3 Easy Bodyweight Leg Exercises To Do At Home
Bodyweight training is a popular, efficient, and accessible method of improving your strength and conditioning with minimal or no equipment.
When it comes to building stronger legs, bodyweight training offers you a variety of options to target the muscles in your lower body. Most variations of bodyweight leg exercises fall into a squat pattern or lunge pattern. Within each of these movement patterns, certain exercises allow you to progress and improve your strength without relying on much, if any, external equipment. We will cover squat pattern exercises below, with 3 Easy Bodyweight Leg Exercises.
Muscles trained with the squat
The squat is arguably the king of lower body exercises. When it comes to building stronger hips and legs, squat variations are must-have exercises in your workout program.
The squat movement pattern primarily trains the following muscles:
- quadriceps
- gluteus maximus
- calves (soleus and gastrocnemius)
- hamstrings
Squat exercises also require core stabilization, so you will strengthen the muscles of your core as well. Bodyweight squat exercises have easier and harder variations.
If you’re new to training your legs, beginning with a chair squat is the best option.
If you have some training, a standard body weight squat provides an excellent method for leg training with just bodyweight.
For more advanced fitness practitioners, performing a jump squat can provide the extra challenge you may need for a good bodyweight leg workout.
3 Easy Bodyweight Leg Exercises
Standard bodyweight squat
The classic standard bodyweight squat can be performed virtually anywhere. You can wear standard workout shoes or even bare feet when performing this exercise.
To perform the bodyweight squat:
- Stand with your feet around shoulder-width apart and turned out 5–12 degrees.
- Begin the motion by moving your hips backward, sitting back, and lowering your hips. Reach your arms out in front for counterbalance.
- As you sit back, generate tension in your feet and legs by imagining you’re pushing your knees outward and sitting down between your thighs, as opposed to on top of them. This is to counteract the tendency to let your knees cave or turn inward.
- Lower your hips until the tops of your thighs are parallel to the floor. You can go lower if your mobility allows.
- Once you reach the bottom position, push through each foot evenly to stand up to the starting position.
- Keep your knees pointing in the same direction as your toes throughout the entire range of motion.
- Your torso should be roughly at the same angle as your shins throughout the motion. This means that you’ll lean slightly forward as you squat down, and your knees will move slightly forward as well.
When you’re first learning the bodyweight squat, start at a slow speed and practice before increasing your tempo.
For an optimal baseline breathing pattern, inhale as you lower down and exhale as you drive up to return to the start position.
If squatting until your thighs are parallel to the floor is too difficult, or if you cannot maintain the proper form without your knees turning in or leaning too much with your torso, squat to just above parallel or start with the chair squat instead.
Chair squat
The chair squat is the best option if you’re just learning how to properly perform a bodyweight squat. For this exercise, a sturdy, standard-size kitchen chair is the best choice.
Chair squats are great if you’re still getting used to the feeling of sitting backward with your hips.
The chair gives you the security that you’ll not fall backward and offers a reference point so you know when you hit the bottom of the squat.
If you find yourself losing balance on a normal bodyweight squat, train with the chair squat to build the proper control and movement pattern.
If you don’t have a chair, a flat-topped surface around 18 inches (45.7 cm) high will work.
To perform a chair squat:
- Position a chair of around 18 inches (45.7 cm) high behind you.
- Stand about 1 foot (30.5 cm) in front of the chair, with your feet around shoulder-width apart and turned out 5–12 degrees
- Begin the motion by moving your hips backward, sitting back, and lowering your hips.
- As you sit back, generate tension in your feet and legs by imagining you’re pushing your knees outward and sitting down between your thighs, as opposed to on top of them. This is to counteract your knees’ tendency to cave in or turn inward.
- Lower your hips until your hips touch the chair. Don’t sit down on the chair.
- As soon as you feel your hips contact the chair, push through each foot evenly to stand up to the starting position.
- Keep your knees pointing in the same direction as your toes throughout the entire range of motion.
- Your torso should be roughly at the same angle as your shins throughout the motion. This means that you’ll lean slightly forward as you squat down, and your knees will move slightly forward as well.
After a few weeks of doing the chair squats as part of your workout, you may feel ready to try the standard bodyweight squat.
Jump squat
Once you’re confident with your bodyweight squat, you can progress to a variation called the jump squat (also called a squat jump) to add intensity to your bodyweight leg training.
The jump squat is remarkably like the bodyweight squat. However, instead of steadily standing up to the top position, you explosively drive through the floor and fully extend your feet to jump off the floor.
As you land, absorb your weight by squatting back down using the same technique.
The jump squat is considered a plyometric exercise, which means that it utilizes the natural elasticity of your muscles and connective tissue to help with explosive movement.
Plyometric exercises are incredibly demanding on your body, so be sure you can safely and comfortably perform multiple sets of standard squats before attempting the jump squat.
To perform the jump squat:
- Stand with your feet around shoulder-width apart and turned out 5–12 degrees.
- Begin the motion by moving your hips backward, sitting back, and lowering your hips. Reach your arms out in front for counterbalance and swing them backward at the bottom to generate momentum for the jump.
- Lower your hips until the tops of your thighs are parallel to the floor.
- Once you reach the bottom position, explosively drive through each foot and rapidly stand back up. In the same motion, extend your feet and push through your toes to completely clear the floor and jump off the ground. Throw your arms upward as you leave the ground.
- As you land, absorb your weight by squatting right back down using the same technique.
- Keep your knees pointing in the same direction as your toes throughout the entire range of motion.
- If performing for repetitions, the landing absorption becomes the initial downward squat movement for the next jump squat repetition.
To safely jump squat, you must ensure your knees track in-line with your toes the whole time. The jump squat should only be performed once you’re confident with the bodyweight squat.
Final verdict
Bodyweight leg training is a great way to add functional fitness and train vital movement patterns with limited equipment. The squat patterns are the primary movements available for bodyweight leg exercises.
Additional movements can be added to your program to increase variety, warm up, and improve mobility. You can manipulate bodyweight exercise routines to focus on different fitness goals, such as strength or conditioning.
In the long run, external resistance is needed to continually improve strength. Bodyweight training can always be used as an effective form of cardiovascular conditioning.
But best of all, these exercises can be done anywhere, anytime. So next time you need to get your blood flowing after sitting for too long, give some of these exercises a try.
