on your back on a workout mat or another soft surface of your choice. 
2. Put your hands behind your head or pointed at your temples so you don’t pull yourself upwards.
3. Bring your knees up towards your chest while simultaneously sitting up.
4. Continue upwards until you’ve ‘met’ in the middle.
5. Return to a reclining position. 
6. Begin with three sets of 10 repetitions every other day.

 Flip, reverse it

Let’s take it back: Go hands-free by crossing your arms across your chest. This will not only give your core a deeper challenge, but will also improve your balance.

The bicycle crunch

Sadly this isn’t devouring a baguette on a tandem. No, the bicycle crunch offers something a bit more intense for your LB&T workout, especially when done at speed. It’s one of the more challenging core exercises and bonus points, it also doubles as a cardio workout.

How to do it

1. Lay on your back on a workout mat or another soft surface of your choice. 
2. Place your hands behind your head with your elbows out to the side.
3. Bring your right knee back towards your chest and twist your torso so your left elbow almost touches it, then bring it back down.
4. Do the same with your left knee/right elbow and repeat at pace.
5. Begin with three sets of 10 repetitions every day. 

Switch it up a gear

One of the best ways to see results is to just keep upping the pace while scaling your repetitions sensibly. Once you’ve gained confidence, see how many you can do in 10 or 20 seconds!

And once increasing your speed just isn’t making it tough enough, try holding your elbow to your knee for three or four seconds each time. 

3. Leg exercises

Yes, we know that your favourite leg-day exercise is… skipping leg day. But no more putting it off. Another staple of the legs, bums, and tums repertoire, leg exercises also come in a variety of forms. 

The leg raise

This exercise targets your lower abdominals and can feel positively luxuriant as you spend all of it laid on your back with your torso still. But you’ll still feel the burn soon enough—and get the gains along with it!

How to do it

1. Lay on a workout mat or another soft surface of your choice. 
2. Put your hands under your buttocks, palms down.
3. Keep your legs straight and lift them. Bend your legs slightly at the knee until you feel that the strain of the exercise is centred in your lower abdomen. 
4. Returning to a reclining position.
5. Begin with two sets of 15 repetitions per day.

Raise your game

When you’ve mastered the regular leg raise, try alternating your legs while raising them, kicking them up to around a 30-degree angle and at pace. This is known as the flutter kick (just make you don’t do it near any people or valuables).

Bear in mind that, somewhat counterintuitively, leg raises should not make you feel the burn in your legs. If you do feel strain there during your reps, bend your knees a little more so that your body’s centre of gravity returns to your abdominals.

The reverse leg lift

This leg variant targets a wider muscle group including your glutes, core, and lower back, as well as your legs.

How to do it

1. Get down onto your knees and elbows.
2. Bow your head to the floor.
3. Stretch one leg out as far and as high behind you as you can.
4. Slowly bring it back to the starting position, then repeat with your other leg.
5. Begin with two sets of 10 repetitions per day.

We have lift-off!

Flex your leg muscles two-to-four times when you’re at the top of your reverse leg lift. Guaranteed to feel it the next day.

4. Squats

The killer move. We hate them, but they work. And no legs, bums, and tums workout would be complete without the squat. It targets your glutes and quads, as well as your hamstrings and is a great little calorie burner. Developing great form and discipline for squats will improve your posture, too.

How to do it

1. Stand with feet shoulder-width apart.
2. Keeping your back straight, lower your bottom until your knees are bent to 90 degrees.
3. Slowly return to a standing position. 

Get low

Weighted squats are almost as popular as regular squats, probably because it’s one of those brilliant exercises that targets every muscle in your body. 

Look as great as you feel

Once you’ve mastered those healthy eating habits, you’ll have more energy and confidence in in your body to get it moving. Channeling that momentum with a good legs, bums, and tums routine – a surefire way to maximise your health-goal gains while building good habits. 

Here at Noom, we’ve got you covered for both effective eating habits and workouts. We’re not just a meal plan app—we’re committed to giving you the best possible health lifestyle-creating experience. Alongside exclusive content, our coaches are there to advise you on the best exercise plans for you and to help you get the balance just right.

Try us out and find your ‘just right’ today.