Squats and deadlifts are the best leg exercises that give strength to your body. These exercises target your leg muscles, and by doing more sets and repetitions of them over time, you can increase the strength and definition in your lower body. These 7 exercises help you to gain a sleek lower body at home.
Warm up for your leg workout
To prepare your legs for exercise, start with a light cardio warm-up for 5 minutes. This gets your heart pumping and blood flowing to your muscles. If you have extra time, use a foam roller for 5 minutes to loosen up any tight tissues. Leg swings, exercises that open your hips, bodyweight squats, and lunges. Finally, after completing your workout, dedicate time to a more thorough static stretching routine for your legs.
Leg Exercise workout at home
Romanian deadlift
The Romanian deadlift is a great exercise to target your glutes, hamstrings, and calves and even improve hip mobility. Here’s how to do it:
- Grab a barbell or dumbbell.
- Keep your back straight and look ahead as you hinge at your hips, pushing your glutes back and slightly bending your knees.
- Lower the weights down your legs until you feel a stretch in your hamstrings.
- Hold for a second, then squeeze your glutes to drive your hips forward and stand back up to the starting position.
Walking lunges
Want to challenge your balance and strengthen your legs? Walking lunges are a great option! Here’s how: stand tall with your feet together. You can hold dumbbells in each hand for an extra challenge. Keep your back straight and look forward as you lunge with your right leg, stepping forward until your thigh is parallel to the ground.
Push back up to the starting position using your right heel. Repeat the lunge with your left leg, continuing to alternate legs as you walk forward.
Lateral lunges
Our bodies are used to moving forward and backward most of the time. Adding lateral movements like lateral lunges helps improve our overall stability and leg strength. Here’s how to do them:
- Stand with your feet wider than shoulder-width apart.
- Bend one knee, lowering your hips as if sitting in a chair.
- Keep your upper body tall and your other leg mostly straight.
- Lower yourself until your bent knee forms a right angle.
- Push back up to start and repeat for all your reps on that side before switching legs.
Glute bridge
This exercise, called a glute bridge, strengthens your legs and core without equipment. Lie on your back with your knees bent and feet flat on the floor.
Inhale and press down through your entire foot, squeezing your glutes and hamstrings to lift your hips towards the ceiling. Hold for a second at the top, then slowly lower your hips back down to the starting position. Exhale as you lower yourself.
Leg press
Leg press machines are a great tool to target specific leg muscles, even though they might not offer all the advantages of free-weight exercises. Here’s how to use the leg press: sit in the machine and adjust the seat and back pad for a comfortable fit.
Position your feet hip-width apart on the platform, and bend your knees to create a 90-degree angle at the start.
Brace your core and glutes, then straighten your legs to push the weight away. Hold for a second at the top without locking your knees, then slowly lower the weight to the starting position.
Single-leg squat exercise
The single-leg deadlift is a fantastic exercise to challenge your balance and strengthen your hamstrings. To perform it, grab a pair of dumbbells and maintain a straight back and forward gaze throughout the movement. Shift your weight onto your left leg and bend at your hips, keeping a slight bend in your left knee.
As you hinge forward, reach your right leg straight back until your body forms a straight line, head to toe.
Make sure your hips stay level and don’t twist. Hold for a second, then return to the starting position and repeat using the other leg. Be sure to complete the desired number of repetitions on each side.
Leg adductor exercises
- Lie on your side with your hips stacked and your bottom leg straight.
- Prop yourself up with your bottom arm for comfort.
- Keep your top leg bent in front of you with your foot flat on the floor for stability.
- Lift your straight leg as comfortably as possible, squeezing your inner thigh at the top.
- Slowly lower your leg back down in a controlled motion.
- Repeat for reps on one side, then switch legs.
Repetition and set during workout
To keep things manageable as a beginner, focus on 3-5 exercises per leg workout that target different muscle groups. Aim for three sets of each exercise, with 8-12 repetitions in each set. Pushing yourself until your muscles feel tired but not completely exhausted is essential. This will help you build strength and endurance gradually.