Leg Exercises
Your legs hold your largest muscles: the quads on the front of the thigh, the hamstrings on the back, the glutes on the hip and the calves on the lower leg. Together they let you stand up, walk, climb, run and jump. Three main patterns train them. Squats bend the knees and hips together and load the quads and glutes most. Hinges, such as deadlifts, bend mostly at the hips and load the hamstrings and glutes. Lunges and split squats train one leg at a time and test your balance. Leg curls, leg extensions and calf raises fill the gaps. A balanced plan includes a squat or lunge and a hinge.
15 exercises with male and female illustrations.
Start here
Beginner picks: easy to learn and easy to load.
Hip hinge
Squat
Lunge and single leg
Leg isolation
Questions
How many days a week should I train legs?
The U.S. Physical Activity Guidelines advise muscle-strengthening activities for all major muscle groups on 2 or more days a week, and that includes your legs. A full-body plan trains them in each session. A split plan gives them one or two days of their own.
Can I train legs at home without weights?
Yes. Use bodyweight squats, reverse lunges, Bulgarian split squats, single-leg Romanian deadlifts, glute bridges and calf raises. To make them harder, slow the lowering phase, pause at the bottom, or move to a single-leg version.
Do I need both squats and deadlifts?
You need both patterns, not those two exact lifts. A squat or lunge trains the quads, and a hinge trains the hamstrings and glutes. A goblet squat and a dumbbell Romanian deadlift cover both patterns just as well.