13 At Home Leg Exercises That Require No Equipment

Your body is the only thing you need.

Doing leg exercises at home is probably a lot easier than you realize.  You don’t need a leg press machine or a stair climber or a squat bar to fire up those lower-body muscles.  All you need is your bodyweight, maybe a chair, and the motivation to put some burn in your quads, hamstrings, glutes, calves, and inner thighs.  Oh, and this list of 13 no-equipment leg exercises that you can do anywhere, anytime.

It probably comes as no surprise that having strong legs can take you far.  Even if you’re not training for a race or working toward any other specific athletic goal, you need legs that are strong enough to literally carry you through life.  Everything from walking up a flight of stairs to lifting your heavy laundry bag is easier when you can put some leg muscle behind it.  Luckily, effective leg exercises don’t have to be complicated and they don’t even require a gym membership.  There are plenty of bodyweight leg exercises you can add to your workout routine to get stronger – and work toward any bigger strength and performance goals you may have too.

“Bodyweight exercises are realistic and functional, meaning that they help us strengthen our muscles that we use in our daily lives,” Jess Sims, a NASM-certified personal trainer at the Fhitting Room and Shadowbox in New York City, tells SELF.  “For example, when we squat we are essentially sitting down into an imaginary chair, which will help improve our posture when we actually sit in a chair.  When we stand up from a squat, we drive through our heels and brace our core – we are essentially building great habits that translate into our lives outside the gym.”

Bodyweight leg exercises are also valuable for learning proper form before you add weights to certain moves.  “We shouldn’t be using weights until we’ve mastered basic lunge, hinge, and squat movements without weights,“ Sims says.  Another bonus of bodyweight moves?  “You have your body all the time and it’s free to use, so you can do exercises anywhere and at anytime!”  The best leg workouts are the ones you’ll actually do, right?  So, if you’ve got an arsenal of moves that you can literally do anywhere, there’s a better chance you’ll fit them into your routine.

The bodyweight leg exercises below will help you build strength while also prepping your body to do more complex moves with weights.  Give them a try and embrace the burn.

Lower body leg strength is a big influencer of both length and quality of senior life, and great for efficient calorie burning and foundation stability and balance, at any age! 

1 Bodyweight Squats

• Stand with your feet about shoulder-width apart and slightly turned out with your weight in your heels.
• Hinge forward at your hips and sit your butt back into a squat. Bend your knees until your thighs are parallel to the ground.
• Drive through your heels to stand back up straight. Squeeze your butt and keep your core tight as you stand.

2 Reverse Lunges With Knee Lifts

• Start standing with your feet about shoulder-width apart.
• Step backwards with your left foot, landing on the ball of your foot and bending both knees to create two 90-degree angles.
• Push through your right heel to return to standing. As you stand up, thrust your left knee toward your chest.
• Repeat on the other side.

3 Plié Squat Calf Raises

• Stand with feet wider than shoulder-width apart, toes turned out, and hands on hips or in front of your chest.
• Squat until your thighs are parallel to floor.
• While staying in a squat, lift both heels off the ground and hold for two seconds.
• Lower heels back down.

4 Squat Jumps

• Stand with your feet slightly wider than hip-width apart.
• Hinge forward at your hips and sit your butt back into a squat. Bend your knees until your thighs are parallel to the ground.
• Jump up into the air as high as you can and straighten out your legs. Swing your arms down by your sides for momentum, and keep your back straight and chest lifted.
• Land back on the floor with soft knees. Go directly into another squat.

5 High Knee Toe Taps

• Stand facing a bench or box (or a chair if that’s all you have), hands on hips or by your sides.
• Tap your left foot on the bench, then swap legs and tap your right foot, quickly alternating sides.
• Keep your back straight and chest lifted the entire time.

6 Side Lunges

• Stand with your feet hip-width apart.
• Take a big step out to your right. Bend your right knee and push your butt back, keeping your left leg straight. Keep your chest lifted and core tight.
• Repeat on the other side.

7 Single-Leg Calf Raises

• Stand with your feet hip-width apart.
• Raise your left knee to hip level, toes pointed, hands on hips or behind your head (whatever keeps you stable).
• Keep your core tight as you lift your right heel as high as you can off the floor, balancing on the ball of your foot.
• Hold for three seconds, then lower the heel back down.
• Repeat on the other side.

8 Curtsy Lunges

• Stand tall with your feet hip-width apart.
• Step your right leg diagonally behind your left leg and bend your knees to lower into a lunge.
• Push through your left heel to stand and bring your right leg back to start.
• Repeat on the other side.

9 Pistol Squats

• Stand with your feet together.
• Lift your left leg a few inches and extend it forward, foot flexed.
• Bend your right knee, hinge forward at the hips, and sit back into a squat while lifting your left leg to hip height. Extend your arms out for balance.
• Try to bend your knee to 90 degrees if you can. (These are super difficult, so don’t be discouraged if you can’t at first.)
• Push through your right heel to straighten your leg and return to start.
• Repeat on the other leg.

10 Side Leg Raises

• Lie on one side with legs out straight and stacked on top of each other. Prop your torso up with your forearm (as shown) or rest your torso flat on the mat.
• Lift your top leg toward the ceiling in a slow and controlled movement. Make sure to lift from the hip and butt, not your lower back.
• Return to start.
• Repeat on the other side.

An Entire Health Food Store in a Bottle!

11 Inner Thigh Leg Raises

• Lie on one side with legs out straight and stacked on top of each other and your torso flat on the mat or propped up on your forearm.
• Cross your top leg over the bottom leg, bending at the knee so that your top foot is in front of your bottom knee.
• Lift your bottom leg toward the ceiling in a slow and controlled movement. Keep your torso stable throughout.
• Return to start.
• Repeat on the other side.

12 Single-Leg Glute Brides

• Lie on your back with your knees bent and feet flat on the floor.
• Lift your right leg and straighten out your knee. Keep your thighs parallel to each other. Point your toe toward the ceiling.
• Push through your heels to lift your hips up while squeezing your glutes. Try to create one diagonal line from your shoulders to your knees.
• Pause for one to two seconds, then lower back down.
• Repeat with the opposite leg.

13 Inverted Inner Thigh Openers

• Lie on your back with your knees bent and feet flat on the floor. Lift your right leg up, keeping your thighs touching, and extend your leg up toward the ceiling.
• Slowly lower your right leg out to the right side as far as you can while keeping your hips and lower back glued to the floor.
• Bring your leg back to start.
• Repeat on the other leg.