Leg workouts
Two complete leg workouts — a squat day and a lighter single-leg day — with every quad, hamstring, glute and calf exercise in the library below.
A complete leg workout includes a squat or press for the quads, a hip hinge such as a Romanian deadlift for the hamstrings and glutes, a single-leg exercise, and direct work for the hamstrings and calves. Put the heaviest, most technical lift first, while you are fresh.
Leg workout
Squat, hinge, single-leg, curl, calf: everything a leg day needs.
Barbell Back Squat- Sets
- 4
- Reps
- 5–8
- Rest
- 3 min
Romanian Deadlift- Sets
- 3
- Reps
- 8–10
- Rest
- 2 min
Leg Press- Sets
- 3
- Reps
- 10–12
- Rest
- 2 min
Lever Seated Leg Curl- Sets
- 3
- Reps
- 10–15
- Rest
- 90 s
Walking Lunge- Sets
- 2
- Reps
- 10–12 each leg
- Rest
- 90 s
Calf Raise- Sets
- 4
- Reps
- 10–15
- Rest
- 60 s
Leg workout, single-leg and machines
Easier on the back than a squat day, and just as hard on the legs.
Bulgarian Split Squat- Sets
- 3
- Reps
- 8–10 each leg
- Rest
- 2 min
Barbell Glute Bridge- Sets
- 3
- Reps
- 8–12
- Rest
- 2 min
Lever Leg Extension- Sets
- 3
- Reps
- 12–15
- Rest
- 60 s
Lever Lying Leg Curl- Sets
- 3
- Reps
- 10–12
- Rest
- 60 s
Lever Seated Calf Raise- Sets
- 4
- Reps
- 12–15
- Rest
- 60 s
Can’t do one of these?
Machine taken or training somewhere else? Each of these has substitutes that work the same muscles.
Tips
- Warm up with a few lighter sets of your first lift rather than a long stretch; it is the most specific warm-up there is.
- Squat as deep as you can while your back stays neutral. Deeper squats train the quads and glutes through more of their range.
- Train both knee bending (leg curls) and hip hinging (Romanian deadlifts) for the hamstrings; each one trains them in a different way.
Run this workout in SPLYT
Every exercise here is in SPLYT’s library. Save the workout as a template, log your sets on iPhone or Apple Watch, and next time your weights are already filled in from what you lifted.
289 leg exercises
Every one links to step-by-step instructions and a demonstration. Swap any of them into the workouts above.
Quads
Hamstrings
Questions
How many leg exercises are there?
SPLYT’s exercise library has 289 leg exercises, including Leg Press, Band Squat and Jump Squat, each with step-by-step instructions, a demonstration and the muscles it works.
How many exercises should a leg workout have?
Four to six: one main squat or press, a hinge, a single-leg movement, a leg curl and a calf raise covers everything. More exercises usually just means less effort on each.
Should I train legs twice a week?
If you can recover from it, yes. Two lower-body sessions a week, one heavier and one lighter, builds more strength and size than one exhausting leg day.