Best Leg Exercises for Strength and Muscle Development

Whether you want to build strong, powerful quadriceps and hamstrings or just tone up your legs for summer, the best way to strengthen and firm your lower body is by adding leg exercises to your workout routine.
From classic powerlifting exercises like the barbell squat to endurance-building leg exercises like the bodyweight lunge, this blog post lists the nine best leg exercises for developing a strong, firm and highly athletic lower body.
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Bodyweight Squat

Are you just getting started with personal fitness? The bodyweight squat is a simple but effective exercise that will help you strengthen your quadriceps, hamstrings and glutes for a firmer, stronger lower body.
Bodyweight squats are easy to perform, and you can safely do them at home with no workout equipment. Lift your arms in front of you to balance your body and squat to the point at which your thighs are parallel with the ground.
If you want to make bodyweight squats more of a challenge, try squatting using only one leg at a time. You can also hold dumbbells at your side and perform two-legged squats for a more challenging workout.

Barbell Squat

The barbell squat is a classic powerlifting and Olympic weightlifting exercise. You’ll need a gym membership or a power rack in order to perform this exercise safely, as doing squats without a rack to sit the weight on can be dangerous.
Balance the barbell on your upper back and shoulders – it should fit naturally onto the top of your trapezius muscles. Keep your legs at least shoulder width apart and squat down gradually to the point at which your thighs are parallel to the ground.
Barbell squats are one of the best leg exercises for building strong quadriceps and glutes, especially when performed with a heavy weight for five to ten reps. They’re also one of the ‘big three’ powerlifting lifts, along with the bench press and deadlift.
There are two different ways to perform barbell squats: the high bar stance and the low bar stance. Learn more about the difference between the squat techniques and learn which is best for you in our blog post on the high bar and low bar squat.

Leg Extension

Bodyweight and barbell squats are compound exercises that work more than one muscle group. Squats work the quadriceps – the big muscles on your thigh’s front side – as well as the hamstrings, glutes and lower back muscles.
Leg extensions, on the other hand, are an isolation exercise. Rather than targeting your whole lower body and posterior chain, they isolate your quadriceps to target the four muscle groups on the front side of your thigh.
You’ll need a gym membership or leg extension machine to perform leg extensions as part of your workout. Try to perform two to four sets at a moderate weight after you’ve finished your bodyweight or barbell squats.
Don’t want to train in the gym? Learn alternative leg exercises that you can perform at home to strengthen your muscles, build your body and burn away fat with our No Equipment, No Excuses Home Workout course.

Leg Press

The leg press is another lower body compound exercises. Unlike the barbell squat, it uses a supportive machine – in this case, the leg press machine – to reduce stress on your lower back while maximizing the amount of quad and hamstring involvement.
Performing the leg press is simple. Sit down in the leg press machine and gently lift the sled off the rack. You’ll need to pull the safety levers on the side of the machine out to allow the weight sled to travel down the machine.
Bring the weight sled down until your knees are at a 90 degree angle, then push up into the soles of your feet to return the sled to its starting position. If you’re doing leg press after squats, try performing two to four sets of eight to ten reps.

Hamstring Curl

So far, all of the leg exercises we’ve listed target the quadriceps and glutes first and the hamstrings second. The hamstrings are the other major muscle of your thighs – the ‘leg biceps’ that run from the back of your knees to your buttocks.
Many people focus on squats and leg press in their training and build strong quads but weak hamstrings. The hamstring curl isolates your hamstrings and forces them to work independently of other muscle groups.
Hamstring curls can be performed in two positions: sitting, using a machine that’s similar to the leg extension machine, and from a lying position. Keep the weight as low as possible and focus on technique and endurance for this exercise.
Do you want to learn how to increase your endurance and become stronger, fitter and better at sports? Check out our Muscle-Up Fitness course to learn exercises and workout routines that give you functional strength and a major performance boost.

Bodyweight Lunge

The bodyweight lunge is a great quadriceps, hamstring and glute exercise that you can perform without any weights. Put your legs in a running position and gradually lower your body towards the ground, placing your weight on your front leg.
Push up using your front leg and bring yourself back to a standing position. Switch legs and repeat. Bodyweight lunges target all of the muscle groups in your thigh for stronger, firmer legs.

Dumbbell Lunge

Are bodyweight lunges too simple for you? Make your lunges more challenging by holding dumbbells on either side of your body. Hold a small dumbbell in each hand and perform the same lunge motion as you would using just your bodyweight.
Dumbbell lunges are a great addition to a workout routine build around squats and other heavy leg exercises. Keep the dumbbells light and focus on your technique, as overdoing the weight can result in injuries to your knees.
Need more of a challenge? Switch to dumbbell lunges using a smith machine or the squat rack for a more challenging, controlled leg workout. Stick to light weights and perform sets of eight to ten lunges using each leg for optimum muscle development.
Lunges are some of the best exercises for building core strength. Learn more about how to train your core for overall athletic performance and wellness with our blog post on strength training workouts for health and wellness.

Deadlift

Like the squat, the deadlift is one of the most challenging exercises you can perform for your lower body. It’s also one of the most rewarding, working all muscle groups in your lower body, as well as several in your back and arms.
The deadlift is an incredibly challenging exercise, and it’s best performed on days in which you aren’t performing barbell squats, leg presses and other heavy lower body movements. Stick with short sets of five to eight reps, focusing on good technique.
Learning how to deadlift can be tough, but once you’ve mastered this exercise you’ll have no trouble building a strong, great looking lower body. Learn the basics of the deadlift in our course, How to Deadlift: The Ultimate Strength Exercise.

Calf Raise

So far, we’ve covered your quadriceps, glutes and hamstrings, as well as the various muscle groups targeted by deadlifts in your lower and upper back. What we haven’t targeted is your calves – the muscles in your lower legs, near your shin bone.
Calves are notoriously hard to develop, but one of the best exercises for developing strong, chiseled calf muscles is the calf raise. Stand on a raised platform and lift your body to stand on your toes, using one leg at a time and only your calf muscles.
Switch legs and repeat, aiming for high reps and good technique. If you need extra resistance, hold small dumbbells in your hands to give your calf muscles more of a challenge. Perform two to four sets of calf raises at the end of your workout.

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How to Stay Motivated to Work Out: Top 5 Ways to Stick It Out and Get It Done

It can be easy to start things, but even harder to follow them through to completion.  When it comes to working out, plenty of people make fitness goals for the New Year, the summer, or the month.  However, when hard work is involved and life gets in the way, it can be easy to get bored of a workout routine, especially if the results you want to see are coming too slowly.
If you need help sticking to a fitness routine, and are looking for ways to stay motivated to work out, we have 5 motivating steps that you can use to help you stick to your work out and stay motivated.

Step 1:  Motivate Your Inner Voice

• Ask yourself this question: Why do you workout?  Are you doing it to lose weight, to make new friends in a fitness class, or to live longer?  Everyone has their own reasons, and it is up to you to find the one particular reason that is your workout motivation.  Once you find your reason, stick to it and keep focused.
• Strengthen your inner voice:  If your inner voice is not strong, try to ignore the primary logic behind working out, or the things that make you not want to go to the gym.  Instead, focus on getting what you want.  Hone in on motivation and action, and your motivation will come easier to you.
• Use positive self talk:  If you talk down to yourself or try to punish yourself verbally for not working out, then working out is not going to be any fun.  Do not think about what will happen if you do not exercise.  Instead, focus on the food that will come from it when you do make the time to stay fit and in shape.  If you focus on the negativity, you will never be able to appreciate what you do.  Think of the positives and say things like, “I will”, “I can”, and “I did”.  These little inner talks will help you get yourself motivated and stay motivated to work out.

Step 2:  Set a goal

• Split it up:  It can be tough to motivate yourself to do anything if you do not have a goal in mind.  You can set up a goal for yourself at any point in this process, and it does not even have to be the end goal that you are looking to achieve.  In other words, you can simply set up a goal to achieve by the end of the day, week, or month.  For instance, if you want to lose 20 pounds altogether, and then make it a goal to lose 4 pounds by the end of the month.  This is 1 pound a week, and this will definitely seem a lot more manageable.  Your aim is to find ways to keep yourself motivated without getting overwhelmed.
• Commit to something:  Signing up for a walk or run can be a motivation for you to work out.  Once you have something that you feel like you need to work towards, you will have more motivation to get there.  Plus, the feeling of accomplishment once your goal is achieved will be reward enough from the process.
• Reward yourself:  Working out is tough, so if you have a goal then you might as well have a reward to make the end point seem more enticing.  Try to train your brain to want to work out.  For instance, after you complete a workout everyday for one week, treat yourself to a movie, a night out with friends, or to your favorite restaurant.  Basically, do what it takes to keep yourself going.
• Cut yourself some slack:  When it comes to working out, it can be easy to compare yourself to others or beat yourself up if you start feeling tired.  The thing to remember here is that working out is hard and it requires a lot of energy.  Once you have your goal, take it slow and do not worry if you stumble, fall, or want to quit – that is all a part of the process.

Step 3:  Take care of your body

Working out requires your full body’s attention.  As such, you are going to want to take care and nurture your body as best you can during this time.

• Eat healthy:  Regardless of whether you are working out or not, eating a healthy diet will help you stay motivated.  How can you work out if you do not feel good?  Working out and diet go hand in hand.  Remember that the healthier you eat, the healthier you will feel.  A good way to ensure that you have a healthy day is to start your day off with a healthy breakfast.  This will keep you energized throughout the day, help you maintain a healthy weight, and keep you feeling strong.
• Look good:  Looking good and feeling good also go hand in hand.  Perhaps a new pair of workout shoes or pants will motivate you to workout.  However, you should not have to spend a load of money to try to motivate yourself.  Keep it simple and use some new workout gear as a reward or incentive to get active.
• Change little things:  There are little things in our day that we can do to take care of our body.  For example, instead of sitting down to watch a show after your dinner, get up and go to the park for a brisk evening walk or talk a short jog around the block.  Little things like this can change how you feel about yourself and make you want to work out more.

Step 4:  Change your routine

• Go halfway:  If you find it hard to get up and work out, just get halfway there.  Usually, if you are already almost at the gym, park, or towards your fitness class, you are going to be less likely to turn around and head home.
• Keep your work outs varied:  It can be easy to get tired of the same workout routine and lose motivation.  If you are walking everyday and taking the same route, consider trying something different to kill your boredom.  For instance, try taking a kick boxing class online such as this one, swim at the local pool, or invite some friends to go on a hike.
• Invite some friends:  A great way to change up your routine and keep you wanting to work out is to get someone else to do it along with you.  This is going to help make you accountable and it will also motivate you to work out because doing it with someone else is usually a lot more fun than going at it alone.

Step 5:  Keep it positive

• Write it down:  Keep yourself motivated and accountable also by writing in a journal.  Track your daily workout routines and count calories to record your progress.  At the end of the week, you can look back and use your journal as motivation to see how far you have gone.
• Surround yourself with positivity:  When you need motivation, the worst thing that you can do is compare yourself to others or be around people who do not motivate you or put you down.  The good news is there are plenty of people who are looking for motivation as well.  Your job?  Find these people and work together to accomplish something.  Remember: strength in numbers is powerful

Kick Your Motivation Into Shape

Finding ways to stay motivated to work out can be tough.  We all have days where we do not what to do things that we know are good for us, but just remember that you are not alone in motivating struggles.  The great thing about working out is that you have the potential to feel amazing after a good work out.

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