10 Best Leg Workout Exercises for Building Muscle

With so many choices of how to train the lower body, it’s no wonder that so many lifters feel overwhelmed and skip leg day entirely. (That’s your excuse, right?)

This list will give you clarity, but you’ll still have to work! Almost across the board, multijoint or “compound” exercises top this list. Why? In addition to recruiting more muscle mass, these exercises generate greater release of the muscle-building hormones testosterone and growth hormone. Here are the other standards we used to make our selections:

Ease of learning and performing
Total muscle stimulation and intensity
Popularity among diehard lifters and bodybuilders (This matters!)
Availability of equipment in commercial gyms

Build around these movements, and you can create more efficient, effective leg workouts. And with three complete workouts we’ve included for you, you have no more excuses. Get educated and get to work!

10 Best Leg Exercises

Barbell Back Squat

Back Squat Variations for Leg Development:

In your workout: For leg growth, do this movement first with several light warm-up sets, pyramiding up in weight, before attempting your heaviest weight for multiple sets. Classic rep schemes like 5×5 or 3×8-10 work great. Don’t be afraid to belt up if you’re going heavy.

Barbell Front Squat

Olympic Lifts: Snatch and Power Clean

Olympic Lift Variations for Leg Development:

In your workout: These exercises require absolute concentration on technique and body position. They should be your very first exercise of the day, and if you’re getting serious or going heavy, investing in some knee sleeves is a good idea. Stick to reps of 2-3, and add volume by doing more sets, moving up from 3-8. If you’re not ready for the real-deal lifts but want the same benefits, check out Lee Boyce’s article, “Olympic Lifts for the Rest of Us.”

Deadlift

Split Squat Variations for Leg Development:

In your workout: These work best toward the middle of a leg session. Do 3-4 sets of 8-12 reps per leg, and go for close to muscular failure on each set. If you really want to bring up the intensity, try bodyweight Bulgarians with blood flow restriction (BFR).

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Hack Squat

Lunge Variations for Leg Development:

In your workout: In a traditional leg day, do 3 sets of 8-20 reps per side, going higher the later it is in your routine. As you reach muscle failure, jettison any weights and do a few more reps without them, like you would in a dropset.

Leg Press

Why it’s on the list: Leg press vs. squat is a classic weight-room debate, but one that misses the point. Strength coach and physical therapist John Rusin explains why in his article, “Don’t Do High-Rep Squats, Deads, and Bench! Do These Instead.” Squats are for doing early in a leg workout and going heavy, he explains, and leg presses are for doing afterward for high reps. Sounds like a recipe for leg growth to us!

Like hack squats, the leg press allows for a variety of foot positions to target the outer quads, inner quads, glutes, or hamstrings. Just be careful not to lower the sled too far! This common mistake will lift your glutes up off the butt pad and cause your lower spine to curl. A rounded back puts you at risk for an injury.

Leg Press Variations for Leg Development:

In your workout: You can’t go wrong with 3-4 sets of 8-12 reps. Occasionally, when the pre-workout is flowing, do a few epic sets of 20-30 reps or more. This exercise also goes exceptionally well with intensity-boosting techniques such as rest-pause, dropsets, or forced reps.

Romanian Deadlift

Why it’s on the list: This upper hamstrings/glute exercise is unlike most others because you can go heavy on it without the risk of pulling from the floor. Plus, since the hamstrings contribute to both bending the knee and extending the hips, it’s a great lift to build powerhouse hamstrings for athletes and heavy lifters.

Unfortunately, RDLs are vastly underutilized in most lifters’ workouts, particularly women, which is why personal trainer and competitive lifter Cassie Smith recommends it as one of her 5 Lifts Every Strong-Ass Woman Needs.

Romanian Deadlift Variations for Leg Development:

In your workout: Do the Romanian deadlift as the first hamstring exercise in your workout. When in doubt, stick to 3 sets of 8-12 reps, paying particular attention to good form and reaching back with your hips. Grip holding you back from going heavy? That’s why lifting straps exist.

Leg Curl

Why it’s on the list: What makes this single-joint machine move worthy of being listed among squats and deadlifts? Because too many lifters think those two exercises are “enough” for their hamstrings. They’re definitely not!

In his article, “A Scientific Approach to Hamstring Training,” muscle-building expert Brad Schoenfeld, Ph.D., conclusively makes the case that for balanced, strong hamstrings you need curls, too. Specifically, the lower hamstrings are activated dramatically more during seated leg curls than deadlifts—even stiff-legged deadlifts.

You wouldn’t skip curls during an arm workout, would you? Don’t make the same mistake for your legs.

Leg Curl Variations for Leg Development:

In your workout: Keep it simple: 3-4 sets of 8-12 reps, coming close to muscle failure. This is a low-risk, high-reward move, so occasionally add in some slow negatives or dropsets to make it more intense.

Best Leg Workouts

Hard and Heavy Leg Workout

Ready to grow? Then get ready to work. This classic mass-building workout from Leg Workouts for Men will give your body a loud and clear message to add muscle, and if you hustle, you can be out of the gym in an hour. Follow nutritionist Paul Salter’s pre-training guidelines from the article, “The Ultimate Guide to Leg Day Nutrition,” and definitely don’t skip the protein shake afterward.

Hard and Heavy Leg Workout Barbell back squat Lighten the weight after your first 2 sets. 4 sets, 6-8, 6-8, 8-10, 8-10 reps (rest 1 min. ) Leg Press Perform the first and third sets with your feet high and narrow on the sled to target the glutes and hamstrings. For the second and fourth sets, place your feet slightly lower on the sled to target the quads. 4 sets, 8-10, 8-10, 10-12, 10-12 reps (rest 1 min. ) Dumbbell walking lunge- 3 sets, 20, 24, 28 reps (alternating, 10, 12, 14 reps per side, rest 1 min.) Romanian Deadlift 3 sets, 8, 10, 12 reps (rest 90 sec. ) Seated Leg Curl 3 sets, 8, 10, 12 reps (rest 90 sec. ) Standing Calf Raise 4 sets, 12, 12, 20, 20 reps (rest 1 min. )

Beginner Leg Workout

This workout is all about the fundamentals: one squat variation to warm up, one machine move for quads, one single-leg move, another for hammies, and some calves for dessert. Hit each move hard, stagger out of the gym in 30-45 min., and eat up so you can do it again in a few days!

Beginner Leg Workout

Machine Pump Leg Workout

This challenging workout is a great routine on its own, but also works as a second leg day in the week if you’re trying to grow. Two leg days, plus extra calories from a weight gainer, is a time-honored way to see muscle growth from head to toe.

Machine Pump Leg Workout 4 sets, 20, 15, 10, 10 reps (rest 90 sec. ) Smith machine back squat 3 sets, 10, 15, 20 reps (rest 90 sec. ) SINGLE-LEG LEG EXTENSION Perform all of the reps on one side before switching to the other side. Rest as little as possible between sides and sets. Single-Leg Leg Extension 10 sets, 10, 9, 8, 7, 6, 5, 4, 3, 2, 1 reps (left side, no rest) Single-Leg Leg Extension 10 sets, 10, 9, 8, 7, 6, 5, 4, 3, 2, 1 reps (right side, no rest) Seated Leg Curl After the final set, perform a single dropset. 3 sets, 10 reps (rest 45 sec. ) Seated Calf Raise Perform 100 total reps with a weight you can handle for 15-20 reps without resting, taking short rests as needed to reach the full 100. 1 set, 100 reps

Best Leg-Building Programs

What Are the Best Leg Programs for Mass?

What Are the Best Leg Programs for Mass?

Leg training needs to be systematic to be effective. If you want to know what all those leg day memes are about, these programs will show you. You will limp, you will be hungry, and you will grow!

To follow a similar blueprint to build the rest of your body, check out the companion pieces in this series:

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