A Lower Body Workout for When You're Tempted to Skip Leg Day

By Andrew Heffernan

People come up with every possible excuse to skip leg day: They have a cold. The game's on. It's Tuesday.

Admittedly, working your legs is tough. Curls and push-ups may be hard, but nothing gets you sweating, straining, even swearing in the gym like a tough lower-body workout. The biggest muscles in your body reside below your waist. Working all that sinew requires huge amounts of energy, focus, and discipline. No wonder people would rather do dumbbell curls.

But lower-body workouts reward the faithful. Move through a tough one at a good clip, and a hard leg day can double as a cardio session. The leg strength you build improves your speed and athleticism in sports, and it makes activities like climbing stairs a snap. Extra muscle around the hips helps protect the lower back and knees. Recent research even suggests that extra leg strength can extend your life.

Below you'll find a dozen of the most effective leg-building moves you can do, organized by the part of the lower body that each one emphasizes. For an ideal leg-day workout, choose one exercise from sections A and D, and two exercises from sections B and C, performing three sets of 8 to 12 reps for each.

After a couple of months, you can swap in other exercises from the list to keep challenging yourself and to continue building strength and power from the bottom up.

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A. Power Moves for the Lower Body

1. Bulgarian Split Jump

Muscles targeted: quads, glutes. Also improves core stability, hip and ankle mobility, and explosive lower-body power.

• Stand with your right foot forward and the ball of your left foot on an 8-12 inch step or bench about a foot and a half behind you.
• Keeping your torso upright, core engaged, and gaze forward, lower your body until your left knee comes close to the floor.
• Quickly reverse the movement, jumping off the floor explosively with your front foot and driving your right knee upward as high as possible.
• Land softly, lowering yourself immediately into your next rep. Once you complete all of your reps, switch legs and repeat.

2. Jump Squat

Muscles targeted: quads, glutes, hamstrings, and calves. Also improves core stability, hip and ankle mobility, and explosive lower-body power.

• Stand tall holding a dumbbell in both hands at shoulder height with your feet shoulder width apart.
• Keeping your back flat and core engaged, push your hips back and lower your body until your thighs are parallel to the floor.
• Reverse the movement, driving up explosively so that you jump into the air.
• Land softly and descend immediately into your next rep.

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B. Strength Moves for the Quadriceps and Glutes

3. Lunge

Muscles targeted: quads, glutes

• Stand tall holding a pair of dumbbells at arm's length by your sides with your feet together. This is the starting position.
• Keeping your back flat and core engaged, take a big step forward with your right foot and slowly lower your body until your front knee is bent about 90 degrees and your back knee hovers an inch or two above the floor.
• Pause, and then reverse the movement to return to the starting position.
• Complete all reps, switch legs, and repeat.

4. Front Squat

Muscles targeted: quads

• Stand with your feet shoulder-width apart and position a barbell across your upper chest. You can either support the weight on your fingers (palms up, wrists extended) or cross your arms and hold the weight in place with your palms facing down. This is the starting position.
• Keeping your elbows up, back flat, core braced, and weight on your heels, push your hips back and lower your body until your thighs are at least parallel to the floor.
• Pause, and then drive explosively back up to the starting position.

5. Side Lunge

Muscles targeted: adductors, glutes, quads

• Stand tall holding two light-to-medium dumbbells at arm's length by your sides. This is the starting position.
• Keeping your feet parallel, back flat, core engaged, and left leg straight take a large step to your right with your right foot and lower your body until your right thigh is parallel to the floor. (The dumbbells should hang towards the floor on either side of your right leg.)
• Pause, and then reverse the movement to return to the starting position.
• Complete all of your reps, and then repeat to your other side.

6. Single-Leg Box Squat

Muscles targeted: quads, abductors, adductors, glutes

• Stand in front of a knee-high bench or box, holding a dumbbell or other weight at shoulder height in front of you (optional).
• Extend your left leg in front of you, toes pointing upward, heel a few inches off the floor. This is the starting position.
• Keeping your back flat and core engaged, push your hips back and lower your body slowly until you're sitting on the bench.
• Pause, and then reverse the movement to return to the starting position (don't let your left foot touch the floor).
• Do all of your reps, switch legs, and repeat.
• Too hard? Use a higher box.

7. Step Up to Reverse Lunge

Muscles targeted: glutes, quads.

• Stand tall facing a knee-high box, bench, or step holding a pair of dumbbells at arm's length by your sides.
• Stand tall holding a pair of dumbbells at arm's length by your sides, and place your left foot on a bench so that your hip, knee, and ankle are all bent 90 degrees.
• Keeping your chest up and shoulders back, push your body up with your left leg until it's straight (keep your right foot elevated).
• Pause, and then lower your right foot to the floor, stepping back immediately into a reverse lunge with your left leg so that both knees are bent about 90 degrees and your left knee hovers a couple of inches above the floor.
• Pause, and then push back up, transitioning immediately into the step-up to begin your next rep.
• Complete all of your reps, switch legs, and repeat.

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C. Strength Moves for the Glutes and Hamstrings

8. Barbell Glute Bridge

Muscles targeted: glutes

• Sit on the floor and place a barbell across your hips, holding it securely in place with both hands.
• Lie on your back, bend your knees and place your feet flat on the floor.
• Brace your core and press your lower back against the floor. This is the starting position.
• Making sure your knees don't cave in, squeeze your glutes, push your feet into the floor, and lift your hips until your body is straight from shoulders to knees.
• Reverse the movement to return to the starting position.

9. Romanian Deadlift

Muscles targeted: hamstrings, glutes

• Stand tall with your feet hip-width apart holding a pair of heavy dumbbells at arm's length in front of your thighs, palms facing back. This is the starting position.
• Keeping your back flat, core engaged, weights close to your body, and only a slight bend in your knees, push your hips back and lower the weights to mid-shin level.
• Pause, and then reverse the movement to return to the starting position.

10. Single-Leg Deadlift

Muscles targeted: hamstrings, glutes

• Stand tall with your feet hip-width apart, holding a dumbbell by your right side at arm's length, palm facing in.
• Shift your weight onto your left foot and lift your right foot a few inches off of the floor behind you. This is the starting position.
• Keeping your left leg slightly bent, your back flat, and your core engaged, push your hips back and lower the weight until your torso is nearly parallel to the floor, raising your right leg behind you.
• Pause, and then reverse the movement to return to the starting position.
• Perform all of your reps, switch sides, and repeat.

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D. Strength Moves for the Calves

11. Seated Calf Raise

Muscles targeted: Calves (primarily the soleus)

• Sit in a sturdy chair with the balls of your feet on a thick wooden board (a 2x4 works well), hip-width apart.
• Place a pair of heavy dumbbells on their ends on your thighs a few inches behind your knees, holding their handles to balance them.
• Keeping your back upright, slowly lower your heels as far as possible toward the floor. If they touch the floor, use a thicker board.
• Rise onto the balls of your feet as high as possible and squeeze your calves hard.
• Lower your heels and repeat.

12. Standing Calf Raise

Muscles targeted: Calves (primarily the gastrocnemius)

• Holding a railing or stable, sturdy surface for balance, stand with the balls of your feet on a step or thick board.
• Keeping your chest up, back flat, and core engaged, come up onto the balls of your feet, focusing as much of your weight as possible near the base of your big toe.
• Hold for a count of one, and return slowly to the starting position.
• Too easy? Hold a heavy dumbbell in your free hand, or perform the move standing on one foot.