When you’re thinking about the foundation of your home, what are you looking for?
Are you looking for a strong and sturdy foundation? Or, are you looking for a foundation that's cracked and weak?
The answer should be obvious ... Right? We all want a strong and sturdy foundation! Well, your lower body is sort of like the foundation for your upper body. Is it not?
Think about it ... your lower body is what supports and stabilizes you to stand and move. For that reason, prioritizing lower-body workouts can be important.
Looking for effective lower-body workouts? I've put together 15 of the best lower-body exercises that will help you build strength, improve stability, and enhance your overall fitness.
What You’ll Learn In This Article:
• What Lower Body Workouts Are
• Benefits of Lower-Body Workouts
• Examples of Lower-Body Exercises
• How To Do These Lower-Body Exercises
• Full Lower-Body Workouts
• How To Get The Most Out Of Lower-Body Workouts
What Are Lower-Body Workouts?
Lower body workouts are designed to help build strength in your lower back, hips, glutes, and legs. This will include your quadriceps, hamstrings, glutes, adductors, shins, and calves.
All of these muscles work together to keep your body mobile and help make sure that you can carry out daily tasks. Think about how much not having strong and healthy legs can affect your lifestyle. They're important!
Benefits of Lower-Body Workouts
There are many benefits that can come with lower-body workouts. In my opinion, there are three in particular that stand out the most. Pun intended!
1. More Muscular Strength
2. Stronger Bones
3. Better Body Composition
More Muscular Strength
When you do lower-body workouts, you can increase your overall strength (1). This is true no matter how many reps you do (as long as challenging yourself), strength can increase.
Strength can be beneficial no matter who you are. If you’re an athlete, lower body strength is important for explosive movement. If you're a stay-at-home mom, lower body strength is important to be able to pick up your kids.
Lower body strength is something that I think we all know we should have. Plus, I think it's something most of us want too.
Stronger Bones
When you resistance train, your bone health tends to increase (2).
When I was in college we learned about Wolff’s Law, which states that bones will adapt to the degree of mechanical loading.
That’s a fancy way to say that your bones will adapt to the stress that you put them under, just like your muscles will too. A lot of lower body exercises are great for creating this mechanical tension and loading.
Squats, deadlifts, and many other lower-body workouts can help build bone strength.
Better Body Composition
Lower body workouts have been one of the best things that I’ve done to help improve my body composition.
But to be honest, this really goes for resistance training in general. Whether you are training your upper body or lower body, body composition can improve (3).
Examples of Lower-Body Workouts
I know a lot of lower-body workouts. I definitely don't know all of them though - there are thousands of different ones out there.
Here are 15 of my personal favorites. All of them are staples in what I consider to be a good, well-rounded lower-body workout.
• Squats
• Bulgarian Split Squats
• Romanian Deadlifts
• Hip Thrust
• Lateral Lunges
• Trap Bar Deadlifts
• Belt Squats
• Box Step-Ups
• Reverse Lunges
• Seated Calf Raises
• Leg Press
• Hamstring Curls
• Walking Lunges
• Front Squats
• Leg Extensions
Again, these are just 15 of the thousands of lower body exercises you can do ... But they’re a great place to start.
Now, how do you actually do each of them? Let's get into each one step-by-step so you can add them to your workouts right away.
How To Do These Lower Body Workouts
As you approach these exercises, make sure your form is intact. Performing exercises the right way can only help you see better results and avoid injury.
Squats
1. Stand with your feet about shoulder-width apart with your toes pointing forward or slightly outward.
2. Inhale and slowly lower your body down as you bend at your ankles, knees, and hips. Keep your chest upright.
3. Lower until your knees hit about 90 degrees and pause.
4. Raise your body back up as you exhale and return to the starting position.
5. Repeat for as many reps as programmed.
You can use variations of the squat with weight to challenge yourself even more if you’d like to. For example, a barbell back squat rests a loaded barbell on your upper back. The rest of the exercise is performed virtually the same way.
Bulgarian Split Squats
1. Sit on a box or bench with your legs extended outward
2. Stand up from that position and lift your right leg up and back to rest on the box or bench behind you. The top of your foot should be rested flat on the box or bench.
3. Maintain your balance, inhale, and lower your body. Your ankles, knees, and hips will bend until your left knee is at about a 90-degree angle.
4. Exhale and press your body back up through your front leg to the starting position.
5. Repeat for as many reps as programmed and then repeat on the other side.
You can progress the Bulgarian split squat by simply performing the exercise with a dumbbell in each hand.
Romanian Deadlifts
1. Stand with your feet about hip-width apart in front of a barbell loaded with the weight of your choice. Lift the bar off the ground and hold it at your hips as you're standing upright.
2. Inhale and bend your knees slightly. From here, hinge forward at your hips. Keep your core tight and back flat as you lower the barbell along your body.
3. As you reach roughly shin height with the bar, pause for a second to feel the stretch in your hamstrings.
4. Exhale as you lift the bar back up along your body, straightening your hips.
5. Return to a full stand to complete on rep. Repeat for as many reps as programmed.
Hip Thrust
1. Sit on the ground with your back against a weight bench or box with your knees bent and your feet flat on the floor. Place a barbell or dumbbell over your hips, holding it in place with your hands.
2. With your shoulders and upper back supporting your body, exhale and press up through your heels, pressing your hips up to the sky.
3. Squeeze your glutes and hamstrings for a second before inhaling and slowly returning your hips to the ground. Make sure to keep your knees wide and in line with your shoulders throughout the entire movement
4. Repeat as programmed and add weight as you continue to progress over time.
Lateral Lunges
1. Stand with your feet a little bit closer than shoulder-width apart.
2. Take a big step to the right and shift your weight over your right leg until it’s bent at about 90 degrees. Keep your left leg straight to support your balance with the movement.
4. Lean forward at your hips slightly and push your body back upright through your right leg.
5. Alternate sides and repeat for as many reps as programmed.
You can progress the difficulty of this lower body workout by holding a kettlebell or dumbbell at your chest.
Trap Bar Deadlifts
1. Stand inside of a loaded trap bar with your feet about shoulder-width apart.
2. Push your hips back and hinge forward at your hips as you reach down to grab the handles with each hand.
3. Inhale before pushing through your legs and straightening your hips to return to a full stand. Make sure to keep your core tight and engaged and your back flat.
4. Pause at the top and exhale before you lower the weight back to the ground in a controlled manner.
5. Repeat for as many reps as programmed.
Belt Squats
1. Stand on the platform, keep a slight bend in your knees, and make sure you have the belt set around your waist.
2. Place your feet on the right and left side of the pulley system in the platform and grab the handles in front of you.
3. Find your balance, pull the release bar, and slowly sit straight back into a squat. Inhale and lower your knees down to at least 90 degrees.
4. Exhale and press back up through your legs to the starting position and repeat as programmed.
Box Step-Ups
1. Stand in front of a box set at the height of your choice.
2. Lift your right foot up and forward to step onto the box.
3. Plant your foot firmly and exhale as you press through your right leg to bring your back leg off the floor and onto the box.
4. Pause at the top with both feet on the box and slowly step back and down one foot at a time.
5. Reset in your starting position and repeat with your left leg. Continue to alternate legs for a set number of reps.
You can make this more difficult by increasing the box height or by grabbing a dumbbell in each hand.
Reverse Lunges
1. Stand with your feet roughly shoulder-width apart.
2. Step back with your right foot, landing on the ball of your foot.
3. Inhale and bend your knees to about 90 degrees. Your right knee should come to about 2 inches from the ground.
4. Exhale and press through your left leg as you bring your right leg back to center and stand upright.
5. Repeat on your left side and alternate legs for as many reps as programmed.
You can use weights to challenge yourself even more if you’d like. I like holding a kettlebell at my chest or even a dumbbell in each hand.
Seated Calf Raises
1. Sit on a bench with your feet placed on the floor about shoulder-width apart.
2. Place a dumbbell or kettlebell on each knee, holding the handles to keep them in place.
3. Exhale and press your heels off the floor by pressing through the balls of your feet.
4. Pause for a second and inhale as you slowly lower your heels back to the floor.
5. Repeat for as many reps as programmed.
Leg Press
1. Sit in the leg press machine with your back flat against the pad.
2. Place your feet shoulder-width apart on the platform.
3. Release the safety bars and lower the weight slowly until your knees are bent at about 90 degrees.
4. Exhale and push through your legs to press the platform back up without locking your knees.
5. Repeat for as many reps as programmed.
Hamstring Curls
1. Set yourself in either a seated, standing, or laying leg curl machine. Set the weight and place your heels on the pad.
2. Pull with your hamstrings to curl the pad toward you. In a seated curl, this will go under your seat. In a laying or standing hamstring curl, this will go toward your glutes.
3. Squeeze your hamstrings for a second before slowly releasing the pad back to its starting position.
4. Repeat this for a set number of reps.
Walking Lunges
1. Stand with feet hip-width apart.
2. Step forward with your right leg into a lunge position.
3. Lower your back knee toward the ground, until both knees are bent at roughly 90 degrees.
4. Push off your right foot and step forward with your left leg into the next lunge.
5. Continue alternating legs as you walk forward. Repeat for a set number of reps on both legs.
You can make this even more challenging by holding a pair of dumbbells in each hand or a loaded barbell on your back (if you're advanced).
Front Squats
1. Find a rack and a barbell. Set the barbell at the height of your chest and load it with an appropriate amount of weight.
2. Grab the bar with an overhand grip and swing your elbows underneath it. Your elbows should be pointed in front of you, forming a 90-degree angle with your upper arms and body. Your wrist should be bent backward, holding the bar with your fingertips. The bar will naturally rest on top of your shoulders.
3. Lift the bar off the rack and take a couple of steps behind you away from the rack. Stand with your feet roughly should-width apart.
4. Keeping your chest and elbows high, slowly sit back into a squat. Brace your core and keep lowering until you reach a 90-degree bend in your knees.
5. Pause for a second before pushing through your legs to return to a standing position with the bar.
6. Repeat this for reps before re-racking the bar.
Leg Extensions
1. Sit in the leg extension machine with your back against the pad.
2. Hook your feet under the padded bar and set the weight on the machine.
3. Exhale and extend your legs forward until they're fully straight.
4. Squeeze your quads for a second at the top before slowly lowering the pad back down.
5. Repeat this for as many reps as programmed.
These can all be fantastic exercises for your lower body workouts. With that being said, let's put them all together in some examples of a full lower-body workout you can try!
I'll give you a beginner, intermediate, and advanced workout so you have an option depending on your fitness level...
Full Lower-Body Workouts
Beginner Lower-Body Workout
| Exercise | Sets | Reps |
| Leg Press | 3 | 10-12 |
| Hip Thrust | 3 | 10-12 |
| Walking Lunges | 3 | 8 Each Leg |
| Leg Extensions | 3 | 12-15 |
| Seated Calf Raises | 3 | 12-15 |
Intermediate Lower-Body Workout
| Exercise | Sets | Reps |
| Back Squat | 4 | 8-10 |
| Hip Thrust | 3 | 10-12 |
| Bulgarian Split Squat | 3 | 10 Each Leg |
| Romanian Deadlift | 3 | 10-12 |
| Leg Extensions | 3 | 10-12 |
| Seated Calf Raises | 3 | 8-12 |
Advanced Lower-Body Workout
| Exercise | Sets | Reps |
| Front Squat | 4 | 8-10 |
| Romanian Deadlift | 4 | 8-10 |
| Walking Lunges | 3 | 12 Each Leg |
| Lateral Lunges | 3 | 10 Each Leg |
| Leg Extensions | 3 | 10-12 |
| Hamstring Curls | 3 | 10-12 |
| Seated Calf Raises | 3 | 10-12 |
Getting The Most Out Of Your Lower Body Workouts
These lower body workouts are designed to help you build a strong foundation overall. However, your workouts are just the tip of the iceberg when it comes to earning results.
Yes, attacking a good plan and making sure that you know exactly what to do is important. However, you also need to be gradually increasing the intensity over time.
This is known as progressive overload and will be key in seeing results long-term. Something else that's super important is making sure you're fueling your body properly.
You see, training is only one part of the equation. Nutrition is another part of it, and I would even argue that it’s the even more important part.
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References:
(1) Jung, Roger, et al. "Muscle Strength Gains per Week are Higher in the Lower-Body than the Upper-Body in Resistance Training Experienced Healthy Young Women-A Systematic Review with Meta-Analysis." PLOS ONE, vol. 18, no. 4, 13 Apr. 2023, p. e0284216.
(2) Benedetti, Maria Grazia, et al. "The Effectiveness of Physical Exercise on Bone Density in Osteoporotic Patients." BioMed Research International, vol. 2018, 23 Dec. 2018, p. 4840531.
(3) Bellicha, Alice, et al. "Effect of Exercise Training on Weight Loss, Body Composition Changes, and Weight Maintenance in Adults with Overweight or Obesity: An Overview of 12 Systematic Reviews and 149 Studies." Obesity Reviews, vol. 22, Suppl. 4, 2021, p. e13256.
