Women's Health July 6, 2026 0 Comments

I Put Love Island Star Carl’s Workout to the Ultimate Test—The Results Will Shock You!

Ever wondered what goes on behind the steamy chats and cheeky challenges on Love Island when the cameras stop rolling? Well, turns out, the islanders aren’t just lounging about—they’re breaking a sweat, too. But let’s be honest: some of their workout moves might make you raise an eyebrow or two. Enter Carl Witness Lee Schmidt—the “people’s prince” and a NASM-certified personal trainer from Denver who’s flipping the script with workouts that actually make sense. I took a dive into Carl’s recent leg day routine, packed with moves that had me grimacing and grinning in equal measure. Could three simple exercises really torch my quads and have me hobbling the next day? Spoiler alert: absolutely. Let me walk you through the sweat, the struggle, and the surprisingly fun parts of training like a Love Island star. LEARN MORE

4 min read

When Love Island-ers aren’t pulling each other for chats or participating in challenges, they’re working out. And while some of their workouts seem a little questionable, one star seems to know how to design a pretty legit workout: Carl Witness Lee Schmidt.

The NASM-certified personal trainer from Denver has quickly become the people’s prince and stolen the hearts of fans. He frequently posts his strength training workouts on Instagram, and as a gal who loves lifting and pop culture, I knew I had to try one of them. His recent leg day session looked particularly fun: It included a barbell squat, as well as some variations of moves I’ve never tried before, like a heel-elevated squat to alternating lunge and a Spanish squat.

With only three moves, I was worried I wouldn’t be fatigued enough after this leg day. Spoiler alert: I was extremely wrong. Here’s my full review and unfiltered thoughts on Love Island star Carl’s leg day routine.

3 Moves from Love Island Star Carl’s Leg Day Routine

Barbell Back Squat

In this video, Carl does barbell front squats, but since they hurt my wrists and lower back, I subbed them for barbell back squats. They’re one of my favorite leg day moves that I do regularly.

After a warmup set of 10 reps with just the bar, I added weight that felt heavy for me. (It was a bit lighter than my usual weight, because I was coming off a week of no workouts post-vacation.) At the suggestion of a trainer at my gym, I elevated my heels on a wedge, which I’d never tried before. I also noticed Carl elevated his heels in the squat to alternating lunge, so I was intrigued.

Elevating your heels can help you squat lower and isolate your quads so they work way harder.

Not only did I squat deeper than ever before, which increased my range of motion and worked my muscles way more, but I also felt my quads working even harder than usual. It felt way more difficult than the way I normally squat with my heels on the ground. (So, thank goodness I decided to use less weight than normal!) I completed 4 sets of 10 reps, and felt more tired than usual after.

Learn barbell lifts with our build & burn challenge

Heel-Elevated Squat to Alternating Lunge With Kettlebell

I’ve done my fair share of squat-lunge hybrid moves, but never this specific variation. Just like in the video, I put my heels on a plate with my feet together and squatted all the way down to my heels while holding a heavy kettlebell at my chest. I’d never squatted so low with my feet close together, and boy, did this move humble me—especially after the barbell squats!

The exercise was a little challenging mentally and felt a bit awkward at first because I was learning a new move. But after a few reps, I found my footing. Again, the move worked my quads way more than my glutes because of the heel elevation and lunge addition. With those variations on the traditional squat, and a kettlebell in my hands, it became a full-body movement that made every part of me work harder than normal. I could only eke out 6 reps with heavy weight and almost hit failure by the fourth rep during each set. After each round, I was winded and sweaty—which is normally how I feel after cardio, not strength training.

Spanish Squats

From a first glance of this move, I thought it would be pretty easy (a bodyweight squat with a resistance band? How hard can it be?). And after a few reps, I wasn’t really feeling the burn. So, I tried backing up a bit farther away from the pole to put more tension on the band. After that adjustment, it was way harder to straighten my legs when I rose up from a squat, which put more stress on my quads. I did 3 sets, then a bonus one with my heels elevated for fun. My legs were shaking by the end—which just goes to show that a tiny tweak can make all the difference in how effective an exercise is.

My Takeaways from Carl’s Leg Workout

This Islander knows how to program a tough workout. Carl made my legs shake—and I want to thank him for that. (Seriously…I had trouble walking the day after this workout. As I’m writing this, it’s been three days and my quads have never been this sore.)

Even though I only did three moves, I used heavy enough weight that my quads and glutes were totally cooked—and it only took about 30 minutes. While I normally rest for 2 minutes in between sets, I found myself needing closer to 3 minutes because my body was so fatigued after each move.

My Go-To Workout Gear

Fabletics On-The-Go Jumpsuit

Credit: Courtesy

R.A.D One V2

Credit: Courtesy

I decided that I will always elevate my heels during squats moving forward because it’ll target my quads even more than a traditional one. I’m definitely going to add both the squat to alternating lunge and Spanish squats to my regular leg day routine, especially when I want to work my quads more. Those moves were hard, but fun, and will help keep my routine fresh.

My only complaint: My leg days usually include a little bit of calf work—and I doubt this video included his whole leg day routine—but I tacked on some weighted single-leg calf raises at the end of the workout. Other than that, though, I wholeheartedly recommend giving this leg day workout a try.

Not only is Carl the people’s prince, but he’s also the king of squats. Drop the arm day routine next, King!

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Addison Aloian is the associate health & fitness editor at Women’s Health, where she writes and edits across the health, weight loss, and fitness verticals. She’s also a certified personal trainer through the National Academy of Sports Medicine (NASM). In her free time, you can find her lifting weights at the gym, running on the West Side Highway in New York City—she recently completed her first marathon, the 2025 New York City Marathon—and watching (and critiquing!) the latest movies that have garnered Oscars buzz. In addition to Women’s Health, she’s made an appearance on the Oprah Podcast and her work has also appeared in Allure, StyleCaster, L’Officiel USA, V Magazine, VMAN, and more.