7-Day Summer Legs Challenge

Break out those sundresses and short shorts!

fit woman with black yoga pants

It’s that time again—shorts, sundresses, and sunny days are calling. Our 7-day summer legs challenge is designed to boost confidence and target trouble zones, specifically in the thigh area. Beautifully toned and defined legs can now be yours 365 days a year! By performing the challenge as instructed (and following a clean-eating plan) we’ll show you how to slim saddlebags, reduce cellulite, and so much more! If you’ve been craving a fun, results-driven way to tone your legs in just a week, this challenge is for you. I’ve given it a little refresh to keep it exciting, effective, and totally doable—no gym required!

Why This Summer Legs Challenge Works

Effective Butt Exercises: Woman Doing Lunges

Our summer legs challenge is ultra-popular for several great reasons, including but not limited to:

  • It’s comprised of effective, 30 minute or less workouts that easily fit into your busy day.
  • The leg workouts require minimal equipment—all you need is your body and maybe a chair, making them easy to complete from anywhere!
  • The daily structure keeps you consistent (and honest!)

How this Lower Body Exercise Challenge Works

woman performing hip bridges

This challenge consists of 7 workouts over the course of 7 days. The workouts will take 30 minutes or less to complete. Each day, the focus will shift slightly between glutes, hamstrings, quads, and calves to help you build a beautifully balanced lower body.

The routines below will be performed as circuits. Circuit training involves the completion of all exercises in the routine, one after the other, with little to no rest between exercises. Each completed circuit is followed by a short rest period before starting the next round.

And remember, you’ll want to eat healthy in order to maximize results! We’ve got great healthy recipes and meal plans to choose from! Lets get to it!

Daily Circuit Workout Breakdown

woman doing squats

Sunday

Complete 2 circuits:

  • 50 Prisoner Squats
  • 20 Power Jumping Jacks
  • 30 Inner Thigh Lifts 
  • 25 Jump Squats
  • 20 Walking Lunges

Rest 30 seconds before the next circuit.

Monday

Complete 3 circuits:

  • 20 Stiff-Legged Deadlifts
  • 20 Side Lunges
  • 30 Jumping Jacks
  • 20 Step-Ups
  • 10 Walking Lunges

Rest 30 seconds before the next circuit.

Tuesday

Complete 3 circuits:

  • 30 Side Lunges
  • 20 Power Jumping Jacks
  • 20 Stiff-Legged Deadlifts
  • 25 Hip Bridges
  • 25 Calf Raises

Rest 30 seconds before the next circuit.

Wednesday

Rest/Recover Day: Keep moving, spend 30 minutes walking, biking, or swimming. Don’t forget to stretch afterwards, too! We’d love for you to try our Full Body Yoga Flow for Beginners.

Thursday

Complete 4 circuits:

  • 50 Prisoner Squats
  • 20 Power Jumping Jacks
  • 30 Inner Thigh Lifts
  • 25 Jump Squats
  • 20 Walking Lunges

Rest 30 seconds before the next circuit.

Friday

Complete 4 circuits:

  • 20 Stiff-Leg Deadlifts
  • 20 Side Lunges
  • 30 Jumping Jacks
  • 20 Step-Ups
  • 10 Walking Lunges

Rest 30 seconds before the next circuit.

Saturday

Complete 4 circuits:

  • 30 Side Lunges
  • 20 Power Jumping Jacks
  • 20 Stiff-Legged Deadlifts
  • 25 Hip Bridges
  • 25 Calf Raises

Rest 30 seconds before the next circuit.

My Tips to Keep You Going

There are so many beenfits to working out at home, including saving time, money, and feeling comfortable!

Not only will these tips keep you going, but they’ll also help you get more out of your time and effort:

1. Warm-up first: 5 minutes of marching or light jogging gets your muscles ready.

2. Hydrate before and after—especially if you’re sweating!

3. Sneak in mini-moves: calf raises while brushing your teeth? Yes please.

4. Listen to your legs: sore muscles are normal—but sharp pain? Rest!

5. Want to increase the difficulty? Add in some resistance with dumbbells or bands!

6. Cheer each other on: Share your daily wins in the comments or tag @SkinnyMs on Instagram.

I did this challenge last year and loved the boost of confidence it gave me—those shorts suddenly felt a lot better! I’ve polished it up, added balance and recovery days, and remixed the order to make it more fun and effective. If you want stronger, toned, more confident legs, I’d love to have you do this with me 💕.

Post your favorite day, your sweaty selfie, or your new fave exercise in the comments.. Let’s keep each other accountable—and make these glutes (and quads!) feel the love.

More Awesome Lower Body Workouts and Programs

woman in black and white yoga pants

If you enjoyed this 7-day summer legs challenge and now know how to tone legs in a week, you might also like to try these lower body-slimming and toning routines!

Be sure to like our Facebook page and follow us on Pinterest and Instagram to be the first to try out new workouts and view our latest fitness resources. Subscribe to our eNewsletter for the latest SkinnyMs content delivered straight to your inbox!

This post may include affiliate links.

Gale Compton

I have a passion for creating recipes and developing fitness workouts. You'll often find me in the kitchen, experimenting with new flavors, or enjoying the outdoors with my family and our dog, Maggie. She loves homemade meals just like we do, and you’ll discover plenty of her favorite recipes right here on the site!

More by Gale

74 Comments

  1. I have jiggly chub thighs n jiggly butt that I’m starting to lose the nice shape of, what can I do to tone n lift my butt n tone my thighs asap? Ps.. I’ve never had luck in toning these areas! I’ve always had thicker butt n thighs n smaller waist, But I tend to lose interest if I don’t see results in a minimal amount of time. PLEASE HELP ! Depression has caused a Lil weight gain n my husband isn’t as interested n we’ve only been married over a year!

  2. hi I’m going to a beach party in 8 days and i was wondering if this 7 day workout will help me get rid of my inner thigh fat and give me thigh gap

  3. Hi, I have a massive beach party that will go over two days in exactly seven days, if I do this workout exactly will I have slimmer and toned thighs by then?

    1. Lisa, Lisa, Everyone is different but if you do the challenge, you’ll have the most success by following it exactly. Enjoy!

  4. is there a way to lose most of your thigh fat in one week and then build muscle? i need it now, for a special occasion. it would be disappointing to know that there was not anything for this.

  5. I would love to try this challenge, however I can’t access the videos on m computer, meaning I have no idea how to do most of the exercises, and therefore cannot do the challenge!
    Also I have been either working out or running nearly everyday so far this year, and my legs are only just starting to get some definition..otherwise they are still as big and shapeless as ever. Any advice?

  6. I am loving this. Have done 2 days so far but I am unable to do any kind of lunges (bad knee) What can I do to replace the lunges?

    1. Hi Kelley,
      We’re so glad that you’re enjoying it! A good alternative to walking lunges would be dumbbell dead lifts. You will still work your glutes, hamstrings and calves, without the added pressure to your knee 🙂

    1. Set your alarm to get up in time to get this done first thing in the morning. If necessary, do half the workout in the morning and the other half later in the day, or evening.

  7. Hii , I want to ask that which is better doing exercise in morning or afternoon or evening? And if I do this for 7 days or if I complete this 7day challenge , will my thighs be slimmer ?

    1. That’s up for debate. There isn’t any scientific proof that one time of day works better than another. The important thing to remember, that you workout. This program will help to tone legs. Be sure to continue working out after the 7 days for long lasting results.

  8. I have some arthritis in my left knee and have had 2 scopes. My Quad muscles have never really come back from this. Would this be an option to do to help strengthen the muscles around my knee?

    1. Susan, This challenge is designed to tone legs. Please check with your doctor regarding any issues with arthritis and these specific exercises.

  9. I didn’t see how many rounds. One sounds like enough, but she says a short rest before starting the next round. Enough to make about 20 min? Probably one round, huh? 😀

    1. Hey Terri!

      The number of circuits is listed right under each day, before the exercises. Feel free to perform more or less though! Whatever works best for you 🙂

  10. Can you please explain the prisoner squats. Dr told me I couldn’t do to deep of a squat during exercise.

    1. Hey Rhonda,

      Prisoner squats are normal squats, but you keep your hands behind your head the whole time in order to target your core in addition to your lower body. Definitely check with your doctor to see what exercises you should be performing in place of squats.

  11. Hey! Having a hard time wrapping my brain around the walking lunges. Reps and sets are confusing me. For Monday, it states 12 reps and 5 for each leg. Does that mean starting on my left, walk/lunge to the count of 12? Repeat 5 times with a left start? Then 12 steps times 5 on the right? Thanks!

    1. Hey Kim!

      It wasn’t you, it was us! That was just an error. 12 walking lunges is now 10 (5 per leg.) So you’ll alternate left, right, left, right, etc… for 10 lunges. Does that clear things up? Thank you for catching that! 🙂

  12. Hi, I have a very important event coming up in 6 days, if I use this workout with a HITT prohram and healthy eating will the effects be visible?

    1. Hi Monique,

      Exercising regularly and clean-eating will definitely help you feel healthier and more energetic within a week’s time, but physical changes usually take at least a few weeks. With that being said, it’s never too late to begin working towards a healthier and fitter lifestyle! We have plenty of healthy eating plans and workout programs to help you accomplish this!

  13. This is a great workout plan! This is not for beginner who just started working out, however if you are a beginner you may need to modify the first week or so then work your way to the full workout. You obviously will not burn as many calories at first but thats OK! Maybe try 1 less circuit or so til you build up. Be patient and stay with it! My whole body felt great and worked after doing this plan! Love how it changes every day so you don’t burn out! Thank you for the workout!

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