Although many people dread leg day because of how challenging it is, most people find it beneficial to push through the tough squat sessions in order to see gains in muscle mass and strength.
When it comes to choosing the best lower body exercises, there are a few things to keep in mind. The best moves stimulate multiple leg muscles at once, while also allowing you to lift relatively heavy weights. The 10 exercises below offer the best results for your efforts, making them ideal for your next leg day.
Back Squat
The back squat is often referred to as the “king of all exercises” because it allows you to overload your leg muscles with more weight than you can with any other tool. Your core has to work hard to stabilize your torso throughout the movement, which helps promote a safe and stable spine.
If you are looking to build strength and size, back squats are a great exercise to include in your routine. Higher rep squats result in the body producing more growth hormone, which leads to increased overall size and strength. (1)
Benefits of the Back Squat
- Improved leg strength and hypertrophy. The back squat also builds back strength as the back stabilizes and supports the bar.
- A more powerful lower body. A study in the British Journal of Sports Medicine found a strong correlation between squats and jump height. (2)
- Stimulates more growth hormone release, which can help with overall size and strength gains.
How to Do the Back Squat
Pick up the barbell and hold it across your upper back. Flex your core muscles to lift the barbell off the rack. Place your hands on the barbell where it will allow your shoulders to have the most movement to get your elbows under the bar. You can set the barbell high or low on your upper back, depending on your preference. Take the barbell off the rack and take a few steps back. Pull the barbell down so it is touching your shoulders and creating tension. Keep your chest up and take a deep breath in. Squat down to a depth that is comfortable for you and pause for a moment. Push your feet through the floor until you are in a standing position with the barbell above your head.
Hip Thrust
The hip thrust exercise is effective in building strength and mass in your glutes and hamstrings. This exercise is similar to an isolation movement for the glutes.
improving lockout strength
and helping you look great in your favorite pair of pants.
Benefits of Hip Thrust
- Builds more glute mass, strength, and power than just about any hip extension exercise.
- It’s less technical and easier to perform than other heavily loaded movements like back squats and deadlift variations.
- Improved glute strength leads to better stabilization of the core, pelvis, and lower back.
How to Do the Hip Thrust
Sit with a bench pressing against your back and a barbell loaded with weights on your hips. With your shoulders on the bench and your body and hips in a straight line, lower your hips toward the ground, then extend them back up into the air.
Front Rack Bulgarian Split Squat
The Bulgarian split squat is the one accessory exercise to improve your squat and deadlift. This is because one foot is elevated, the quad is taxed through a longer range of motion than other leg exercises.
The longer you do this stretch, the more growth you will see. Having the weight in the front makes it so your core and upper back have to work hard to keep your body stable.
Benefits of the Front Rack Bulgarian Split Squat
- Bulgarian split squats reduce muscle imbalances between legs and help to improve leg drive for squats and deadlifts.
- More leg muscle recruitment, as Bulgarian split squats make you work harder (through an extended range of motion) to recruit more muscle fibers to perform the same squat movement.
- Improves core and upper back strength and stability.
How to Do the Front Rack Bulgarian Split Squat
To clean a pair of kettlebells, bring them up to your chest in the front rack position, keeping your chest up and shoulders down. Put your back foot on an elevated surface, and put a weight plate in front of your big toe so you can easily change sides. Drop your back knee towards the floor, but keep your torso leaning slightly forward. Push your front foot through the floor to go back to the starting position.
Romanian Deadlift
The Romanian deadlift is similar to the standard deadlift, but you lower the bar to about mid-shin level instead of all the way to the floor. This modification keeps constant tension on the glute and hamstring muscles, making it a better option to isolate those areas. It’s also easier on the lower back as most lifters use less weight for the RDL.
RDLs can help improve your regular deadlift and reduce the risk of spinal rounding during heavy pulls. RDLs are generally less stressful on your body than regular deadlifts since you can't use as much weight.
Benefits Of The Romanian Deadlift
- Improved muscle hypertrophy of the lower back, glutes, and hamstrings over regular deadlifts due to the constant tension.
- Like rack pulls, the Romanian deadlift will help improve the upper back and lockout strength for conventional deadlifts.
How to Do the Romanian Deadlift
Place your feet hip-distance apart, gripping the barbell with an overhand grip in front of your thighs. Keep your chest up and shoulders down as you inhale, then hinge at the hips until the barbell is below your knees. Keeping the barbell close to your body, pause for a second then exhale and use your hamstrings and glutes to pull you back to standing. Repeat.
Trap Bar Deadlift
There is no denying that barbell deadlifts are a strength and muscle-building movement. However, if you are not a competitive powerlifter, the trap bar deadlift may be a more comfortable (and possibly safer) option. The reason for this is that there is less shear force on the spine since the axis of rotation (lower back/hips) is more in-line with the load.
The raised, neutral handles of a trap bar allow for a reduced range of motion and a stronger grip, both of which are beneficial for athletes or lifters looking to focus on strength with reduced risk of injury.
Benefits of the Trap Bar Deadlift
- The neutral grip puts less stress on the wrist, elbows, and shoulders
- The high handles allow for a shorter ROM. As a result, lifters can load the bar with more weight.
- Both of the factors mentioned above make the trap bar deadlift an overall more accessible lift.
How to Do the Trap Bar Deadlift
Get in a hinge position with your hands grabbing each side of the trap bar. Drive your feet through the floor until you are in a standing position and the weights are locked out. slowly return to the starting position and repeat.
Single-Leg Deadlift Romanian Deadlift
The single-leg RDL is a difficult lower body movement to perform, but it has many benefits.
The benefits of the bridge exercise include better balance, reduced muscle imbalances, muscular hypertrophy, and endurance of the glutes and hamstrings. You should master this move with bodyweight first before adding load because stumbling and falling is not a great look.
Benefits of The Single-Leg Romanian Deadlift
- The single-leg RDL uncovers and improves asymmetries between sides.
- Increased hypertrophy and endurance of the glutes and hamstrings.
- Increases balance and stability of your ankles, knees, hips, and lower back.
How to Do the Single-Leg Romanian Deadlift
Lean your torso forward while keeping one foot on the floor and lifting the other so that your knee is bent. You should feel a stretch in your hamstring. Return to the starting position and repeat. You can make the exercise more difficult by holding a dumbbell or kettlebell in one hand.
Reverse Lunge
Arguably, reverse lunges are the easiest of all lunge variations because the reverse lunge is a hip-dominant exercise. This puts less stress on your knees than other lunge variations, which is great news if you suffer from knee pain. This exercise can also build strength, muscle, and improve hip mobility for squatting, deadlifting, and other hip-dominant movements. As with most unilateral variations, reverse lunges help to decrease muscle imbalances and increase injury resilience.
Benefits of the Reverse Lunge
- Builds unilateral strength, leg muscle, and improves single-leg balance.
- Easier on the lower back as it remains extended, reducing stress on the lumbar spine.
- You can vary the length of the step back to emphasize the quads (smaller step back) or glutes and hamstrings (larger step back).
How to Do the Reverse Lunge
Stand and spread your feet hip-width apart. Then, take a step back with one foot, and lower your hips until your right thigh is parallel to the floor. Keep your right knee over your ankle, and your chest up and shoulders down. Pause for a second, and push through your right foot to return to the starting position. You can alternate feet each time, or do all the reps on one side, depending on your goals.
Donkey Calf Raise
To strengthen your calves, you need exercises that not only provide a stretch, but also a larger range of motion, and the ability to add resistance. The donkey calf raise is perfect for this. If you don't have access to a machine, there are various ways to set it up, as demonstrated in the video below.
Single Leg Deadlift
The posterior or backside of the body is the focus of the double leg deadlift, however the single leg deadlift evens out muscular imbalances by focusing on one leg at a time.
This advanced lower body exercise requires a lot of core strength, balance and stability.
How To Do A Single Leg Deadlift With Dumbbells
- Stand tall with a flat back and neutral spine. Your shoulders should be back and down.
- With your right knee bent, hinge at your hips (hip flexors), extending the left leg long behind you as you balance on your right leg. Option to keep your left toe as a kickstand on the ground for balance support. Keep your hips even, square to the mat, as you press them back towards the wall behind you.
- Once you’ve reached the bottom (range of motion looks different for everyone). Drive through your right heel, squeezing your glutes and hamstrings to push your hips forward and return to the starting position.
Uneven Squat Thruster
The text is talking about how doing this exercise can help tone your hips and glutes while also giving you a cardio workout without being too strenuous.
How To Do An Uneven Squat Thruster With Dumbbells
- Stand with feet hip-width apart, toes pointing straight ahead or slightly angled out away from the body.
- Holding one dumbbell in your right hand, front rack the dumbbell in line with your right shoulder. Exhale to engage your core.
- With your weight in your heels, sit your hips back. Lowering your hips down until they are parallel with your knees.
- Then drive through your heels, standing tall and pressing the dumbbell overhead.
Lateral Squat
The main target of this move is the gluteus medius, which is the outer glute that controls hip movement and side-to-side movements. The quadriceps and inner thighs (or adductors) are also involved.
It’s like performing a goblet squat, laterally.
How To Do A Lateral Squat With Dumbbells
- Start with your feet wider than your hips, think a wide squat stance. With your knees and toes pointing forward (or toes just slightly turned out away from your body). Add weight by holding one dumbbell at your chest like you would during a goblet squat.
- Shift your weight into your right heel as you push your hips back, bending your right knee while leaving your left leg straight. Think of performing a single leg squat with your right leg while your left leg remains straight.
- Then, drive through your right foot to reverse the movement, pushing you back up to center.
- Repeat this movement on the left leg.
Bulgarian Split Squat Or Rear Foot Elevated Split Squat
This exercise mainly targets the quads, but also engages the glutes and core.
If you cannot elevate your rear foot on a bench or chair, you can perform a standard split squat by keeping your back foot on the ground.
How To Do A Bulgarian Split Squat Or Rear Foot Elevated Split Squat
- Stand facing away from a chair or bench. Measure two “feet” (literally, walk your feet in a straight line to measure two of your steps) then plant your front right foot on the ground.
- Place the toes of your left foot on the chair or bench behind you; shoelaces down. Option to hold a dumbbell at your chest.
- Keeping your chest up and shoulders stacked over hips (torso upright), lower your back left knee towards the ground until your front thigh is parallel to the ground.
- Drive through your right heel to return to the starting position.
