If you’re short on time but want to squeeze in an effective lower-body strength workout, try my quick and effective five-move leg workout.
The key to working your lower body is to target all of your major muscle groups: quadriceps, gluteals, hamstrings and calves. These five exercises are a great place to start for a balanced lower body workout.
When working your lower body (legs), you want to work the front, back and sides. Your quadricep(s) complex is made up of four muscles, and are located on the front of your upper leg. Your gluteal, hamstring and calf muscles are located on the back of your leg.
You also want to work through different ranges of motion (ROM), such as sitting to standing, stepping or lunging forward and back as well as side to side. Working through various ROM will help create balance, symmetry and an even distribution of strength.
Dynamic Warm-up
Start with a lower body dynamic warm-up, completing 5-8 repetitions of each exercise, moving through full ROM.
Warm-up Exercises:
- Squats
- Leg Swings (front to back and abduction and adduction)
- Knee Tucks
- Bottom Kickers
- Frankensteins
Workout: Complete one set of 8-10 repetitions each, working your way up to 3 sets.
Use: bodyweight or dumbbells for each exercise
- Squat with Heel Raise option
Muscles targeted: quadriceps, gluteals, hamstrings, calves - Reverse and Forward Lunges
Muscles targeted: quadriceps, gluteals, hamstrings - Lateral Lunges
Muscles targeted: quadriceps, gluteals, hamstrings, abductors, adductors - Deadlifts
Muscles targeted: gluteals, hamstrings - Single-leg Deadlifts
Muscles targeted: gluteals, hamstrings
