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Exercises

Leg exercises for seniors: squats, step-ups and machines

Published October 29, 2026

The best leg exercises for seniors are the squat to a chair, step-ups and the leg press for the front of the thighs and glutes, the dumbbell Romanian deadlift and leg curl for the hamstrings, calf raises for the ankles, and side leg raises for the outer hip. Train legs two or three days a week with 2 to 3 sets of 8 to 15 reps, and stop each set with 2 or 3 reps left. Hold a counter or rail whenever balance is the limit, and add weight as soon as the reps come easily: that is how leg muscle comes back at 70 and beyond.

  1. Bodyweight Squat Quads
  2. Step-Up Quads, Glutes
  3. Goblet Squat Quads, Glutes
  4. Leg Press Quads, Glutes
  5. Dumbbell Romanian Deadlift Hamstrings, Glutes
  6. Dumbbell Standing Calf Raise Calves
  7. Leg Extension Quads
  8. Dumbbell Reverse Lunge Quads, Glutes

Squats and sit-to-stands for getting up

Standing up from a chair, the car or the toilet is a squat, and it is the leg movement that matters most with age. Start by squatting to a chair, hold a dumbbell once that is easy, and use the leg press at the gym to load the same muscles heavily while you sit.

Quads and glutes, squat

Bodyweight Squat

Quads

Squatting down until you touch a chair and standing back up is the sit-to-stand that every leg program for older adults starts with. Use a higher chair to begin, then a lower one, then no chair at all as your strength comes back.

How to do it

  1. Stand with your feet about shoulder-width apart, toes turned out slightly, arms out in front for balance.
  2. Push your hips back and bend your knees, keeping your heels flat and your chest up.
  3. Lower until your thighs are at least parallel to the floor, deeper if your heels stay down.
  4. Drive through your whole foot to stand tall, then go straight into the next rep.

Cues

  • Heels glued to the floor
  • Knees over toes
  • Thighs to parallel or lower

Common mistakes

  • Knees caving in on the way up: push them out over your little toes.
  • Quarter squats to hit a rep count: a full-depth set of 12 beats a shallow set of 30.

Swap for: Reverse Lunge, Wall Sit, Jump Squat

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Quads and glutes, loaded squat

Goblet Squat

Quads, Glutes

Holding one dumbbell at your chest is the simplest way to add weight once bodyweight squats pass 15 easy reps. The weight in front helps you sit back and keep your chest up.

How to do it

  1. Hold a dumbbell or kettlebell vertically against your chest.
  2. Sit down between your knees, elbows inside them at the bottom.
  3. Stand up tall.

Cues

  • Elbows nudge the knees out at the bottom.
  • Chest stays up behind the weight.

Common mistakes

  • Letting the weight pull you forward.

Swap for: Bodyweight Squat, Barbell Back Squat

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Quads and glutes, machine

Leg Press

Quads, Glutes

The leg press loads your thighs and glutes heavily while your back is supported and balance is not a concern. At a gym, it is the most direct way to build the leg strength that makes standing up easy.

How to do it

  1. Sit in the machine with your whole back against the pad and your feet hip-width on the platform.
  2. Release the safety handles and bend your knees, bringing the platform toward you under control.
  3. Lower until your knees are bent to about 90 degrees or a little deeper, without your lower back curling off the pad.
  4. Press the platform away until your legs are nearly straight, and repeat.

Cues

  • Lower back stays on the pad
  • Whole foot pushes
  • Stop just short of locking out

Common mistakes

  • Going so deep that your hips roll up off the seat: stop where your back stays flat.
  • Snapping the knees straight at the top: keep a soft bend.

Swap for: 45-Degree Leg Press, Hack Squat, Barbell Back Squat

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Quads, isometric hold

Wall Sit

Quads

Holding a partial squat against a wall builds thigh strength with no movement at the knee, so it is useful on days squats feel uncomfortable. Slide only as low as you can hold for 15 seconds.

How to do it

  1. Lean your back on a wall with your feet roughly two feet out from it.
  2. Slide down until your thighs are close to parallel with the floor.
  3. Keep your knees over your ankles and press your back into the wall.
  4. Hold the position for the target time, then slide back up.

Cues

  • Thighs level
  • Press the heels
  • Back flat on the wall

Common mistakes

  • Feet too close: the knees end up past the toes.
  • Resting hands on the thighs: keep them off your legs.

Swap for: Bodyweight Squat, Cossack Squat

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Step-ups and lunges for stairs and balance

Stairs, curbs and getting in and out of a bath happen on one leg. These train each leg alone, with a hand on a rail or wall until you no longer need it, plus the outer-hip muscle that keeps the pelvis level when you stand on one foot.

Quads and glutes, single leg

Step-Up

Quads, Glutes

A step-up is climbing a stair with resistance. Start on a 4 to 6 inch step holding a rail, and only move to a bench height or add dumbbells once you can step up without pushing off the back foot.

How to do it

  1. Stand facing the bench with two dumbbells.
  2. Place one whole foot on the bench.
  3. Lean forward a little and push through the top foot to stand up on the bench.
  4. Bring the other foot up only to touch, then lower it back to the floor.
  5. Finish all reps on one leg before switching.

Cues

  • Whole foot on the bench
  • Push through the top heel
  • Lower slowly, do not drop

Common mistakes

  • Pushing off the floor with the back foot: that halves the work. Keep the trailing foot light.
  • Using a bench so high that your knee is far above your hip: you will rock instead of step.

Swap for: Barbell Step-Up

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Quads and glutes, split stance

Dumbbell Reverse Lunge

Quads, Glutes

Stepping back instead of forward keeps your weight over the front foot, which makes it easier to control and to balance. Start with no weight and one hand on a wall, then hold a light dumbbell at each side.

How to do it

  1. Start tall with a dumbbell hanging from each hand and your feet under your hips.
  2. Step one foot back and lower until your back knee is just above the floor and your front thigh is near parallel.
  3. Keep your front heel flat and your chest tall.
  4. Push through your front foot to bring the back foot forward to the start, then alternate or finish all reps on one side.

Cues

  • Front shin stays vertical
  • Back knee kisses the floor
  • Drive through the front heel

Common mistakes

  • Taking a short step so the front knee shoots forward and the heel lifts: step farther back.
  • Letting the torso twist or lean to the side as you tire; keep both dumbbells hanging straight down.

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

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Outer hip, abduction

Standing Side Leg Raise

Abductors

Lifting one leg out to the side trains the hip muscles that keep your pelvis level each time you stand on one foot during a step. Hold a counter so you can focus on the working hip.

How to do it

  1. Stand tall, feet under your hips, hands resting on your hips.
  2. Keep the outer leg straight with the toes pointing forward.
  3. Lift it out to the side without leaning your torso away.
  4. Lower slowly until the foot almost touches the floor.

Cues

  • Toes forward
  • Stay tall
  • Slow lower

Common mistakes

  • Turning the toes up: that shifts the work to the front of the hip.
  • Leaning sideways: lift only as high as you can with an upright body.

Swap for: Fire Hydrant, Clamshell

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Hamstrings: the back of the thighs

The hamstrings help you bend to pick things up and stand back up, and they balance all the knee-straightening work above. Hinge with dumbbells to train them with the glutes, and curl with a machine or band to train them alone.

Hamstrings and glutes, hip hinge

Dumbbell Romanian Deadlift

Hamstrings, Glutes

The Romanian deadlift teaches you to bend from the hips with a flat back, the way to pick up a laundry basket or a grandchild with your hips and legs doing the work. Light dumbbells and a short range are plenty to start.

How to do it

  1. Stand hip-width apart with a dumbbell in each hand resting against the front of your thighs, palms facing you.
  2. Push your hips straight back and let your torso fold forward, knees softly bent, the dumbbells brushing your legs.
  3. Lower until the dumbbells pass your knees and you feel a strong stretch in your hamstrings, with your back still flat.
  4. Drive your hips forward to stand back up, squeezing your glutes at the top, and repeat.

Cues

  • Hips back, not down
  • Dumbbells slide down your legs
  • Flat back, chin tucked

Common mistakes

  • Bending the knees into a squat so the dumbbells go lower: the depth comes from the hips, and most people stop just past the knees.
  • Rounding the lower back at the bottom: end the rep where your back stays flat, and lighten the load if that is high.

Swap for: Single-Leg RDL, Dumbbell Good Morning, Kettlebell Deadlift

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Hamstrings, machine

Seated Leg Curl

Hamstrings

The seated leg curl trains the hamstrings directly with your back supported and no balance demand. It is an easy machine to set up and to load in small steps.

How to do it

  1. Set the backrest so your knees line up with the machine's pivot, and lock the thigh pad down firmly.
  2. Rest the lower pad just above your heels with legs straight.
  3. Curl your heels down and back under the seat as far as they go.
  4. Let the pad rise slowly until your legs are straight again, and repeat.

Cues

  • Thigh pad snug
  • Pull heels under the seat
  • Two seconds on the way up

Common mistakes

  • Lifting your hips off the seat to finish the rep: tighten the thigh pad and lighten the stack.
  • Letting the stack crash between reps: control it all the way to straight legs.

Swap for: Lying Leg Curl, Romanian Deadlift, Nordic Hamstring Curl

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Hamstrings, band

Band Leg Curl

Hamstrings

At home, a band around your ankle gives you a leg curl without a machine. Hold a chair back for balance and curl your heel toward your seat.

How to do it

  1. Put a mini loop around both ankles and stand tall, holding a wall or chair for balance.
  2. Keep your thighs side by side.
  3. Bend one knee and lift that heel toward your glutes as high as you can.
  4. Lower it slowly. Finish the set, then switch legs.

Cues

  • Knees side by side
  • Heel to glutes
  • Slow return

Common mistakes

  • Swinging the thigh back to finish the curl: keep both knees level.
  • Leaning forward: stand tall and hold onto support.

Swap for: Band Good Morning, Nordic Hamstring Curl, Stability Ball Leg Curl

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Knee extension and calves

The leg extension isolates the quads that straighten your knee, useful when squats are limited. Calf raises strengthen the push-off at the end of every step.

Quads, machine

Leg Extension

Quads

Straightening your knee against the pad trains the quads alone, which helps when squats are limited by sore knees or hips. It also lets you add strength at the very end of knee straightening, where walking and stairs need it.

How to do it

  1. Sit with your knees at the pivot and the pad on your lower shins.
  2. Straighten both knees until your legs are level.
  3. Lower slowly. Build up the weight over 2 lighter sets.

Cues

  • Squeeze at the top
  • Control the drop

Common mistakes

  • Letting the stack slam between reps: keep tension on.

Swap for: Single-Leg Leg Extension, Sissy Squat

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Calves, standing

Dumbbell Standing Calf Raise

Calves

Strong calves push you forward with each step and lift you onto your toes to reach a high shelf. Hold a counter with one hand and a dumbbell in the other until you can do them free-standing.

How to do it

  1. With a dumbbell hanging from each hand, put the balls of both feet on a step or two stacked books, hip-width apart.
  2. Let your heels sink below the step until the calves are fully stretched, and pause.
  3. Press up onto your toes as high as you can with straight knees, and hold the top briefly.
  4. Lower slowly back into the stretch and repeat.

Cues

  • Tall body, straight knees
  • Slow down, quick up
  • Weight over the big toes

Common mistakes

  • Cutting the bottom short because the step feels unstable: use a wider step or touch the wall with a fingertip.
  • Bending the knees to help at the end of a set: that turns it into a little jump and stops loading the calf.

Swap for: Single-Leg Calf Raise, Kettlebell Calf Raise

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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.

Session 1

Starting at home with a chair and light dumbbells

Open in the session builder
  • Workouts2× a week
  • Working sets18 a week
  • Per workout~20 min
  • EquipmentDumbbells, Flat Bench, Resistance Bands

You are new to strength training, you work out at home, and standing up from a low chair or climbing stairs has started to feel harder.

Two short sessions give the thighs and glutes about 9 sets a week and the hamstrings, calves and outer hips 2 to 4 each. That is enough to build leg strength from a low starting point while every set ends with 2 to 3 reps to spare, so you are not stiff the next day.

Day A: Squat and step
ExerciseSets × repsRIRRest
Bodyweight SquatSit down to a chair and stand back up. 3 × 8–12 3 90 s
Step-UpPer leg. Low step, hand on a rail. 2 × 6–10 3 90 s
Dumbbell Standing Calf Raise 2 × 10–15 2 1 min
Standing Side Leg RaisePer leg. 2 × 10–12 2 1 min

Open Day A: Squat and step in the session builder

Day B: Hinge and hold
ExerciseSets × repsRIRRest
Dumbbell Romanian Deadlift1 warm-up set first 3 × 8–12 3 90 s
Band Leg CurlPer leg. 2 × 10–15 2 1 min
Wall SitSeconds per hold. 2 × 15–30 2 90 s
Dumbbell Reverse LungePer leg. No weight and a hand on a wall to start. 2 × 6–10 3 90 s

Open Day B: Hinge and hold in the session builder

How to run it
Do Day A and Day B on two days a week with at least one rest day between, such as Tuesday and Friday. Set a sturdy chair against a wall for the squats and stand next to a counter for everything else.
How to progress
Use double progression: once every set reaches the top of the rep range with 2 to 3 reps still in reserve, make it harder next time. Lower the chair, step on a higher step, add 2 to 5 pounds of dumbbell, or add 5 seconds to the wall sit.
Open in the session builder

Session 2

Gym with machines, two days

Open in the session builder
  • Workouts2× a week
  • Working sets23 a week
  • Per workout~30 min
  • EquipmentLeg Press, Seated Leg Curl, Leg Extension, Dumbbells +1

You have access to a gym and want the most leg strength for your time, with machines doing the balancing while you get stronger.

Machines take balance out of the set, so you can work closer to your limit; each day has 11 to 12 working sets and the thighs get about 12 sets a week, with 6 for the hamstrings. The free-weight squat and hinge on Day 2 keep the balance and coordination that machines leave out.

Day 1: Machines
ExerciseSets × repsRIRRest
Leg Press2 warm-up sets first 3 × 8–12 2 2 min
Seated Leg Curl 3 × 10–12 2 90 s
Leg Extension 3 × 10–15 2 90 s
Dumbbell Standing Calf Raise 3 × 10–15 2 1 min

Open Day 1: Machines in the session builder

Day 2: Free weights
ExerciseSets × repsRIRRest
Goblet Squat1 warm-up set first 3 × 8–10 2 2 min
Dumbbell Romanian Deadlift 3 × 8–10 2 2 min
Step-UpPer leg. 3 × 6–10 2 90 s
Standing Side Leg RaisePer leg. 2 × 10–15 2 1 min

Open Day 2: Free weights in the session builder

How to run it
Train on two days with two or three days between, for example Monday and Thursday. Walk or cycle for 5 minutes first, then do the warm-up sets listed on the first lift.
How to progress
Add a rep each session until every set hits the top of the range at 2 reps in reserve, then add the smallest weight step the machine allows, usually 5 to 10 pounds.
Open in the session builder

Session 3

Over 75 or worried about balance

Open in the session builder
  • Workouts3× a week
  • Working sets27 a week
  • Per workout~20 min
  • EquipmentDumbbells

You are in your mid-70s or older, or you have had a fall or near fall, and you want to get your sit-to-stand and walking strength back with every exercise supported.

Short, frequent practice suits this situation better than long sessions: three days of 9 sets gives each muscle 6 to 9 sets a week at an easy 3 reps in reserve. Every exercise is done next to a chair, counter or wall.

Supported legs
ExerciseSets × repsRIRRest
Bodyweight SquatSit down to a chair. Use your hands only if you need them. 3 × 5–10 3 90 s
Standing Side Leg RaisePer leg. Hold a counter. 2 × 8–12 3 1 min
Dumbbell Standing Calf RaiseHold a counter; no dumbbell to start. 2 × 10–15 3 1 min
Wall SitSeconds per hold. Shallow position. 2 × 10–30 3 90 s
How to run it
Do the session three days a week, such as Monday, Wednesday and Friday, at a time of day when you feel steady. It takes about 15 minutes.
How to progress
First add reps, then remove help: squat to a lower chair, hold the counter with one finger instead of a full hand, then hold a light dumbbell. Add 5 seconds to the wall sit when every hold reaches 30 seconds.
Open in the session builder

Make it fit you

Questions

How can I build leg muscle after 70?

The same way as at any age: lift something heavy enough that the last couple of reps are hard, two or three times a week, and add weight as you get stronger. The plans above start with bodyweight and a chair and add dumbbells or machines from there.

Can elderly people regain leg strength?

Yes. Muscle responds to strength training into your 80s and 90s. Most people notice standing up and climbing stairs getting easier within a few weeks, mostly from better muscle coordination, with muscle size following over the next months.

How do you tone older legs?

Toned legs are legs with more muscle under the skin. Squats, step-ups, Romanian deadlifts and calf raises build that muscle, and how much fat sits on top comes down to your overall eating and activity.

What is the single best leg exercise for seniors?

The squat to a chair, also called the sit-to-stand. It trains your thighs, glutes and balance in the exact movement you use dozens of times a day, and it scales from a high chair to a heavy goblet squat.

How many days a week should seniors do leg exercises?

Two or three days, with at least one day off between sessions. Two days is enough to get stronger; three short sessions work well if balance is the main goal.