A Pilates master trainer shares her ultimate ankle weight workout to build lower-body strength

Woman sits on exercise mat and straps on an ankle weight.

Ankle weights are a deceptively difficult way to add resistance to your workouts.

You may pick them up and think, “This is only one pound of weight, it won’t offer a challenge,” but the way they load your joints means experts like Club Pilates master trainer Julie Marques advise using them with caution.

“It puts load on your peripheral joints,” Marques tells Fit&Well, “so you shouldn’t walk around with them or use them in the same way that you’d use a weighted vest,” she says.

“Instead, you should use the ankle weights for 10 to 20 minutes at a time and in a targeted way.”

Marques shared the following workout to demonstrate how you can do just that. It’s suitable for people with Pilates experience who are strong and injury-free, and can be done two to three times a week for best results.

She suggests choosing light to medium weights to avoid straining your joints and stresses that you should only use ankle weights if your form and alignment are perfect. If you’re unsure, you can complete the workout without weights.

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Marques recommends checking with your physician or physical therapist before using ankle weights if you have any underlying injuries or weaknesses.If you are unsure of your form, she says it is best to work with a professional who can assess your alignment, correct you if necessary and scale back the routine when needed.

The ankle-weight workout in brief

1. Step-back for quads
2. Heel lift for calves
3. Single-leg bridge for glutes and hamstrings
4. Side-lying leg lift for abductors
5. Side-lying leg lift for adductors
6. Quadruped leg lift for glutes, hamstrings and external rotators

Exercise guides

1A. Step-back

Sets: 2 Reps: 10 each side

• Stand with your feet hip-distance apart.
• Engage your core .
• Step your left foot behind you, bending your right knee and leaning your torso forward so your left leg and torso form a straight line.
• Push through your right foot to return to standing.
• Continue on to the heel raises on the same side, then return to this exercise and repeat on the other side.

Form tips:

• Keep your weight over your front foot.
• Keep your front knee behind your toes.

Make it easier: Keep your feet parallel, shift your weight onto your left foot, then squat, using the toes of your right foot to help you balance.

1B. Heel raise

Sets: 2 Reps: 10 each side

• Stand with your feet hip-distance apart, your weight in your right foot, your left heel lifted and your left knee bent.
• Raise your right heel, coming onto your toes.
• Lower your right heel slowly to the floor.
• Complete all the reps on one side, then switch sides.

Make it easier: Hold the back of a chair or wall for balance.

2. Single-leg bridge

Sets: 2 Reps: 10 each side, plus 10 pulses each side

• Lie on your back with your knees bent and feet flat on the floor, hip-width apart.
• Engage your core.
• Lift your hips until you form a straight line with your shoulders.
• Raise and extend your right leg so it points straight up.
• Lower your right leg until your knees are in line, then raise it again.
• Complete 10 reps, then pulse your hips up and down 10 times.
• Keeping your hips raised, swap legs and repeat on the other side.

Form tip: Keep your core engaged throughout.

Make it easier: Bend the knee of your raised leg.

3A. Side-lying leg lift for abductors

Sets: 2 Reps: 10 each side, plus 10 pulses each side

• Lie on your side with your legs extended and feet together.
• Prop yourself up on your forearm, with your elbow under your shoulder, keeping your shoulders aligned and torso lifted.
• Lift and lower your top leg, keeping your hips and shoulders stable.
• Perform 10 reps, then pulse 10 times at the top of the movement.
• Continue on to the side-lying leg lift for adductors on the same side, then return to this exercise and repeat on the other side.

Form tip: Keep your ribcage off the floor throughout the movement.

3B. Side-lying leg lift for adductors

Sets: 2 Reps: 10 each side

• Lie on your right side, resting your head on your arm, with your left foot flat on the floor in front of your right knee.
• Pulse your lower leg up and down, keeping it extended straight.
• Keep your hips and shoulders stable.
• Lift and lower your bottom leg, keeping your hips and shoulders stable.
• Complete all the reps then repeat the last move and this one on the other side.

6. Quadruped leg lift

Sets: 2 Reps: 10 each side

• Start on your hands and knees with your knees under your hips and your hands under your shoulders.
• Keep your spine neutral and engage your core.
• Extend your right leg behind you and rotate it outward from your hip so the top of your right foot faces to the right.
• Lift and lower for 10 reps.
• Keeping your leg externally rotated, bend your knee and perform 10 more reps.
• Switch sides and repeat.

Form tip: Keep your torso still, engage your core throughout, and move only at the hip joint.

Make it easier: If rotating your leg is uncomfortable, keep it straight.

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