Leg day is often the most challenging but rewarding part of most people’s workout schedules. Your legs contain the largest muscles in your body, and getting those muscles toned and strong improves overall strength while making your physical appearance more attractive.
Don’t be one of those guys who skip leg days, or you’ll end up with a nicely defined upper body and toothpicks for legs.
The muscles in your legs are designed for endurance since they carry your body weight all day as you go about your day, so you want to get a few more reps compared to when working your upper body to ensure the muscles there are adequately stimulated.
Make it a habit to warm up your leg muscles before starting your workouts to make the process smoother and optimize performance. You don’t have to do much to warm your leg muscles correctly; just five to ten minutes of jogging or riding a bicycle and some dynamic stretches are all your leg muscles need to prepare for intense exercise.
15 Leg Exercises That Will Increase Size, Strength, And Muscle Definition
Ready to build tree trunk legs? Let’s jump right into our list of the best exercises to perform to target muscles in your lower half.
1) Squats
Squats are one of the first exercises that come into most people’s minds when leg day is brought up for good reason. It’s a compound exercise that targets your glutes, quads, and calves. You can complete the exercise with a barbell, dumbbell, or kettlebell to make it more challenging.
Here’s what the exercise looks like:
- Stand with your legs shoulder-width apart, toes slightly pointing outward.
- Lower your torso by bending at your knees and pressing your hips back as if you’re sitting in a chair.
- Keep your chest up and back straight.
- Lower down until the upper half of your legs are parallel to the floor or a tad below parallel.
- Push your heels to the floor to return to the starting position.
- Repeat for the desired number of reps.
2) Lunges
Lunges are an excellent unilateral exercise for muscles in your legs. The exercise forces one of your legs to carry most of your body weight, which can be challenging even without weights. Add dumbbells or kettlebells to increase the difficulty once you get used to the movement.
To perform lunges:
- Stand tall with your feet about hip-width apart.
- Take a giant step forward with one of your legs and drop down until both of your knees are bent at a 90-degree angle.
- Keep your front knee aligned with your ankle. Your back knee should be almost touching the ground.
- Push back up to the starting position using your front heel.
- Repeat the motion with your other leg.
- Alternate legs for your desired number of reps.
3) Deadlifts
Deadlifts are perhaps the best exercise for building up your posterior chain. The exercise does wonders for your functional strength and engages most muscles in your body. Deadlifts primarily utilize your lower back, so it’s crucial to learn how to perform them with proper form before moving on to heavier weights.
Here are the mechanics for performing deadlifts:
- Get into the starting position by placing your legs about hip-width apart while holding onto a barbell with an overhand grip.
- Drop your hips back and bend your knees slightly while keeping your back straight.
- Lower the weight down towards the floor, keeping it close to your body.
- Push on the ground with your hips and lift the weight back up, extending your hips and knees.
- Squeeze your glutes at the top.
- Place the weight back down in a controlled manner to complete a rep.
- Repeat for the desired number of reps.
4) Leg Press
Leg presses are another popular exercise for your lower body, mainly targeting your quads and glutes. Some gym goers prefer the leg press to the squat since it doesn’t put as much pressure on the spine as the latter. It’s an excellent way to work your leg muscles to fatigue.
Here’s what the exercise looks like:
- Sit on the leg press machine with your back flat against the pad and your feet shoulder-width apart on the footplate.
- Release the safety bars and let the weight drop toward you until your knee forms a 90-degree angle with your lower leg.
- Extend your legs fully without locking your knees to complete a rep.
- You can also take it up a notch by performing calf raises while your legs are extended.
5) Bulgarian Split Squats
The Bulgarian split squat is a single-leg squat variation that involves placing your back leg on an elevated platform, like a chair or exercise bench. It is a unilateral movement that targets your quads more than most of the exercises on our list. The exercise will also help you to improve your coordination and balance while strengthening muscles in your legs.
To perform Bulgarian split squats:
- Get into the starting posture a few feet in front of a bench or elevated surface.
- Put one foot behind you on the bench with the top of your foot facing down.
- Lower your body by bending your front knee until it forms a 90-degree angle.
- Keep your chest upright and back straight.
- Push through your front heel to return to where you started.
- Repeat the motion for the desired number of reps, then switch legs.
6) Calf Raises
Leg day isn’t complete without performing some exercises that target mainly your calves. Calf raises are an effective way to add size and definition to your legs, even if you’re one of those people with naturally skinny legs. You can use dumbbells or barbells to make the exercise more challenging or raise one leg off the ground so the other carries all your body weight.
Here are the mechanics for calf raises.
- Stand on the edge of a step or platform so your heels can hang off it.
- Hold onto something for support for balance if needed.
- Rise onto your toes by lifting your heels as high as possible.
- Lower your heels back down below the step to stretch your calves.
- Repeat for the desired number of reps.
7) Leg Extensions
Leg extensions are one of the best isolation exercises for your quads. Think of it as the tricep extension for your legs; it should be one of the exercises you finish your leg days with. There’s no need to load up heavy weights for leg extensions since you have other exercises, like squats, that are better suited for heavy lifting. Use lighter weights that you can rep 15 to 20 times instead.
To perform leg extension:
- Sit on the leg extension machine with your back against the pad and your legs hooked under the footpad.
- Adjust the seat so that your knees are aligned with the machine’s pivot point.
- Extend your legs fully, lifting the weight until your legs are straight.
- Lower the weight back down to finish your rep.
- Repeat for the desired number of reps.
8) Hamstring Curls
Here’s another isolated movement that targets your hamstrings. It is a simple exercise that mimics your movement with your arms for biceps curls. After going through your compound exercises, add this to the end of your workouts to work your hamstrings to fatigue.
Here’s what the mechanics look like:
- Lay face down on a hamstring curl machine with your knees off the edge of the bench and your legs hooked under the footpad.
- Adjust the setting so that your knees are aligned with the pivot point.
- Curl your heels towards your glutes by bending your knees.
- Lower the weight to the starting position in a controlled manner.
- Repeat for the desired number of reps.
9) Step-Ups
The step-up is one of the most straightforward unilateral exercises to learn, so try these if you’re having difficulty getting the form down for lunges. Another cool thing about the step-up is it mimics your natural movement when climbing stairs.
Here’s what the exercise looks like:
- Stand in front of a bench or platform that can hold your weight.
- Step on the bench with one foot, pressing through your heel to bring your other foot up to meet it.
- Step back down with the same foot.
- Repeat on the other side, alternating legs for the desired number of reps.
10) Romanian Deadlifts
The Romanian deadlift targets your hamstrings more than a traditional deadlift while still engaging most of the muscles in your lower body.
Here’s how to perform the exercise:
- Stand with your feet hip-width apart while holding a barbell with an overhand grip.
- Hinge at your hips and bend forward while keeping your back straight.
- Lower the weight toward the ground, allowing your knees to bend slightly.
- Keep the weight close to your body throughout the movement.
- Squeeze your glutes and hamstrings as you return the barbell to the starting position.
- Repeat for the desired number of reps.
11) Glute Bridges
Glute bridges primarily target your glutes, core, and hamstrings. You can make it even more challenging by placing a resistance band above your knees to make your glutes work harder.
Here’s what it looks like:
- Lay on your back and bend your knees as you keep both feet flat on the ground, hip-width apart.
- Put your arms by your sides and keep your palms facing down.
- Raise your hips off the floor by squeezing your glutes.
- Hold for a moment at the top, then lower your hips back down.
- Repeat for the desired number of reps.
12) Box Jumps
Box jumps are a simple leg exercise that involves jumping on an elevated surface from the floor. It’s an effective way to increase explosive power in your legs, improving your athletic performance. Box jumps are among the best leg exercises for increasing vertical jump height. It’s very popular with basketball players and other athletes who need to be able to jump high.
Here are the mechanics of the box jump:
- Stand in front of a solid box or platform that can carry your weight as you jump on it.
- Jump onto the box using both feet, landing softly with your knees bent.
- Stand up tall on the box, then step or jump back down.
- Repeat for the desired number of reps.
13) Leg Press Machine Calf Raises
Who said leg presses were the only exercise you can do on the leg press machine? It’s also great for calf raises since you can load up as much weight as you want. Add this exercise to the end of your workout to work your calves to fatigue.
Here is how to perform calf raises on a leg press machine:
- Sit on the leg press equipment with your back touching the pad and your feet about shoulder-width apart.
- Release the safety bars and push the weight back up using your heels.
- Extend your legs fully without locking your knees to perform calf raises.
- Lower the weight back down in a controlled manner when you’re done with your reps.
14) Walking Lunges
Walking lunges are a variation of the conventional lunge that involves moving forward instead of staying in place as you pump out your reps. The exercise targets your quads, hamstrings, and glutes.
Here’s what the exercise looks like:
- Stand tall with your feet hip-width apart.
- Take a step forward with one of your legs and lower your body until both knees are bent at a 90-degree angle.
- Push back up to the starting position using your front heel.
- Bring your back leg forward as you perform a lunge with it.
- Continue walking forward, alternating legs for each lunge.
- Repeat for the desired distance or number of reps.
15) Sumo Squats
As is the case with the traditional squat, sumo squats target most of the muscles in your legs. However, it targets your inner thighs more than the conventional squat. It’s an excellent exercise for improving your legs’ stability, strength, and power.
To perform the exercise:
- Keep your feet a bit wider than shoulder-width apart and toes pointed outward.
- Lower your torso by bending your knees while pushing your hips back.
- Keep your chest up and back straight.
- Drop down until the upper half of your legs are parallel to the ground.
- Push through your heels to return to the starting position.
- Repeat for the desired number of reps.
Build The Legs Of Your Dreams
You don’t have to perform all 15 exercises on our list every time it’s leg day to build strong, muscular legs. You only need a handful of compound and isolated exercises on our list to ensure every muscle in your legs is targeted during your workouts.
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