Lagging on leg day? 11 exercises to build muscle and strengthen your legs

The muscles in your lower body play a key role in supporting athleticism and everyday activities, so it’s important to train your legs directly to build strength, stability, and overall function. There are many exercises to choose from, with and without weights, that target all major muscle groups in the legs, such as the glutes, quadriceps, hamstrings, and calves. When performing these exercises, you should always make sure to maintain proper form and gradually increase the difficulty over time.

1. Squat

Squats train all the major muscles in your legs, like your quads, hamstrings, adductors (muscles on the inner thighs), and calves. They also target some of your major upper body muscle groups, like your back and core (abdomen, back, and pelvis). You can do them without weights, while holding a weight in front of you by your chest, or with a barbell resting on your upper back.

How to:

1. Stand with your feet shoulder-width apart, toes slightly turned out, and your chest up with your core braced (tensed). If you’re using a dumbbell or kettlebell, hold the weight by your chest.
2. Next, push your hips back as if sitting into a chair by bending your knees to about 90 degrees.
3. Once fully bent down, push up with the middle of your foot to stand tall, extending your hips and knees while keeping your core engaged and spine neutral (straightened).

2. Walking Lunges

Walking lunges are a dynamic (active) movement that challenges your leg muscles and your stability and coordination. You can try these in a variety of ways, including with dumbbells by your sides, in front of you, or while using a barbell. Choose a weight that works for you and isn’t too heavy, and make sure you keep most of the weight at the front of your legs as you do the movement.

How to:

1. Stand with your feet hip-width apart, core engaged, and hands on your hips or holding weights at your sides.
2. Take a controlled step forward with one leg, lowering your back knee toward the ground while keeping your front knee aligned over your ankle.
3. Drop until both knees are at about 90 degrees. Then press down on your front foot to step forward with the opposite leg into the next lunge, continuing in a walking pattern.

3. Bulgarian Split Squat

Split squats are an exercise that works your glutes (the muscles in your buttocks), hamstrings, and calves. They challenge your knees, hips, and ankles by keeping them aligned, making them a great movement for improving your lower body stability.

How to:

1. Stand a couple of feet in front of an elevated surface, like a lowered weight bench, and place the back of one of your feet on it.
2. Keeping your torso upright and core engaged, bend the front of your knee so your thigh comes down to about 90 degrees as you squat.
3. Press down on the middle of your foot to push yourself back up
4. Repeat several times on the same side before switching to the other leg.

4. Step Up

The step-up exercise targets your quads and glutes while also challenging the stability of your knee, hip, and ankle joints. A common mistake people experience while doing these is when they push themselves up with the back of their foot instead of using their front leg to control the movement. Try to keep that in mind as you practice this exercise.

How to:

1. Grab some weights and stand facing a sturdy bench or box with your feet hip-width apart and arms at your sides.
2. Place one foot on the bench and press down on the middle of your foot to push yourself up onto the bench.
3. On the way back down, lower your trailing foot (foot behind you) with control.
4. Repeat several times before switching sides.

5. Leg Press

Machines are an effective way to work your leg muscles, and the leg press is a great option. Most leg press machines mainly target your leg muscles in different positions and allow you to adjust the weight. When using a leg press, be sure to brace your core, even if the machine has a back support, so that you don’t put too much tension on your lower back.

How to:

1. Sit on the leg press machine with your back flat against the pad, position your feet about shoulder-width apart on the platform, and keep your knees bent at about 90 degrees.
2. Push through your mid-foot to extend your legs, straightening them without locking your knees at the top of the movement.
3. Now, slowly bend your knees to lower the platform back toward you until your thighs are at about a 90-degree angle.
4. Repeat by pressing your legs out again to straighten them.

6. Hamstring Curl

The hamstring curl exercise targets the hamstring muscles. These muscles start at the pelvis and extend down below the knee, crossing both the hip and knee joints. The leg curl machine, an option for performing this exercise, works by bending the knee, which engages the hamstrings and helps strengthen them. Strong hamstrings are important for running, jumping, and preventing injuries.

How to:

1. Lie face down on the leg curl machine with the pad resting just above your ankles. Keep your knees aligned with the machine’s pivot point (where it bends).
2. Brace your core and pull your heels toward your glutes, flexing your hamstrings as you complete the movement.
3. Slowly extend your legs back down to the starting position without letting the weight drop, while maintaining tension throughout the movement.

7. Leg Extension

Leg extensions target the quadriceps muscles, which are the four muscles located on the front of the thigh. This exercise strengthens the quadriceps by focusing specifically on extending the knee, which is the main function of these muscles. This helps improve knee stability and lowers the risk of injuries.

How to:

1. Sit on the leg extension machine with your back against the seat and the padded lever resting just above your ankles.
2. With your feet and toes flexed toward you, straighten your knees to lift the weight up, squeezing your quadriceps at the top.
3. Slowly lower as you bend your knees to return to the starting position, keeping tension on the quads throughout.

8. Lateral Lunge

Lateral lunges are a twist on traditional lunges that provide unique benefits many forward-and-backward exercises miss. This exercise works the muscles that support side-to-side movement, helping improve sideways mobility, balance, and coordination.

How to:

1. Stand with your feet hip-width apart, core engaged, and hands by your sides.You can do this with or without weights.
2. Take a big step to one side, bending the working knee about 45 degrees as you land. Keep the opposite leg straight.
3. Make sure most of your weight is on the working leg, and then push through your foot to return to the starting position.

9. Calf Raise

Calf raises primarily target your calf muscles, which are responsible for lifting your heels off the ground and are important for walking, running, jumping, and maintaining balance. In addition to training calf strength, this exercise also engages the muscles of your feet, which helps improve foot strength, arch support, and overall lower limb stability.

How to:

1. First, stand tall with your feet hip-width apart, toes pointing forward, and your knees slightly bent.
2. Press through the balls of your feet to raise your heels as high as possible, squeezing your calves as you do.
3. Slowly lower your heels back to the ground without letting them drop, maintaining tension in your calves.

10. Deadlift

Deadlifts target the muscles along the backside of your body, including your glutes, hamstrings, and lower back muscles. These muscles work together to extend your hips, stabilize your spine, and generate force. Deadlifts are one of the most effective exercises for building overall strength because they engage multiple large muscle groups. They also reinforce the proper way to lift things, making them highly effective for everyday activities, like safely picking up heavy objects.

How to:

1. Grab a kettlebell and place it between your feet.
2. Brace your core, hinge (bend forward slightly) from your hips while bending your knees a bit, and grab the weight.
3. With a neutral spine, press your feet down and extend your hips and knees at the same time to pick the weight up.

11. Glute Bridge

Glute bridges work your glutes and hamstrings. You can easily upgrade this exercise by adding weight to your hips as you perform it. Other versions, like the single-leg glute bridges, can also further challenge your unilateral (one-sided) strength, making this movement a valuable addition to any lower-body or full-body workout.

How to:

1. Lie on the floor with your knees bent and feet flat, about hip-width apart, and arms at your sides.
2. Brace your core and push your hips up toward the ceiling as much as you can, squeezing your glutes at the top without arching your back.
3. Slowly lower your hips back down to the floor, maintaining tension in your glutes and hamstrings.

Choosing Sets and Reps

You should aim to do three sets of five to 15 reps, or repeated movements during an exercise, like lifting and lowering a weight.

Choose a weight for each exercise that allows you to stop about three to five reps before failure, which is when your muscles can no longer complete the exercise. Leaving three to five reps in the tank helps you keep perfect form while still challenging your muscles.

Workout Frequency

You should aim to train your legs two to three times per week. You don’t need to focus your entire workout on leg training on those days. However, as a general rule of thumb, you should target your leg muscle groups with a handful of exercises several times a week to make the most progress. Over time, you’ll also want to keep raising the number of sets and reps you do, while also increasing weight.

Warming Up and Cooling Down

Just like with any workout, it’s important to warm up to get blood flowing to your muscles and prepare your body for heavier exercise. Cooling down after a workout also helps your body recover and relax. Five to 10 minutes before and after your workout is a good amount of time for warm-up and cool-down exercises.

Leg training is essential for any well-rounded exercise program because it builds strength in some of the largest and most powerful muscles in the body. Strong legs support better overall performance, whether you’re lifting weights, running, playing sports, or simply moving through daily life. There are many exercises to choose from to add to your routine. When incorporating them, always remember to listen to your body and avoid pushing yourself if the exercise is causing pain.