Out of all the Kardashian-Jenner women, Kendall and Kylie don’t post as much about their workout sessions on social media as Kim, Kourtney, and Khloé — which made me curious how they stay in shape.
I did some digging and found that Kendall sometimes works with a trainer and does body-weight moves with cardio intervals, and Kylie tends to be more free-spirited with her approach.
I couldn’t find clearly defined workout plans for either of them, so I devised my own adapted version of Kendall and Kylie’s gym routines based on the types of exercises they each seem to favor.
Read on to see what it was like working out like Kendall and Kylie, and which routine I preferred.
Day 1: I started my experiment with a Kylie-inspired walk
According to Women’s Health, Kylie likes to take her daughter, Stormi, on walks, so I figured a stroll around my neighborhood was a perfect workout for day one.
Since it’s been cold, I’ve mostly done my cardio indoors with an elliptical. When I saw the temperature was hitting close to 40 degrees Fahrenheit, I bundled up, turned up some music, and went for a fast-paced walk.
I used my watch to keep track of my heart rate, calories, and distance, and I was impressed to see how much my heart rate rose.
Once I came back and warmed up, I took a few minutes to stretch before calling it quits for day one.
Day 2: I worked out my legs and butt as Kylie would
I woke up feeling excited to take on another Kylie-inspired workout, but this time with a lower-body focus.
In a 2020 Harper’s Bazaar interview, Kylie said she doesn’t usually work out in a regular gym and that she prefers to use Google and Pinterest to look up exercises.
After learning this, I curated my own leg-and-butt workout.
I warmed up with body-weight squats, and then picked up my 15-pound dumbbells and did 12 forward lunges on each leg. Next, I swapped my lighter dumbbells for a heavier pair to do 20 deadlifts.
The third exercise in this round required a heavy resistance band around my thighs, so I got down on my mat to do 12 fire hydrants and 12 glute kickbacks on each leg.
I repeated all of these exercises for three rounds before stretching.
Day 3: Today’s cardio-focused workout was dreadful
I felt sore in my glutes and hamstrings today even though I didn’t think yesterday’s lower-body workout was that intense.
According to Hollywood Life, Kylie’s workouts include “a lot of weights, cardio, running, squats and push-ups.” Learning this, I figured I’d use today as another cardio day to flush out any built-up lactic acid — which, according to Healthline, can build up during intense exercise and lead to painful, sore muscles.
I’m not a fan of running and it was freezing out, so I decided to spend 25 minutes on the elliptical going at a steady pace combined with 15 minutes of a cardio workout I found on YouTube.
By the end of the 40 minutes, I was sweaty and out of breath, and it reminded me how much I dislike cardio-focused days.
Day 4: This HIIT-style workout was more my speed
I was eager to lift some heavier weights today, so I figured it was a perfect opportunity to do a HIIT (high-intensity interval training) style workout — which Elle reported the younger Jenner likes to do.
I decided to try a 30-minute upper-body HIIT workout from Self.
This workout consisted of two circuits of 40 seconds on and 20 seconds off for each exercise.
The first circuit included bear crawls, dumbbell bent-over flies, blast-off plank to shoulder taps, and dumbbell renegade rows with a push-up.
The second circuit included dumbbell bicep curls to an overhead press, burpees with a push-up, dumbbell wood chops, and dumbbell tricep extensions.
I grabbed my 10-pound dumbbells, put on a killer playlist, and got to work.
By the second circuit, my arms were on fire. I had to drop my weight a few times and wipe the sweat out of my eyes.
Although this was a challenging workout, it felt really good to burn out my muscles and work my upper body.
Day 5: My abs started burning quicker than I expected them to
My biceps and triceps were a surprisingly good kind of sore this morning. I was ready to give my upper body a rest and work a different muscle group.
I did some more digging and found some ab exercises that Kylie reportedly likes to do. From there, I put together my own ab workout that consisted of bicycle crunches, leg raises, Russian twists, and weighted sit-ups.
I did a descending pyramid by doing 30 reps of each move, then 20, then 10, then five.
By the second round of 20 reps, my abs were really feeling it, and beads of sweat were dripping down my face.
After what felt like forever, my workout was over and my abs were defeated.
Day 6: I did another lower-body workout that was tougher than I expected
This week of trying a Kylie-inspired workout routine has flown by.
On my second to last day, I decided to do another lower-body workout, taking inspiration from a 2018 Instagram video of Kylie and her sisters.
I started this workout by doing walking lunges while holding an 8-pound dumbbell over my head — the same move Kylie and her sisters are doing in the video. After three rounds of 45 seconds each, I moved on to wide-legged squats with a 20-pound dumbbell.
I may have been too ambitious with this weight as I eventually had to go down to my 15-pound dumbbell to finish the second and third rounds of this exercise.
After that, I lay on my mat to do three rounds of 12 single-leg hip thrusts with a heavy resistance band before completing the entire circuit two more times.
Out of all of these moves, the walking lunges were the most challenging and intense for me. I really give Kylie credit for making this exercise look easy.
Day 7: After sweating it out on the elliptical, I did a much-needed stretch routine
My body felt tired today, and I was happy that this week of Kylie-inspired workouts had finally come to an end. I figured that doing another round of intense cardio paired with stretching would be the perfect way to finish this week.
On the first cardio day, I went on my elliptical for 25 minutes. Today, I wanted to crank up the intensity by doing intervals on the machine for a total of 45 minutes.
I spent some time making a specific playlist for today’s workout so that I knew when to go fast and when to slow down and increase the resistance. This planning made such a difference, and the 45 minutes flew by.
I was out of breath and a sweaty mess by the end, but before hitting the shower, I made sure to spend some time stretching my sore lower body.
I felt great about how I ended this week, and I was ready to head into the next phase of this experiment.
Day 1: I kicked off the first day of my Kendall-inspired week with a body-weight workout
Kendall is reportedly a fan of body-weight (equipment-free) exercises, so for today’s workout, I did a combination of full-body moves.
Everything from push-ups to jump squats to burpees was on today’s agenda, and I started with three rounds of 12 reps for these three exercises.
From there, I moved on to three sets of 12 bicycle crunches, skater lunges, shoulder taps, and glute bridges.
I often underestimate just how tough a body-weight routine can be. By the end of this workout, I felt like jello.
Day 2: Kendall’s ab routine was beyond tough
There’s no denying that Kendall has some of the most enviable abs I’ve ever seen, which made me nervous for today’s workout.
According to People, the supermodel does an intense but quick routine, so I put on some fun music and began today’s workout with a standard forearm plank.
After 30 seconds were over, I rested for 10 seconds and then moved on to holding a high plank on my hands for another 30 seconds. From there, I got into a side-plank position on my right forearm and held that for 15 seconds before rolling over and holding another 15-second side plank on my left side.
After taking a 30-second rest — because my abs were on fire by this point — I went back into a side-plank position and did five side crunches on each forearm.
At this point, I was only halfway done with Kendall’s ab workout. I still had several exercises to get through and my abs were screaming for a break.
I lay on my mat for a minute and then got back into plank position to do a rocking plank for 15 seconds. From there, I was able to lie on my back to do a series of 20 standard crunches with my legs in a tabletop position, 20 seconds of a crunch with my legs straight up in the air, and 30 seconds of bicycle crunches.
I just had three more moves to do before this workout was complete, but my abs were so tight it was hard to keep going.
Kendall doesn’t get her toned abs by quitting, so I gave myself a quick pep talk and successfully completed 15 frog crunches, 15 Russian twists, and 15 leg lifts.
My abs were toast, and I already knew I was going to be extremely sore tomorrow.
Day 3: An intense leg workout had me drenched in sweat
Today, I turned to Kendall’s trainer, Gunnar Peterson, who’s also worked with her older sisters.
In 2020 he told Harper’s Bazaar about some of the moves that the supermodel does in the gym, so I used them to create a Kendall-inspired leg routine.
In the interview, Peterson said “the best way to see the separation in the muscle groups and reduce body fat in your legs is to do big compound movements, like squatting, lunging in different directions in the gym.” According to Healthline, compound exercises work several muscle groups at once.
In addition to squats and lunge variations, I googled other compound leg movements to do. I added goblet squats, split squats, pistol squats, thrusters, and wall sits to my list and did 12 to 15 reps of each move for three sets.
These exercises definitely got my heart rate up, and my legs fatigued quickly by the second set.
I finished the workout strong and hopped onto the elliptical for 10 minutes to get some extra cardio in. By the end, I was exhausted and drenched in sweat.
Day 4: My online boxing class flew by
In a 2016 Harper’s Bazaar interview, Kendall said she enjoys kickboxing classes — which I also love.
So for today’s workout, I streamed an online boxing class, and it was just what my mind and body needed. I’m always happy to turn off my mind and follow a class from time to time.
The class I followed included a lot of body-weight moves, and I definitely felt it in my sore legs from yesterday’s workout. It also included some traditional boxing as well as exercises like jumping jacks, squat jumps, boxer sit-ups, and skater lunges.
The 30 minutes flew by, and my face was as red as a tomato.
Day 5: I figured out eexercising with a resistance band is no easy feat
I was feeling a little sore today but still energized and motivated to take on the workout.
I feel like I’ve been getting stronger from each workout, which is something I really didn’t expect from this week since Kendall’s workouts didn’t look as tough as other routines I’ve followed.
Through my research, I also found out that Peterson has Kendall do a lot of exercises with a resistance band. I love using my resistance bands, so I was excited.
I began with a very light band to warm up my glutes by doing 10 kickbacks followed by 10 fire hydrants on each leg.
From there I cranked things up a notch and switched to a heavier band to do one minute each of banded duck walks and banded lateral steps followed by 25 banded squats.
I was already feeling the burn in my backside.
Then I got down on my mat and lay on my side to do 12 clam shells on each leg to work my outer thighs. These were very challenging, and I had to switch to a lighter band halfway through to prevent myself from quitting.
I took a second to stretch before continuing with the rest of the exercises: 45 seconds of standing kickbacks on each leg, 45 seconds of squat pulses, and a squat hold.
It’s safe to say that my glutes were definitely fired up by this point, and I made sure to take some time to stretch them out to prevent any potential soreness.
Day 6: I underestimated how tough body-weight exercises could be
This week has been flying by. I’ve been feeling good these past few days and not overly sore like I sometimes am trying different workout regimens.
My glutes and outer thighs were a little tired from yesterday’s banded workout, but aside from that, I was ready to get today out of the way.
I wanted to do another body-weight workout today, so I decided to do a similar circuit to what I did earlier in the week. But I added in high-intensity cardio intervals because Peterson mentioned in a 2016 US Weekly interview that he incorporates intense cardio sequences into Kendall’s workouts.
I did a series of 12 push-ups, burpees, spider crawls, V sit-ups, mountain climbers, and floor tricep dips. After each round, I did one minute of high knees, one minute of jumping jacks, and one minute of jogging in place for my cardio.
After three rounds of the body-weight moves combined with the cardio intervals, my heart rate was through the roof, and I was dripping in sweat.
But I noticed I didn’t fatigue as quickly as I had the first time I did the body-weight workout this week. It seemed like my stamina had improved, which is something I’m really proud of.
Day 7: It felt good to work my upper body
Aside from body-weight moves, I hadn’t done much for my upper body this week.
It doesn’t seem like Kendall is one to lift heavy weights, but I figured since she does pull-ups and sled-pushes, I’d do some push and pull moves today to work on my upper-body strength.
Since I’m not equipped to do pull-ups in my home gym set-up, I did 12 reps of lat pull-downs instead.
After three rounds of the pull-downs, I did three rounds of 12 bent-over rows on each side using a 20-pound dumbbell. From there I swapped my heavier dumbbell for two lighter ones and did the same number of reps and sets for my shoulder presses.
I started to break a sweat at this point, but it felt good to work my upper body.
After stretching out my arms a bit, I lay down on a bench and did three sets of 12 chest flies. I finished today’s workout with bicep moves.
After reflecting on the past 2 weeks, I preferred Kendall’s routine over Kylie’s
Something I learned from these past two weeks is that workouts don’t necessarily have to be very intense or brutal to successfully work your muscles. I often think the more sweaty and tired I am, the better the workout was, but that’s not always true.
I also often underestimate just how good a body-weight workout can be since I’m always itching to lift weights. But in reality, using only your body can give you just as great of a workout.
Between the two workout plans, I preferred Kendall’s routine — even though it included intense ab workouts, which I don’t often do. I learned some new exercises that I’m planning on implementing into my own workout routine.
I also appreciated that Kendall did some cardio but not as much as Kylie. I don’t mind cardio intervals, but I often get bored from just being on the elliptical for long periods of time.
Ultimately, after both routines, I felt strong and like I’d gained more stamina, which made all the soreness well worth it.
Click to read more celebrity workouts that we’ve put head-to-head.
