{"id":65268,"date":"2022-04-29T00:15:21","date_gmt":"2022-04-29T04:15:21","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/dailyburn.com\/life\/?p=65268"},"modified":"2022-04-29T03:42:07","modified_gmt":"2022-04-29T07:42:07","slug":"leg-workout-exercises","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/dailyburn.com\/life\/db\/leg-workout-exercises\/","title":{"rendered":"Leg Day Workout: 4 Strength-Building Exercises"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"\"<\/a><\/p>\n

A leg workout isn\u2019t just about chiseled quads, sculpted calves, or a toned behind<\/a>. Building strong muscles<\/a> in your lower body translates to more power<\/a>, speed, and overall ease of movement. Plus, because your bottom half hosts the body\u2019s biggest muscles, the more you strengthen them, the more calories you\u2019ll burn with every movement.<\/p>\n

Don\u2019t believe us? Take it from Ben Booker, lead trainer for Daily Burn\u2019s Live to Fail<\/a> program (a strength training program<\/a> for men and women). \u201cI was once the guy that skipped leg day, or at least didn’t give it the attention it deserved when I first began lifting weights<\/a>,\u201d Booker says. That quickly changed when Booker learned how good it was for not only muscle growth in the lower body, but all over. \u201cMen and women alike burn more calories for fat loss and increase metabolism<\/a> when they consistently train legs. Body composition will change and your body will become more efficient.\u201d<\/p>\n

How can you turn that town? Time to turn up the burn with this leg workout, featuring four of Booker\u2019s favorite power moves.<\/p>\n

RELATED: <\/strong>9 Reasons Not to Skip Leg Day<\/a><\/p>\n

4-Exercise Leg Workout to Build Strength and Power<\/h2>\n

In this leg workout, you\u2019ll superset two exercises \u2014 or perform them back-to-back to complete one set. When picking weights<\/a>, Booker suggests starting lighter than you think you should. \u201cOnly do an amount of weight that allows you to keep proper form. As soon as you cannot keep the form, drop the weight and complete the rep ranges,\u201d he says.<\/p>\n

To maximize gains, do 10 to 12 reps of each exercise and four sets. Aim to tackle this leg day workout at least once a week \u2014 but twice is even better, Booker says. Just be sure to have two to three rest days<\/a> between each session to allow for muscle repair and recovery<\/a>.<\/p>\n

RELATED:<\/strong> 6 Weightlifting Exercises to Build Serious Strength<\/a><\/p>\n

Superset 1<\/h3>\n

1. Dumbbell Squat<\/h3>\n

\"Leg<\/p>\n

Targets: <\/strong>Quads, hamstrings, and shoulders<\/a> (for weight stabilization).<\/p>\n

How to: <\/strong>Start standing with feet just inside shoulder-width apart, holding your dumbbells<\/a> in racked position with elbows bent and weights placed at shoulder height (a)<\/strong>. Drop your hips down and back, keeping weight in your heels, for a squat. Don\u2019t shift your bodyweight to the front of your foot. Heels should stay on the ground, and weights stay directly over feet (b)<\/strong>. Stand back up and repeat, keeping your back flat and chest tall (c)<\/strong>.<\/p>\n

2. Step-Ups<\/h3>\n

\"Leg<\/p>\n

Targets: <\/strong>Upper quads, glutes, hamstrings and helps with hip mobility<\/a> and balance.<\/p>\n

How to: <\/strong>Grab a box, bench or chair that\u2019s high enough to challenge you, yet low enough that you don\u2019t have to use your bottom foot to push off the floor. Stand in front of it, right leg on top and arms down by your sides, holding dumbbells<\/a> (a)<\/strong>. Step up on your right foot, pushing off your heel to stand straight up (b)<\/strong>. With control, lower back to the ground, keeping your right foot on top. Back should stay flat and shoulders down, with minimal swinging of the weights (c)<\/strong>. Repeat, then switch sides. Start each set with the opposite foot.<\/p>\n

RELATED:<\/strong> 5 Moves for Your Butt, Hips and Thighs<\/a><\/p>\n

Superset 2<\/h3>\n

3. Chair Squats with Calf Raise<\/h3>\n

\"Leg<\/p>\n

Targets: <\/strong>Thighs, quads, calves, and hamstrings.<\/p>\n

How to: <\/strong>Start standing with feet shoulder-width apart, toes pointing slightly outward (a)<\/strong>. Lower your butt back and down until you come to sit on the chair (it should be low enough to provide a challenge). Move slow and with control to activate your hamstrings<\/a> and stabilizer muscles (b)<\/strong>. Stand back up, coming onto your toes as high as possible at the top for a calf raise (c)<\/strong>. Repeat, minimizing the dumbbell swing and keeping your back flat and chest tall.<\/p>\n

4. Side Lunge<\/h3>\n

\"Leg<\/p>\n

Targets: <\/strong>Inner thighs, glutes<\/a>, and hamstrings.<\/p>\n

How to: <\/strong>Start with your legs at least six inches wider than shoulder-width apart, toes pointing forward. Hold one dumbbell with both hands under your chin (a)<\/strong>. Shift your butt back and move your body over your right leg, bending your knee and going as long as you can while keeping the opposite leg straight. Your left foot can roll to the side, but keep your entire right foot planted (b)<\/strong>. Stand back up straight (c)<\/strong>. Repeat on the other side and continue alternating.<\/p>\n

For more strength workouts, <\/strong>go to dailyburn.com<\/a>\u00a0to start your free trial today!<\/strong><\/p>\n

Originally posted on January 2018. Updated on April 2022<\/em><\/p>\n

GIFs by Daily Burn Live to Fail<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Build muscle in your lower body with this four-exercise leg day workout. You’ll target everything from your quads and hamstrings to your glutes and calves.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":51,"featured_media":143188,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_seopress_robots_primary_cat":"","_seopress_titles_title":"","_seopress_titles_desc":"","_seopress_robots_index":"","site-sidebar-layout":"default","site-content-layout":"","ast-site-content-layout":"","site-content-style":"default","site-sidebar-style":"default","ast-global-header-display":"","ast-banner-title-visibility":"","ast-main-header-display":"","ast-hfb-above-header-display":"","ast-hfb-below-header-display":"","ast-hfb-mobile-header-display":"","site-post-title":"","ast-breadcrumbs-content":"","ast-featured-img":"","footer-sml-layout":"","theme-transparent-header-meta":"","adv-header-id-meta":"","stick-header-meta":"","header-above-stick-meta":"","header-main-stick-meta":"","header-below-stick-meta":"","astra-migrate-meta-layouts":"default","ast-page-background-enabled":"default","ast-page-background-meta":{"desktop":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-4)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"tablet":{"background-color":"","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"mobile":{"background-color":"","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""}},"ast-content-background-meta":{"desktop":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-5)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"tablet":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-5)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"mobile":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-5)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""}},"footnotes":""},"categories":[298,299,301],"tags":[289,281,341,353,154,99,100],"class_list":["post-65268","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-db","category-programs","category-workouts","tag-exercise","tag-strength-training","tag-tax1living-well","tag-tax2weight-training","tag-weight-training","tag-weightlifting","tag-workout"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/dailyburn.com\/life\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/65268","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/dailyburn.com\/life\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/dailyburn.com\/life\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dailyburn.com\/life\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/51"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dailyburn.com\/life\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=65268"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/dailyburn.com\/life\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/65268\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dailyburn.com\/life\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/143188"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/dailyburn.com\/life\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=65268"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dailyburn.com\/life\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=65268"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dailyburn.com\/life\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=65268"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}