We’re confident that Coach has workouts that will suit everyone. Whatever your fitness goals are, whatever your current level of fitness and experience is, and whatever equipment and space you have available, there’s a workout for you on this website. Legs workouts, home workouts, bodyweight workouts… we’ve got it all.
However, it’s rare that we come across a single session that suits just about everyone. So when the team at activewear brand Sundried shared this home leg workout, we were all too happy to pass it on to you.
You’ll work through three sets of each exercise in the workout, hitting your legs and glutes particularly hard, but also working your core. It can be done just about anywhere, since all but one of the exercises are bodyweight moves, and the odd one out can be done with any DIY weight (we’ve taken to using a couple of bricks that were lying about the garden).
If you have some free weights hanging around, it’s easy to incorporate them to make the workout harder. Other ways of making the workout harder include slowing the movements down so your muscles spend more time under tension, and limiting the amount of rest you give yourself between sets.
You’ll find full descriptions of all the exercises and details on sets, reps and rest below, but Sundried has also put together this handy infographic to show the workout, so if you know how to do the moves already you can start rattling them off.
Nine-Move Leg Workout At Home
1 Squat
Sets 3 Reps 10
Targets Quads, hamstrings and glutes
Stand with your feet hip-width apart. Keeping your chest up and back straight throughout, bend your knees and lower, pushing your hips back until your thighs are parallel to the ground. Then drive through your heels to return to standing.
2 Lunge
Sets 3 Reps 10 each side
Targets Quads, hamstrings and glutes
From standing, take a big step forwards with your right foot and lower until both your knees are bent at 90°. Push back up through your right foot to standing. Do all your reps on one leg, then switch to the other.
3 Pistol squat (or single-leg box squat)
Sets 3 Reps 10 each side
Targets Quads, hamstrings and glutes
The pistol squat is perhaps the toughest bodyweight variation of the squat. Stand on one leg and drop into a deep squat, pointing the raised leg out straight out in front of you.
If you can’t do this, don’t worry – it’s really tough. Instead do a single-leg box squat. Stand close to but facing away from a box or any surface that’s around 40cm off the ground and can take your weight. Lift one leg in front of you and slowly sit back into a squat until you’re sitting on the box, then stand back up. Do all your reps on one leg, then switch to the other.
4 Good morning
Sets 3 Reps 10
Targets Hamstrings and glutes
Stand with your feet shoulder-width apart and your hands behind your head. Bend forwards, hinging at the hips, until you feel a slight stretch in your hamstrings, then reverse the movement to stand back up.
5 Donkey kick
Sets 3 Reps 10 each side
Targets Hamstrings and glutes
Get on all fours with your hands under your shoulders and your knees on the floor under your hips. Engage your core and lift one leg behind you, keeping your knee bent so the sole of your foot ends up facing the ceiling. Bring your leg back down slowly. Do all your reps on one leg, then switch.
6 Side lunge
Sets 3 Reps 10 each side
Targets Abductors
From standing take a big step to one side and lower until the knee on your leading leg is bent at 90°, keeping your trailing leg straight. Push back up to standing. Do all your reps on one side, then switch.
7 Calf raise
Sets 3 Reps 10
Targets Hamstrings and glutes
From standing, raise your heels off the ground until you are standing on your toes, then lower under control.
8 Glute bridge
Sets 3 Reps 10
Targets Hamstrings and glutes
Lie on your back with your knees bent and feet planted close to your glutes. Raise your hips until you form a straight line with your body from your knees to your neck, pause for a moment, then lower back to the start.
9 Stiff-leg deadlift
Sets 3 Reps 10
Targets Hamstrings and glutes
You’ll need some kind of weight for this one, whether that’s a set of dumbbells or a DIY alternative. Stand holding a weight in each hand with your knees slightly bent. Keep this slight bend in your knees throughout. Bend at the hips to lower the weights, keeping them close to your legs and your back straight. When you feel a stretch in your hamstrings, slowly straighten back up.
More Leg Workouts For Home
The home workout above is a great way to get acquainted with most of the best leg exercises and start strengthening your lower body. Once you’ve mastered the moves involved, we have a wide variety of other leg workouts for you to try.
This leg workout for women comes from female-focused app Shreddy and it’s a single-leg session that will benefit men too.
If you’re a dedicated gym-goer who camps out in the squat rack, don’t think there are no home leg workouts worth your time. This home workout to improve your back squat will develop your mobility, movement, strength and co-ordination. All you need is a tea towel, a water bottle and a smooth floor.
If you have small looped resistance bands, try this resistance band glutes workout. If you don’t have that type of band, pick up a set ASAP – our selection of the best resistance bands has options for all budgets.
Anyone who plays sport will know the value of a strong lower body, and we have some dedicated leg workouts designed to help support your training. This leg workout for runners uses unilateral moves to help both sides of your lower body grow stronger evenly.
We also have leg workouts for football players, one of which builds strength using heavy weights, while the other develops your speed using a large looped resistance band and a TRX, both of which are worthwhile additions to your home gym. Browse our top picks of the best suspension trainers if you don’t have one already.
Finally, our leg workout for tennis players is made up of bodyweight exercises and has six levels of difficulty so it can be matched to most abilities.
