How To Workout Legs At Home With Or Without Weights

Going to the gym isn’t always an option. You’ll have days when you just can’t make it for one reason or another and that’s okay. But that doesn’t mean you should skip leg day and miss out on that juicy pump. You can always work out your legs at home, even without equipment. For a successful at-home workout, you may need to switch up your usual routine especially if it has exercises such as leg presses that require a gym machine. With some knowledge of the muscles in your legs, how they move and exercises that target them correctly, you can still get a great leg workout without any equipment. If you do have access to a resistance band or some dumbbells, you can add extra resistance to your at-home workout. Not sure how? Read on for some helpful tips.

Muscles Targeted With A Leg Workout At Home

First things first, what muscles are you targeting when you work out your legs (1)?

• Glutes – these are the muscles in your butt that help you extend and rotate your hips. 
• Quadriceps – these are four large muscles on the front of your thigh that help you straighten and lift your leg. 
• Hamstrings – these are the three muscles on the back of your thigh that help you bend and rotate your leg. 
• Calves – these are the muscles in the back of your lower legs that help you point and flex your feet. 
• Adductors and abductors (outer thigh muscles) – these two groups of muscles help you move your legs away from and towards the midline of your body. 
• Tibialis anterior (front of the shin) – this muscle helps you point and flex your foot. 

How To Workout Your Legs At Home Without Weights

Below are the best exercises that you can do at home without weights to work out your legs. Make sure to perform each exercise with perfect form and a slow and controlled tempo, as this will help you get the most out of each exercise. 

Bodyweight Squats

This is one of the best exercises to target multiple muscle groups in the legs all at once. It is a compound exercise that will help you build strength, endurance, and power (2).

1. Start by standing with your feet shoulder-width apart and toes slightly pointing outwards. 
2. Engage your core, chest and glutes. 
3. Lower your body as far as you can while keeping your chest up and your back straight. 
4. Raise yourself back to the starting position and repeat.

Read More: Toned Legs Workout: The Best Leg Exercises For Women

Bodyweight Squat To Oblique Crunch

This multi-functional exercise works your legs and core. It will help you build strength and endurance (2).

1. Start standing with your feet slightly wider than hip-width apart and arms extended out in front of you at shoulder height.
2. Lower down into a deep squat, keeping your chest up and knees over your toes. Engage your core and push your hips back.
3. As you come up out of the squat, twist your torso to the right and bring your left elbow towards your right knee.
4. As you come down into the next squat, switch sides and twist your torso to the left side, bringing your right elbow towards your left knee.
5. Continue this alternating pattern for desired reps. 

Glute Bridge

This exercise is great for targeting your glutes and hamstrings. It will help you build strength, power and balance in your lower body.

1. Lie flat on your back with your feet flat on the floor, hip-width apart and legs bent. 
2. Push your hips up off the floor, keeping your shoulders down and neck in line with your spine. 
3. Squeeze your glutes as you press your hips up as high as you can and then lower back down. 
4. Repeat for desired reps.

Lunges

Lunges are a great exercise for toning and strengthening your legs, glutes and core. They have quite a number of variations that you can do to target different muscles in your lower body.

1. Start standing with your feet hip-width apart and arms extended at shoulder height. 
2. Step your right foot forward, bending both knees and lowering your body until your left knee almost touches the floor. 
3. Push off your right foot and return to standing. 
4. Switch legs, stepping forward with the left leg and repeating the same pattern.

Some lunge variations that you can try include:

• Curtsy lunges – lunge your legs diagonally, crossing one leg behind the other. 
• Side lunge – lunge to the side, keeping your feet pointing forward. 
• Reverse lunge – step one leg backwards instead of forwards. 

Good Morning

This exercise is great for strengthening your hamstrings and glutes. It will help you improve your posture as well.

1. Start standing with your feet hip-width apart and hands on the back of your head. 
2. Keeping your chest up, press your hips back as you hinge at the hips and lower down until your torso is almost parallel to the floor. 
3. Return to standing, squeezing your glutes as you come up. 
4. Repeat for desired reps. 

Calf Raises

This exercise is great for strengthening your calves (gastrocnemius and soleus muscles). It also helps improve balance as well. It has a number of variations you can try to make your leg workout more interesting.

1. Start standing with your feet hip-width apart and arms at your sides.  
2. Press your toes down into the floor and raise up onto your tiptoes. 
3. Pause for a second at the top and then slowly lower back down. 
4. Repeat for desired reps.

Some variations that you can try include:

• Single-leg calf raise – raise your body up onto one foot at a time
• Plié calf raise – perform the exercise while in a plié position with feet wider than hip-width and toes pointing outwards 
• Pulse calf raise – pause at the top and then lower your body down a few inches before raising back up to the starting position. Repeat for desired reps.

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Fire Hydrant

This exercise is great for targeting your glutes and hip muscles. It also helps improve mobility in the hips as well.

1. Start on all fours with your wrists underneath your shoulders and knees underneath your hips. 
2. Keeping your knee bent at 90 degrees, lift your right leg up and out to the side. 
3. Squeeze your glutes as you raise your leg up and then lower back down. 
4. Switch legs and repeat for desired reps. 

Donkey Kicks

This exercise is great for targeting your glutes and hamstrings. It will help you build strength, power and balance in your lower body.

1. Start on all fours with your wrists underneath your shoulders and knees underneath your hips. 
2. Keeping your knee bent at 90 degrees, lift your right leg up and out to the back, keeping your foot flexed. 
3. Squeeze your glutes as you raise your leg up and then lower back down. 
4. Switch legs and repeat for desired reps. 

How To Workout Legs At Home With Weights

Have a pair of dumbbells or a kettlebell handy at home? If so, you can use them to add some extra resistance to your leg workout. 

Goblet Squats

Push your body harder than you would with the bodyweight version of this exercise.

1. Start standing with feet hip-width apart and holding a dumbbell or kettlebell at chest height. 
2. Keeping your chest up, lower your body down into a squat while pressing the weight forward. 
3. Push off your feet and return to standing, squeezing your glutes at the top.
4. Repeat for desired reps.

Read More: Resistance Band Exercise For Legs And Glutes: Best Band Workouts For Your Glutes And Leg Muscles

Romanian Deadlift

This exercise is great for strengthening your hamstrings and glutes. Use dumbbells to add resistance.

1. Start standing with feet hip-width apart and holding a pair of dumbbells at your sides. 
2. Keeping your back flat and chest up, push your hips back as you lower the weights down towards your feet. Think of it as hinging at the hips. 
3. Pause at the bottom and then squeeze your glutes as you lift the weights back to standing. 
4. Repeat for desired reps. 

Weighted Step Ups

All you need is a staircase and dumbbells to fire up your legs with this exercise.

1. Start standing in front of a staircase and holding a pair of dumbbells at your sides. 
2. Place your right foot on the first step and press down to lift yourself up. 
3. Step back down with your left foot and repeat with the other leg. 
4. Continue alternating legs for desired reps. 

Stiff-Legged Deadlift

Finish off your leg workout with this exercise to work on balance and stability in the lower body. It’s closely related to the Romanian deadlift, but with a straighter back and legs.

1. Start standing with feet hip-width apart and holding a pair of dumbbells at your sides. 
2. Keeping your legs as straight as possible, slowly lower the weights towards the floor by pushing your hips back. 
3. Pause at the bottom and then squeeze your glutes as you lift the weights back to standing. 
4. Repeat for desired reps.

At Home Leg Workouts With A Resistance Band

The most portable piece of workout equipment is the resistance band. This versatile item can be used to work your legs too! 

Lateral Walk

This exercise is great for targeting the muscles on the sides of your hips, known as the abductors.

1. Start standing on the resistance band with feet hip-width apart and the band around your ankles. 
2. Taking small steps, walk out to the side while keeping tension on the band. 
3. Once you reach the end of your range of motion, walk back into the starting position. 
4. Repeat for desired reps. 

Clamshells

This exercise is great for targeting your glutes and working on hip stability.

1. Start lying on your side with your legs bent and the band around your thighs. 
2. Lift your top knee up towards the ceiling, keeping the band in place. 
3. Pause and then return to the starting position. 
4. Repeat for desired reps before switching sides.

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Squat Jumps

This explosive exercise is great for building power and strength in the lower body.

1. Start standing on the resistance band with feet hip-width apart and the band around your thighs. 
2. Bend your knees and lower yourself down into a squat. 
3. Push off your feet, jumping up and out from the squat position. 
4. Land softly back into the squat and repeat for desired reps. 

Curtsy Lunges

This type of lunge works all three planes of motion and will help you develop balance and strength.

1. Start standing with your feet hip-width apart and the band around your thighs. 
2. Step back behind you with your right leg and cross it behind the left. 
3. Keeping tension on the band, lower yourself down into a lunge. 
4. Push off your front foot to return to start and repeat on the opposite side. 
5. Continue alternating legs for desired reps.

Tips For An Effective Leg Workout At Home

A bigger legs workout at home is bound to be more effective when you consider these tips:

• Warm up for at least 5-10 minutes to get your heart rate up and muscles loosened. Throw in a few dynamic stretches such as leg swings, knee hugs and side lunges.
• Focus on proper form over how heavy or fast you can go. To get the most out of each exercise, make sure your joints feel stable and move through a full range of motion.
• Keep rest periods short between sets for a cardio and endurance benefit. Aim for 30-60 seconds of rest in between sets to keep your heart rate up.
• Incorporate a reasonable number of exercises depending on your experience level and goals. An ideal number for most people is 2-3 exercises each for the quadriceps, hamstrings and glutes.
• Add in core exercises between leg sets to maximize your workout. This will also help you develop an overall stronger body and better posture.
• Cool down with gentle stretches to elongate your muscles and release any tension. Simple stretches such as the seated forward fold or butterfly stretch can be done to help you relax after a hard workout.

By following these tips, you can make sure that your at-home leg workout is both safe and effective. 

The Bottom Line

Not being able to go to the gym doesn’t mean you can’t get an effective leg workout at home.

Choose between no-equipment leg exercises, weighted leg exercises or resistance band exercises to get your legs moving. With the right combination of work and rest, you can still build strong and powerful legs even while staying at home.