Some folks will say getting good leg workouts from home is nearly impossible. These same folks will also say you need a full power rack and about 600 lb worth of plates to completely work your lower half. This is nonsense of course. Getting a great leg workout from home is actually pretty easy and can be done with little to no equipment. All you need is a little know how and some motivation.
But be warned, the following leg workouts are designed to work every muscle from the waist down. You may end up with a bad case of the “jelly legs” afterwards. If you think you have what it takes, good luck!
5 Awesome Leg Workouts From Home
It’s a good idea to warm up a little before any of these workouts. I recommend a few minutes on a piece of cardio equipment if you have it. If not, try 50 jump n’ jacks or marching in place for a few minutes. Anything to get the blood pumping a little and get the muscles warmed up.
1. The Bodyweight Circuit
The beauty of this workout is that there are no weights or equipment necessary. All you need is your body and a few feet of floor space. This workout can really be done anywhere, at home or on the road if you are traveling. Bodyweight exercises are a great place to start if you haven’t worked out out for awhile or are new to exercise.
But just because you aren’t using any weights, don’t think you won’t be sore. We’re talking 100 total reps for each exercise below.
Equipment: none
Rules: Try to rest as little as possible between each exercise. Rest 1 min between sets, goal is 4 sets.
- 25 Squats
- 25 Calf raises
- 25 Romanian deadlifts
- 25 Bridges
2. The Lunger
The lunge is one of the most dreaded leg exercises. They’re tough. But they’re also incredibly effective. Lunges are easily one of the best leg exercises you can do from home. They don’t require any equipment, but if you need a little extra resistance feel free to grab some dumbbells.
Lunges target all of the larger muscles of your thigh, including your glutes, quads, hamstrings and adductors. They also work your balance system, which will activate your core. It’s also a single leg exercise, so less resistance is necessary.
Equipment: none or a pair of dumbbells if you prefer
Rules: This one is pretty straight forward. Just complete the given sets/reps for each exercise before moving on to the next. Try to rest 1 min between sets.
- 25 Bodyweight squats
- Front lunge 3×10 (alternating legs)
- Side lunge 3×10 (alternating legs)
- Back lunge 3×10 (alternating legs)
- 25 Bodyweight squats
3. Getting Airborne
This workout includes jumping, so make sure your knees are ok before trying. If the jumping is uncomfortable, you could modify these exercises and do them without getting airborne (or just try one of the other workouts instead). These exercises include a little plyometrics, which is a great way to get the heart rate up as well as get one heck of a burn in your legs.
For this routine, you will need a chair or workout bench you can stand on. Also make sure you have enough ceiling height- we don’t want any head injuries on ceiling fans. If you don’t have a jump rope, you can jump in place.
Equipment: chair or bench, watch, jump rope
Rules: Complete each exercise in the sequence for given time, circuit style. Rest 1 min between circuits. Aim for 4 total circuits.
- 1 min jump rope
- 30 sec squat jumps
- 30 sec jumping lunges
- 30 sec lateral jumping
- 30 sec jumping jacks
4. Leg Buster
My leg buster workout is just good ol’ fashioned weight lifting. A lot of home gyms don’t have a power rack (I know my doesn’t) so I didn’t include any barbell exercises. But that’s ok, dumbbells work just fine. It’s easier for a lot of us to store dumbbells because they don’t take up too much room. One thing I’ve learned from working out at home for the last several years is the importance of working with what ya got.
So this workout is pretty straightforward. We’re going to use dumbbells to target all the major muscle groups. The reps are designed for an optimal strengthening effect. Choose your weight so that the exercise is difficult to finish by the desired rep count.
You may not need weight for the Bulgarian split squats (they are tough). Also no weight for the isometric wall squat.
Equipment: dumbbells
Rules: Simply follow the rep/set count for each exercise. Rest as much as necessary.
- Goblet squat: 12, 10, 8, 6
- Alternating front lunge: 3×8 (each leg)
- Bulgarian split squat: 3×10 (each leg)
- Calf raises: 3×12
- Romanian deadlift: 10, 8, 6
- Isometric wall squat: 3×30 sec
5. The Leg Ladder
Ladders are a great way to create your own HIIT workouts. Depending on how you set them up, you can either isolate one body part (like we are here) or design a full body workout that will burn all kinds of calories. The rest periods are small so the heart rate stays elevated. The results are increased strength and endurance. Watch out, this one is brutal.
Equipment: dumbbells
Rules: Perform each exercise for 10 reps each, no rest between exercises. Then do 9 reps of each exercise. Then 8… Continue all the way to 0. Choose a set of dumbbells for each exercise that you can complete 10 reps with difficulty.
- Squat press
- Romanian deadlift
- Alternating back lunge
- Calf raises
- Dumbbell swing (same as a kettlebell swing, but with a dumbbell instead)
Final Thoughts
The great thing about leg workouts is that there are so many different exercises, the combinations are pretty endless. I’m a big fan of variety in my workouts. I get bored fast. If nothing else, I hope these 5 different leg workouts from home will help keep your routines fresh and interesting.
It’s also great that most leg exercises don’t require equipment. Think about it, arguably the 2 best leg exercises, squats and lunges, can be done anywhere with zero equipment. Sure, a little weight comes in handy for progression. But if you don’t have any dumbbells or barbells, there are so many variations on both exercises you should still be able to get a great workout.
I used to hate working my legs. I know a lot of people still do. I’ll admit, leg workouts still aren’t my favorite, but I have come to appreciate the feeling I get after a good one. You just feel stronger when your quads and glutes are pumped after a good workout.
I encourage you to try the above workouts and see what you think. Feel free to mix and match too. After you try them, let me know what you think (and if you were able to survive or not).
