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Looking to get a solid leg workout at home without any equipment? No problem – with just a little motivation, you have everything you need to tackle these bodyweight leg exercises.

“Bodyweight exercises are fantastic for building strength,” explains Morgan Ford, RYT, and ACE-certified CPT. She points out the incredible strength of gymnasts as an example of what can be achieved through bodyweight training.

Moreover, bodyweight leg exercises can be adjusted to suit any fitness level. Ford recommends trying different variations, changing up the tempo, reducing rest time, increasing reps, or pushing yourself to failure for a more challenging workout.

Here are 11 bodyweight leg exercises that target every muscle in your lower body.

Muscles targeted: Quads, hamstrings, glutes, and calves

  • Stand with your feet shoulder-width apart.
  • Keep your back flat and core engaged as you lower yourself into a squat position, ensuring your thighs are parallel to the floor.
  • Push back up to the starting position.

Easier modification: Start by standing a foot in front of a chair, facing away, and lower yourself onto the chair before returning to standing. Gradually increase difficulty by moving further away from the chair for a full squat.

Advanced modification: Slow down the squat movement to three counts to increase the challenge.

Muscles targeted: Quads, glutes, and inner thighs

  • Stand with your feet wider than shoulder-width apart.
  • Point your toes outward at a 45-degree angle.
  • Lower into a squat position, ensuring your upper thighs are parallel to the floor.
  • Return to the starting stance.

Muscles targeted: Quads and glutes

  • Take a long step forward from a standing position, as if preparing for a lunge.
  • Lower your body into a lunge position, ensuring proper form with your front leg at a 90-degree angle.
  • Push back up to standing.
  • Complete all repetitions on one leg before switching.

Muscles targeted: Hip flexors, adductors, and abductors

  • Lie on your back with arms by your sides.
  • Raise one leg to a 90-degree angle with your body.
  • Draw a half-circle with your leg, moving it across your body and back up.
  • Complete all reps with one leg before switching.

Trainer Shows Example of Calf Raises | Bodyweight Leg Exercises

Muscles targeted: Calves

  • Stand with feet shoulder-width apart.
  • Raise heels off the ground, engaging your calf muscles.
  • Hold for a few seconds before lowering heels back down.

Trainer Shows Example of Crossing Lunges | Bodyweight Leg Exercises

Muscles targeted: Quads and glutes

  • Stand with feet shoulder-width apart.
  • Shift weight to one foot and step the other foot behind and to the side.
  • Lower into a lunge position before returning to standing.
  • Repeat on the other leg.

Advanced modification: Add a side kick at the end of the squat for an extra challenge.

7.

Front Kick

Muscles worked: Quads and glutes

  • Stand with your feet shoulder-width apart.
  • Squatting slightly, shift your weight onto your left leg and raise your right knee until your thigh is parallel with the floor.
  • Keeping your knee up and toe flexed, push with your foot straight and down in front of you until your right leg is straight.
  • Allow your right knee to bend and return your right foot to the floor, ending in a slight squat.
  • Repeat all reps with your right leg before switching to your left leg.

Make it harder: As you get stronger, straighten your leg higher off the ground as you kick.

Muscles worked: Hamstrings and glutes

  • Stand with your feet hip-width apart, your right arm extended down your side, and your left hand on your left hip (or up and out to the side for counterbalance).
  • Shift your weight into your left foot.
  • Raise your right leg straight behind you as your right hand travels down toward the ground. As your right leg comes up, think about pushing your behind out on the left side to activate that glute.
  • Try to remain as straight as possible from your head to the toes of your right foot.
  • In a controlled movement, return to your starting position.
  • Repeat all reps on one side before switching to the other.

9. Bottom Squat Slide

Trainer Shows Example of Bottom Squat Slides | Bodyweight Leg Exercises

Muscles worked: Quads, hamstrings, glutes, and calves

  • Stand with your feet a little wider than shoulder-width apart.
  • Bend your knees, push your hips back, and lower yourself into a deep squat position.
  • Shift your weight onto your right leg and slide your left leg out to the side until it’s straight with the toes facing forward.
  • Shift your weight onto your left foot by swinging your hips over to your left. You should now be in the same position as you were before, just with your right leg extended.
  • Slide your right foot closer to your body until it’s slightly wider than your hips. You should be back in your deep squat.
  • Engage your glutes and legs to return to a standing position.
  • Reverse this movement by squatting and sliding your right foot first instead of your left.

Make it easier: The deeper the squat, the harder this movement will be. If you’re starting out, lower into a squat where your thighs are parallel to the floor. As you get stronger, you can squat deeper.

Muscles worked: Quads, hamstrings, glutes, and calves

  • Stand with your feet shoulder-width apart, and keep your knees loose.
  • In a fluid motion, squat down and place both hands on the ground in front of you, then hop both of your feet back so your body is in a push-up position with wrists directly underneath the shoulders. Keep your core engaged and your body in a straight line from head to heels.
  • Keeping your hands on the floor, hop your feet back to a crouching stance.
  • Using the power from this squat position, jump as high as you can as you swing your hands above your head.
  • Keep your knees soft as you land and return to the starting position.
  • Repeat for reps, and remember that controlling your movements through each rep is more important than speed for building strength.

11. Pistol Squat

woman performing pistol squat in gym

Muscles worked: Quads, hamstrings, glutes, and calves

  • Stand tall with your arms extended straight in front of your chest and your right heel raised a few inches off the floor in front of you. This is the starting position.
  • Keeping your back flat, core engaged, and left foot elevated, push your hips back, bend your right knee, and slowly lower your body as far as possible.
  • Reverse the move to push yourself back up to the starting position. Perform equal reps on both sides.