Wellness
Hailey Baldwin's Lower-Body Workout Is Hard AF, But You Can Easily Do It At Home

by Julia Guerra
Koki Nagahama/Getty Images Entertainment/Getty Images

The year is 2019, friends, and if your New Year’s resolution is to meet a list of fitness goals, get in line. It’s not that committing to a workout routine isn’t admirable, and it’s definitely not unachievable, but here’s the thing: Despite having your sights fixated on those #gains, life inevitably gets in the way of actually making them. Navigating how to improve in all areas of fitness while also juggling all areas of life can be a workout in and of itself, but luckily, Hailey Baldwin’s lower-body workout was recently uploaded to Instagram to set the scene for how to not only meet your physical fitness goals this year, but to exceed them as well. Listen up, friends, because you’re definitely going to want in on Baldwin's secret weapon.

The average millennial’s life can be overwhelming and packed with responsibilities, so you might be wondering how anyone, let alone a busy celeb like Baldwin (who also happens to be living that newlywed life), can actually dedicate an entire 45 minutes to the gym a few times per week. It’s a commitment, for sure, and though I don’t have a copy of the now-Mrs. Justin Bieber’s itinerary, I would imagine that, like anything else, carving out the time for fitness takes careful planning. But it also takes strategy, as well, because according to the video that Kirk Myers, CEO, founder, and owner of celeb-favorite gym Dogpound, posted on Instagram, Baldwin condenses what could be a lengthy routine, into a series of what are called “compound moves.”

Listen, whoever said multitasking is "bad" for you, or that it's an "impossible" feat, has obviously never been introduced to a compound movement in their workouts. According to Kelly Borowiec, an ACE-certified personal trainer and founder of Keebs Fitness, compound movements are multi-joint movements that “involve more than a single muscle group and a large range of motion.” In other words, they are a series of exercises compacted into one or a few micro-moves. On paper, this form of exercise might sound complicated, but once you get the hang of them, they work, and they work well.

“[Compound moves] can include a combination of strength, cardio, and flexibility exercises,” Borowiec tells Elite Daily. And as far as benefits go, the trainer adds, these movements can improve your muscular coordination, increase your heart rate, and improve your balance and flexibility. From that description alone, compound movements sound like a multitasking miracle, don't they?

Brilliant as they may be, keep in mind that, because there are so many components to a compound movement, like the one Baldwin can be seen doing in Myers' post, for example, Borowiec says it's really important that you focus on mastering each movement's form before adding more repetitions to your routine. "[How many reps you should be doing] depends on your fitness level, the complexity of the movement, and how much weight you are using, but three to seven reps is a very general guide," she explains.

Compound movements are a great way to condense a variety of movements and strength training exercises into shorter routines. To get you started, here's a breakdown of Baldwin's movements from start to finish.

Single-leg Balancing Hold
Kai Simon on YouTube

After reviewing the footage, Borowiec tells me that Baldwin starts her compound movement by performing what she refers to as a single-leg hold. This move is simple enough, as Baldwin raises her leg, brings her knee parallel to her waistline, and holds it there for a few seconds.

Single-leg Deadlift
3v on YouTube

Next, Baldwin transitions from a single-leg hold to a single-leg deadlift, which, according to Chicago-based certified personal trainer, Stephanie Mansour, works the legs, glutes, and core. But unlike a traditional deadlift, in which you'd normally slightly bend at the knee and hinge at the hips, Baldwin's deadlift is performed with the strength of just one leg. Because of this, Mansour told SELF, the 22-year-old model is also incorporating stability, balance, and cardio into the movement.

Walking Lunges
CrossFit® on YouTube

Last, but not least, Myers has Baldwin finish off with a weighted walking lunge. If she wasn't feeling the burn already, I can only imagine that her legs were probably on fire for the finale. "By holding the dumbbell and switching it between her hands, [Baldwin] increases the intensity and effectiveness of this compound movement," Borowiec explains. "This sequence targets her glutes, hamstrings, quadriceps, and core."