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Exercises

Leg exercises at home: squats, lunges, hinges, glutes and calves without a gym

Published October 19, 2026

The best leg exercises at home are the Bulgarian split squat and the goblet squat for your quads and glutes, the dumbbell Romanian deadlift and the single-leg RDL for your hamstrings, the hip thrust or single-leg glute bridge for your glutes, and single-leg calf raises on a stair. With no weights at all, swap in the bodyweight squat, the Nordic curl and the sissy squat. One-leg exercises are the key at home: they make light dumbbells, or no dumbbells, heavy enough to build your legs.

  1. Bulgarian Split Squat Quads, Glutes
  2. Goblet Squat Quads, Glutes
  3. Dumbbell Reverse Lunge Quads, Glutes
  4. Dumbbell Romanian Deadlift Hamstrings, Glutes
  5. Single-Leg RDL Hamstrings, Glutes
  6. Dumbbell Hip Thrust Glutes
  7. Single-Leg Glute Bridge Glutes
  8. Single-Leg Calf Raise Calves

Squats you can do at home

Squats train your quads and glutes together. Start with the bodyweight version, move to the goblet squat when you have a dumbbell, and use raised heels or the kneeling sissy squat when you want more quads.

Quads and glutes, no equipment

Bodyweight Squat

Quads

The bodyweight squat is the leg exercise you can do anywhere, and for a beginner it builds real strength. Once 25 reps feel easy it turns into a warm-up, and the loaded or one-leg squats below take over.

How to do it

  1. Stand with your feet a little wider than your hips and your toes turned slightly out.
  2. Reach your arms forward and sit your hips down and back between your heels.
  3. Go as low as you can while your heels stay down and your chest stays up.
  4. Stand up by pushing the floor away and finish with a hard glute squeeze.

Cues

  • Sit between your heels
  • Knees follow your toes
  • Chest proud

Common mistakes

  • Rushing the reps: take two seconds down and pause at the bottom, which makes a light exercise hard again.

Swap for: Goblet Squat, Wall Sit, Sumo Squat

Build a session with Bodyweight Squat

Quads and glutes, one dumbbell

Goblet Squat

Quads, Glutes

Holding one dumbbell at your chest keeps you upright and lets you squat deep, so a single weight gives your quads and glutes real work. It is the best first loaded squat at home.

How to do it

  1. Cup one end of a dumbbell with both hands and hold it against your chest.
  2. Set your feet a bit wider than your hips.
  3. Squat down until your elbows brush the inside of your knees.
  4. Drive back up through your whole foot, keeping the dumbbell tight to your chest.

Cues

  • Dumbbell glued to the chest
  • Elbows inside the knees
  • Sit tall

Common mistakes

  • Letting the dumbbell drift away from your body: it pulls your chest forward and turns the squat into a back exercise.

Swap for: Heels-Elevated Goblet Squat, Dumbbell Squat, Dumbbell Front Squat

Build a session with Goblet Squat

Quads, deep knee bend

Heels-Elevated Goblet Squat

Quads

Raising your heels on a book, a plate or a step lets your knees travel further forward, which shifts the goblet squat toward your quads and gives you more depth if your ankles are stiff.

How to do it

  1. Put your heels on something about one or two inches high and your feet close together.
  2. Hold a dumbbell at your chest.
  3. Squat straight down, letting your knees push forward past your toes.
  4. Stand up without letting your hips rise before your chest.

Cues

  • Knees forward
  • Stay upright
  • Slow down, firm up

Common mistakes

  • Rising onto your toes as you stand: keep your weight spread over the whole raised foot.

Swap for: Goblet Squat, Sissy Squat, Dumbbell Front Squat

Build a session with Heels-Elevated Goblet Squat

Quads, kneeling lean-back

Sissy Squat

Quads

Kneeling and leaning your body back trains the quads, including the part that crosses the hip, without any weight at all. It is the closest thing to a leg extension you can do on the floor.

How to do it

  1. Kneel on a mat with your knees hip-width apart and your body tall.
  2. Keep a straight line from knees to head and lean back slowly.
  3. Go as far as you can control, feeling the front of your thighs stretch.
  4. Pull yourself back upright with your quads.

Cues

  • Straight line, knees to head
  • Hips stay forward
  • Small range first

Common mistakes

  • Bending at the hips to make it easier: the straight line is what makes the quads do the work.

Swap for: Heels-Elevated Goblet Squat, Goblet Squat, Bodyweight Squat

Build a session with Sissy Squat

Split squats, lunges and step-ups

These are the home lifter's heavy exercises. Each leg handles your whole body weight plus whatever you hold, so they keep working long after two-leg squats get easy. A couch, a chair and a stair are all the gear they need.

Quads and glutes, one leg, rear foot on a couch

Bulgarian Split Squat

Quads, Glutes

With your back foot on a couch or chair, almost all of your weight lands on the front leg. That makes it the most effective way to work your legs hard at home with light dumbbells or none at all.

How to do it

  1. Stand about two feet in front of a couch, chair or bench and rest one foot, laces down, on it behind you.
  2. Hold dumbbells at your sides, or nothing at first.
  3. Lower your back knee toward the floor until the front thigh is about level.
  4. Push through the front foot to stand up, finish your reps, then switch legs.

Cues

  • Weight on the front foot
  • Drop the back knee straight down
  • Front heel stays heavy

Common mistakes

  • Standing too close to the bench so the front heel lifts: move the front foot further out.

Swap for: Dumbbell Split Squat, Dumbbell Goblet Split Squat, Skater Squat

Build a session with Bulgarian Split Squat

Quads and glutes, step back

Dumbbell Reverse Lunge

Quads, Glutes

Stepping back instead of forward keeps your weight over the front foot, which is easier on your knees than a forward lunge and needs only the space of a living room.

How to do it

  1. Stand tall with two dumbbells.
  2. Take a long step back with one foot and lower that knee toward the floor.
  3. Stop just above the floor with your front shin roughly upright.
  4. Push through your front foot to bring the back foot in, and alternate legs.

Cues

  • Long step back
  • Front foot does the work
  • Tall torso

Common mistakes

  • Pushing off the back foot to return: think about pulling yourself up with the front leg.

Swap for: Reverse Lunge, Dumbbell Split Squat, Step-Up

Build a session with Dumbbell Reverse Lunge

Quads and glutes, onto a step or chair

Step-Up

Quads, Glutes

A sturdy chair, a bench or the bottom stairs make a step-up. It trains each leg on its own and is simple to load: hold dumbbells, or use a higher step.

How to do it

  1. Stand facing a sturdy box, bench or stair with two dumbbells.
  2. Put one whole foot on top.
  3. Stand up onto it by driving through that foot, without pushing off the floor with the other.
  4. Lower yourself back down slowly with the same leg and repeat before switching.

Cues

  • Top leg does all the work
  • Whole foot on the step
  • Slow lowering

Common mistakes

  • Bouncing off the back foot: keep it light, like it is only there for balance.

Swap for: Kettlebell Step-Up, Dumbbell Reverse Lunge, Bulgarian Split Squat

Build a session with Step-Up

Hamstring exercises at home

A home leg day without a hinge or curl leaves the back of your thighs untrained. Pick one hinge and, if you have a ball or a partner, one curl.

Hamstrings and glutes, hip hinge

Dumbbell Romanian Deadlift

Hamstrings, Glutes

Squats and lunges barely train the hamstrings. The dumbbell Romanian deadlift does, by stretching them under load as your hips travel back, and two moderate dumbbells are enough.

How to do it

  1. Stand with two dumbbells in front of your thighs and your knees softly bent.
  2. Send your hips back and let the dumbbells slide down your legs.
  3. Stop when you feel a strong stretch in your hamstrings, usually just below the knee.
  4. Drive your hips forward to stand tall.

Cues

  • Hips back, not down
  • Dumbbells brush your legs
  • Flat back

Common mistakes

  • Bending the knees more as you go down: keep the same small bend and let the hips do the moving.

Swap for: Single-Leg RDL, Dumbbell Good Morning, Dumbbell B-Stance RDL

Build a session with Dumbbell Romanian Deadlift

Hamstrings and glutes, one leg

Single-Leg RDL

Hamstrings, Glutes

Doing the hinge on one leg doubles the load on each hamstring, so a light dumbbell becomes a hard set. It also trains the balance most home workouts skip.

How to do it

  1. Stand on one leg with a dumbbell in the opposite hand.
  2. Hinge forward from your hip while your free leg reaches back.
  3. Lower until your torso is close to level with the floor or your hamstring stops you.
  4. Squeeze the glute of your standing leg to come back up.

Cues

  • Hips square to the floor
  • Reach the heel back
  • Soft standing knee

Common mistakes

  • Opening the hip so the back toe points to the side: keep both hip bones facing the floor.

Swap for: Dumbbell B-Stance RDL, Dumbbell Romanian Deadlift, Kettlebell Deadlift

Build a session with Single-Leg RDL

Hamstrings, knee curl on a ball

Stability Ball Leg Curl

Hamstrings

If you have an exercise ball, this is a real hamstring curl at home: your hips stay lifted while your heels roll the ball toward you.

How to do it

  1. Lie face up and rest both heels on an exercise ball.
  2. Lift your hips so shoulders, hips and heels line up.
  3. Pull the ball toward you by bending your knees, keeping your hips up.
  4. Roll it back out slowly until your legs are straight, without dropping your hips.

Cues

  • Hips high the whole set
  • Heels dig in
  • Slow on the way out

Common mistakes

  • Letting the hips sag as you curl: if they drop, end the set there.

Swap for: Nordic Hamstring Curl, Band Leg Curl, Bodyweight Lying Leg Curl

Build a session with Stability Ball Leg Curl

Hamstrings, kneeling lower

Nordic Hamstring Curl

Hamstrings

The Nordic curl is the hardest hamstring exercise you can do without equipment. You need a partner holding your ankles, or a heavy couch to hook your feet under.

How to do it

  1. Kneel on a pad with your ankles held down by a partner or tucked under something heavy.
  2. Keep a straight line between knees and shoulders.
  3. Lower your body toward the floor as slowly as you can.
  4. Catch yourself with your hands, push lightly off the floor, and pull back up with your hamstrings.

Cues

  • Hips stay forward
  • Fight every inch down
  • Push off only as much as needed

Common mistakes

  • Bending at the hips to shorten the lever: keep the straight line even if you have to stop sooner.

Swap for: Stability Ball Leg Curl, Band Leg Curl, Dumbbell Romanian Deadlift

Build a session with Nordic Hamstring Curl

Glute exercises at home

Bridges and thrusts load the glutes where squats do not, at full hip extension. Both work with your back on a couch or flat on the floor.

Glutes, hip extension

Dumbbell Hip Thrust

Glutes

With your upper back on a couch and a dumbbell on your hips, the hip thrust loads the glutes hardest at the top, the part of the movement squats leave out.

How to do it

  1. Sit down and lean your upper back against the edge of a couch or bench and your knees bent.
  2. Rest a dumbbell across your hip crease and hold it in place.
  3. Drive through your heels and raise your hips until your thighs and torso are level.
  4. Hold the top for a second and lower your hips toward the floor.

Cues

  • Chin tucked
  • Shins vertical at the top
  • Squeeze and hold

Common mistakes

  • Arching your lower back to get higher: finish the rep by squeezing your glutes, with your ribs down.

Swap for: Single-Leg Hip Thrust, Dumbbell Glute Bridge, Dumbbell Staggered Hip Thrust

Build a session with Dumbbell Hip Thrust

Glutes, one leg on the floor

Single-Leg Glute Bridge

Glutes

Bridging on one leg is the glute exercise that needs nothing but floor space, and it is gentle on knees and backs. Hold a weight on your hip when bodyweight reps get easy.

How to do it

  1. Lie face up with one foot flat and the other leg held straight in the air.
  2. Press through the heel of your planted foot to lift your hips.
  3. Rise until your hips and shoulders line up and hold for a second.
  4. Lower slowly, finish the side, then switch.

Cues

  • Push through the heel
  • Hips level
  • Pause at the top

Common mistakes

  • Letting the hip on the free side drop: keep both sides level, even if you lift less.

Swap for: Dumbbell Hip Thrust, Single-Leg Hip Thrust, Dumbbell Glute Bridge

Build a session with Single-Leg Glute Bridge

Calf exercises at home

A stair gives you the full stretch a gym calf machine does. Go one leg at a time, and pause at the bottom.

Calves, one leg

Single-Leg Calf Raise

Calves

Doing calf raises one leg at a time doubles the load without buying heavier weights. Stand on a stair so your heel can drop below the step for the full stretch.

How to do it

  1. Stand on one foot on the edge of a step, holding one dumbbell on the same side and the wall or rail with the other hand.
  2. Let your heel sink below the step.
  3. Rise up onto the ball of your foot as high as you can.
  4. Pause at the top, then lower slowly into the stretch and pause again.

Cues

  • Pause at the bottom
  • All the way up
  • Knee straight

Common mistakes

  • Bouncing out of the bottom: a full second of stillness there makes the calves work instead of the tendon.

Swap for: Dumbbell Standing Calf Raise, Dumbbell Seated Calf Raise, Kettlebell Calf Raise

Build a session with Single-Leg Calf Raise

Put them together: example sessions

Each session below picks from the exercises above for one situation, with the sets, reps, rest and RIR filled in. Open one in the session builder to change a pick, price it from a recent set, and add it to RIRLift.

Session 1

Nothing but your bodyweight

Open in the session builder
  • Workouts2× a week
  • Working sets23 a week
  • Per workout~25 min
  • EquipmentDumbbells, Flat Bench

You have floor space, a couch or sturdy chair and a stair, and no weights at all.

Without weight the only ways to make a set hard are one leg at a time, slow lowering and short rests. So every lift here is single-leg or a slow lowering, and the sets run 10 to 25 reps to 0 to 1 reps in reserve, which builds muscle about as well as heavier sets when you take them that close. The Nordic curl stays at 1 to 2 in reserve because a failed rep there drops you on your hands. Session A has 12 working sets and session B has 11.

Legs A
ExerciseSets × repsRIRRest
Bulgarian Split SquatPer leg. Rear foot on the couch. 3 × 10–20 1 90 s
Single-Leg Glute BridgePer leg. 2 s hold at the top. 3 × 12–20 0 1 min
Sissy SquatKneeling. Small range first. 3 × 8–15 1 1 min
Single-Leg Calf RaisePer leg, on a stair. 3 × 12–20 0 45 s

Open Legs A in the session builder

Legs B
ExerciseSets × repsRIRRest
Bodyweight Squat3 s down, 1 s pause. 3 × 15–25 1 1 min
Nordic Hamstring CurlFeet under the couch. Lower slowly. 3 × 3–8 2 2 min
Step-UpPer leg. Highest stable step. 3 × 10–15 1 1 min
Single-Leg Calf RaisePer leg. 2 × 12–20 0 45 s

Open Legs B in the session builder

How to run it
Do Legs A and Legs B once each per week with a day or more between them. For the Nordic curl, hook your feet under a couch with a pillow under your knees.
How to progress
Add reps until you reach the top of every range, then slow the lowering to three or four seconds and pause at the bottom. When that runs out too, add a backpack with books.
Open in the session builder

Session 2

One pair of dumbbells and a couch

Open in the session builder
  • Workouts2× a week
  • Working sets24 a week
  • Per workout~30 min
  • EquipmentDumbbells, Exercise Ball

You have one or two fixed pairs of dumbbells, a couch or bench, and 40 minutes twice a week.

Dumbbells make the squats and hinges loadable, so this plan leads each day with one heavy pattern, goblet squat on A and Romanian deadlift on B, and fills in with the one-leg lifts. The leading lifts stop 1 to 2 reps short because they load the back; everything else goes to 0 to 1. Each day has 12 working sets.

Legs A
ExerciseSets × repsRIRRest
Goblet Squat 3 × 8–15 2 2 min
Bulgarian Split SquatPer leg. 3 × 8–15 1 90 s
Dumbbell Hip ThrustBack on the couch. 3 × 10–20 1 90 s
Single-Leg Calf RaisePer leg. Hold a dumbbell. 3 × 10–20 0 45 s

Open Legs A in the session builder

Legs B
ExerciseSets × repsRIRRest
Dumbbell Romanian DeadliftStop at a full stretch. 3 × 8–15 2 2 min
Dumbbell Reverse LungePer leg. 3 × 8–12 1 90 s
Stability Ball Leg CurlOr a second set of RDLs. 3 × 10–15 1 1 min
Heels-Elevated Goblet SquatHeels on a plate or book. 3 × 12–20 0 1 min

Open Legs B in the session builder

How to run it
Do both days each week. Hold one dumbbell for the goblet squat and both for the hip thrust if your pair is light.
How to progress
When you reach the top of the rep range on every set, add weight if you have it. If not, switch the goblet squat to the heels-elevated version and the Romanian deadlift to the single-leg RDL, which make the same weight harder.
Open in the session builder

Session 3

Knees that hurt on deep squats

Open in the session builder
  • Workouts2× a week
  • Working sets24 a week
  • Per workout~30 min
  • EquipmentDumbbells, Flat Bench

You want stronger legs at home but deep squats and lunges hurt your knees right now.

This plan leans on hips and hamstrings, which load the knee little, and keeps the knee-bending exercises to step-ups and a partial goblet squat where you control the depth. The knee exercises stay at 2 to 3 reps in reserve so you stop before any pain shows up, while bridges, hinges and calves go closer to failure because the knee is barely involved. Each session has 12 working sets.

Legs
ExerciseSets × repsRIRRest
Dumbbell Hip Thrust 3 × 10–20 1 90 s
Dumbbell Romanian Deadlift 3 × 10–15 1 90 s
Step-UpPer leg. Low step first. 3 × 10–15 2 1 min
Goblet SquatPain-free depth only. 3 × 10–15 3 90 s

Open Legs in the session builder

Legs (glute focus)
ExerciseSets × repsRIRRest
Single-Leg Glute BridgePer leg. 3 × 12–20 0 1 min
Single-Leg RDLPer leg. 3 × 8–12 1 1 min
Step-UpPer leg. 3 × 10–15 2 1 min
Single-Leg Calf RaisePer leg. 3 × 12–20 0 45 s

Open Legs (glute focus) in the session builder

How to run it
Do it twice a week. Step-ups start on the lowest stair; goblet squats go only as deep as is pain free.
How to progress
Raise the step height or squat depth a little each week while your knees stay quiet. Once both are back to full range, move to the dumbbell plan.
Open in the session builder

Make it fit you

Questions

How can I work out my legs at home?

Pick one squat or split squat, one hinge for your hamstrings, one glute bridge or thrust and one calf raise, and do two or three hard sets of each twice a week. Use one-leg versions and slow lowering if you have little or no weight.

What are the big 3 leg exercises?

In a gym, the squat, the deadlift and the lunge are the usual answer. At home the equivalents are the goblet or Bulgarian split squat, the dumbbell Romanian deadlift and the reverse lunge or step-up.

What leg exercises are good for bad knees?

Hip thrusts, glute bridges, Romanian deadlifts and calf raises load the knee very little. Low step-ups and squats to a depth that does not hurt are usually fine too. Build depth back gradually rather than avoiding knee bending forever.

How do seniors strengthen their legs at home?

The same way as anyone: squats to a chair, step-ups on a low stair, glute bridges and calf raises with a hand on the wall, done for a few sets that end a couple of reps short of failure, two or three times a week. Add weight or reps slowly as they get easier.

Can you build big legs without weights?

You can build a lot of muscle with one-leg exercises, slow lowering and sets taken close to failure. Bulgarian split squats, Nordic curls and single-leg bridges are hard even for trained lifters. Past a point, adding a pair of dumbbells makes progress much easier.

How often should I train legs at home?

Two sessions a week covers most people. If you can only do one, make it the longer of the two days in a plan above and add a set to each exercise.