Bored of doing the same old leg exercises? Try this slider workout to build lower-body strength and boost hip mobility

A lower-body workout with bonus core benefits

A woman in a vest, leggings and sneakers exercises with sliders in a room with a wooden floor and white walls. She is performing a lateral lunge, with one leg bent and the other out to the side. Her hands are in front for balance.
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Maddy Biddulph
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Let’s face it, repeating the same leg exercises can get monotonous. It's also not productive—to continually challenge yourself and build lower body muscle, you need to mix up your moves.

That’s why you should try this five-move sliders workout by NYC-based personal trainer Charlee Atkins, creator of Le Sweat TV fitness app. It includes several moves that will challenge your balance, stability and muscular strength. It also throws in some hip mobility moves, to keep you feeling agile.

Sliders, also known as gliders or gliding discs, are an affordable and effective way to shake up your training. You can find them for under $6 on Amazon or use a pair of folded towels as a budget-friendly alternative.

Mr Pen Core sliders
Mr Pen Core sliders: $5.99 at Amazon

Sliders are cheap and easy to store. Their versatility means you can use them to provide an extra challenge during moves like squats and push-ups. Once you're confident with these tools, you can also try routines like this core slider workout.

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How to do the sliders workout

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There are five moves in the workout:

  • Kick-stand squat
  • Lateral lunge
  • Hip circles
  • Leg curls
  • Squat with hands on the floor

Aim for eight to 10 slow and controlled repetitions for each move, building up to 10-12 as you get stronger, and complete three rounds.

How sliders can help build core strength

While this workout focuses on the lower body, sliders also offer a core workout by introducing instability to your movements. This forces your abdominal muscles to work harder to maintain control and balance.

A strong core is essential for supporting your entire body, especially the spine. Over time, strengthening these muscles can improve your posture, balance and stability while reducing lower back pain.

Other tools like wobble boards and abs rollers can also help with core stability. You can perform sit-ups, crunches and planks as well to strengthen these important mid-body muscles.

Maddy Biddulph
Maddy Biddulph

Maddy Biddulph is a freelance journalist specializing in fitness, health and wellbeing content. With 26 years in consumer media, she has worked as a writer and editor for some of the bestselling newspapers, magazines and websites in the US and UK. 

She is also a qualified L3 personal trainer and weight loss advisor, and helps women over 40 navigate menopause by improving their physical and mental strength. At Maddy Biddulph Personal Training, she runs one-to-one and small group training for menopausal women who want to get fit to ease symptoms and feel like themselves again.

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