Lockstep is a lower body endurance workout with a drill sergeant's cadence: 10 step backs, 2 squat step backs, and again, and again, five times through without a break in formation. Two movements, one rhythm, zero improvisation. The name is the method - every rep arrives exactly on the beat, and the discipline of the pattern is precisely what makes the legs fall in line.

The circuit runs without rest between exercises, and the drill repeats five full rounds per set. The step backs are the marching column: 10 controlled steps to the rear, each one loading the standing leg while the moving leg reaches back - a low-grade lunge pattern that accumulates across 50 total reps. The squat step backs are the command to halt and drop: a wide, deep squat taken on the move, twice per round, forcing the legs to interrupt their traveling rhythm and produce depth on demand before falling back into step. That alternation - locomotion, depth, locomotion - trains the legs to switch between cruising and loading without hesitation, and the fixed cadence means the burn arrives on schedule, compounds by round three, and is fully in charge by round five. Nobody breaks step anyway. That's the whole point of the exercise.

Step back with control, transferring weight fully and keeping the torso tall - reaching, not lurching. In squat step backs, land in a genuinely wide stance and sink the hips to parallel with the chest up before stepping on. Keep the tempo even across all five rounds; the workout is measured in consistency, not speed.

Five rounds, one cadence, no stragglers. Fall out - and fall back in tomorrow.

Make it Harder: Double every squat step back pair to 4.

Make it Easier: Shallow the squats to half depth and slow the whole cadence down.