28 day leg challenge to improve your thighs

This 28 day leg challenge uses squats, lunges and wall sits – 3 of the best exercises for working all the thigh and butt muscles. Each day you do 3 sets of the exercises, with the reps/hold times decreasing with each set. Over the 28 days, the workout gets a bit harder each week as you get stronger. By week 4 you should be doing double the amount of work in week 1.

General workout guidelines

Please read this safety information before doing the challenge. You should also be aware that the wall sit exercise involves holding a static contraction, which can cause a rise in blood pressure. This is fine for most people, but not advisable for anyone who has a problem with high blood pressure. For best results from the exercises and to avoid injury, especially to the knees, make sure you follow the exercise instructions below.

The exercises

#1 squat

Have your feet a little more than hip distance apart, parallel or slightly turned out.
Bend at your knees and hips as you lower into squat position. Aim to get your thighs parallel with the floor.
Make sure your knees don’t go any further forward than your toes.
Come back up gently, making sure you don’t jerk your knees backwards.
Avoid arching your back or rounding your shoulders and keep your neck in line with your spine.

#2 lunge

Stand with your feet about hip distance apart
Make sure you keep your abdominal muscles, your shoulders relaxed down and your back straight throughout
Take one leg out behind you and touch your toes to the floor. Make sure you keep your feet hip width apart.
Now bend at both knees, so that you lower your body towards the floor. At the end of the movement, your thighs should be parallel with the floor, your front knee should be bent to 90 degrees and in line with your ankle, your back knee should be just above the floor.
Return to the starting position and repeat on your other leg.

#3 wall sit

Stand with your feet about hip distance apart
Make sure you keep your abdominal muscles, your shoulders relaxed down and your back straight throughout
Take one leg out behind you and touch your toes to the floor. Make sure you keep your feet hip width apart.
Now bend at both knees, so that you lower your body towards the floor. At the end of the movement, your thighs should be parallel with the floor, your front knee should be bent to 90 degrees and in line with your ankle, your back knee should be just above the floor.
Return to the starting position and repeat on your other leg.

28 day leg challenge workout schedule

There are 3 sets to each workout, with the reps and hold times going down on each set. The workout gets a bit harder each week. Do the challenge every day, apart from rest days on days 5, 10, 15, 20, 25. There’s a tracker grid at the bottom of the printable, for you to mark off each day to help you keep track.