12 Best Leg Exercises for Women + Leg Day Workout

Ask almost any trainer to name the best leg exercise, and they’ll probably say barbell back squats. However, after nearly 35 years working in the fitness industry, I don’t always support this point of view.

While I have nothing against barbell squats, they can be uncomfortable or impossible for many people to do correctly. This is especially true for women. Unlike most male exercisers, women don’t usually have a beefy set of traps to rest the barbell. With no natural padding, upper back and neck pain are common.

Because of this, I have more than squats in my lower body training arsenal. I still prescribe squats to some of my female clients, but we rarely do the barbell back squat variation. After all, there are plenty of equally effective but more comfortable exercises to do instead.

In this article, I share my (and my client’s!) favorite leg exercises for women. Plus, I’ve also got a workout for you to try.

12 Best Leg Exercises for Women

Develop the lower body of your dreams with these proven leg exercises for women. I use each one of these moves with my female clients, so you can rest assured they’re all safe and effective.

1. Booty Band Goblet Squat

Sets & Reps	3 x 8-12
Equipment Needed	Elastic resistance band, dumbbell, or kettlebell
Target Muscles	Quadriceps, gluteus maximus, hamstrings, abductors, core

This squat variation involves wearing a loop resistance band at the bottom of the thigh as you perform the squats. In fact, if you only do one exercise from this article, this is the one I recommend. Why? Because it offers the biggest bang for your workout buck.

Steps:

1. Put a booty band around your legs, just above or below your knees. Step out so your feet are roughly shoulder-width apart, and turn your toes slightly outward.
2. Hold a kettlebell or dumbbell in front of your chest. Pull your shoulders down and back, and brace your core.
3. Bend your legs and squat down until your thighs are roughly parallel to the floor. Take care not to round your lower back.
4. Stand back up and repeat.

Coach Tips:

• Keep pushing your knees out against the band throughout.
• Pause at the bottom of each rep for 2-3 seconds to make this exercise more challenging.

2. Deficit Reverse Lunge

Sets & Reps	3 x 8-12
Equipment Needed	Dumbbells, elevated platform
Target Muscles	Quadriceps, gluteus maximus, hamstrings, adductors, abductors, core

I love lunges as they are an excellent alternative to squats. Working one leg at a time, lunges are great for spotting and fixing strength imbalances. They’re also good for your balance and coordination. This is probably my favorite lunge variation, as they’re so darn effective.

“Keep your torso upright to load the leading quad and glute muscles. Use slow eccentrics to increase the time under tension (TUT) and promote hypertrophy,” says Saini, an ACE-certified personal trainer.

Steps:

1. Stand on a low platform with your feet together and arms by your sides. Brace your core and pull your shoulders back and down.
2. Step back and place your foot on the floor behind you. Bend your knees, and lower your rear knee down to an inch above the floor.
3. Push off your back leg and return to the platform.
4. Step off with the other leg and repeat.
5. Continue alternating legs for the duration of your set.

Coach Tips:

• Make sure you lower your rear knee down below the level of your front foot.
• Hold dumbbells in your hands to make this exercise more challenging.
• Do all the reps on one side before switching if you prefer.

3. Dumbbell Romanian Deadlift

Sets & Reps	3 x 8-12 for hypertrophy, 1-5 for strength
Equipment Needed	Dumbbells
Target Muscles	Hamstrings, gluteus maximus, core

Butt and hamstring exercises don’t come much better than Romanian deadlifts. While it’s traditional to do this exercise with a barbell, my female clients like it better when we use dumbbells. This variation is much more lower back-friendly, and dumbbells are usually easier to handle than heavy barbells.

Dumbbells RDLs also allow an extended range of motion, leading to greater muscle engagement, explains Saini.

Steps:

1. Hold a dumbbell in each hand with your arms by your sides. Bend your knees slightly, brace your core, and pull your shoulders back and down.
2. Hinging from the hips, lean forward and lower the weights down to about knee height. Feel a stretch in your hamstrings.
3. Stand back up and repeat.

Coach Tips:

• Initiate each rep by pushing your hips backward.
• Take care not to round your lower back, as doing so increases your risk of injury.

4. Barbell Hip Thrust

Sets & Reps	3 x 8-12 for hypertrophy, 1-5 for strength
Equipment Needed	Barbell hip thrust
Target Muscles	Hamstrings, gluteus maximus, core

The barbell hip thrust is great because it puts very little stress on your lower back. As such, it’s great for anyone with lower back pain. This exercise is very popular with athletes and athletes trying to grow their glutes. 

This isolation exercise targets the biggest muscle group in your body and allows you to lift heavy, maximizing glute fiber stimulation and growth.

Steps:

1. Sit on the floor with your legs straight and your upper back resting against a sturdy bench.
2. Roll a barbell up your legs and rest it across your hips. Bend your knees and plant your feet flat on the floor. Brace your core.
3. Drive your feet into the floor and lift your hips up so you form a straight line between your knees and shoulders.
4. Lower your butt back to the floor and repeat.

Coach Tips:

• Use a barbell pad for comfort.
• Make sure you fully extend your hips but avoid overextending your spine.
• Drive your heels into the floor to load the hamstrings and glutes.

5. Stability Ball Leg Curl

Sets & Reps	3 x 8-12
Equipment Needed	Stability ball
Target Muscles	Hamstrings, gluteus maximus, core

Seated and lying leg curls work your hamstrings, but that’s all they work. In contrast, stability ball leg curls work the glutes, hamstrings, and core, making them much more time-efficient and functional. They’re also more accessible for home exercisers.

Saini advises beginners to work with a trainer to establish the ball’s trajectory, ensuring proper form and target muscle engagement.

Steps:

1. Lie on your back and rest your heels and calves on a stability ball. Your legs should be straight. Brace your core and press your arms into the floor for balance.
2. Lift your hips so your body is straight.
3. Next, bend your legs and roll the ball into your butt.
4. Extend your legs and repeat.

Coach Tips:

• Make this exercise considerably harder by using one leg at a time.
• Lower your butt to the floor between reps if you wish. This makes the exercise somewhat easier.
• Pause at the mid-point of each rep to increase target muscle engagement.

6. Lateral Band Walk

Sets & Reps	3 x 8-12
Equipment Needed	Resistance band
Target Muscles	Quadriceps, hamstrings, gluteus maximus, abductors, core

Lateral band walks are an excellent hip strength exercise. I encourage my clients to do this movement in their warm-ups to fire up their hips and prepare them for the more demanding exercises that follow. That said, it’s also a great standalone exercise for your hips and thighs.

Steps:

1. Put your booty band around your legs, just above or just below your knees.
2. Stand with your feet about hip-width apart and descend into a quarter-squat.
3. Without standing up or descending further, step out to the left and continue stepping for several reps.
4. Do the same number of steps back to the right.

Coach Tips:

• Keep your knees pressed out against the band throughout.
• You can also do alternating left and right steps if you prefer.
• Keep your hips back to maximize target muscle engagement.

7. Bulgarian Split Squat

Sets & Reps	3 x 8-12 for hypertrophy, 1-5 for strength
Equipment Needed	Dumbbells, flat bench
Target Muscles	Quadriceps, gluteus maximus, hamstrings, adductors, abductors, core

While my clients and I love lunges, you can have too much of a good thing. That’s why we also do Bulgarian split squats, also known as rear-foot elevated split squats. Like lunges, this exercise works one leg at a time, but they’re more challenging and really hammer your hips and thighs. With or without weights, this is an excellent leg exercise for women.

Steps:

1. Stand with your back to a knee-high bench.
2. Bend one leg and place the top of your foot on the bench.
3. Hop forward into a split stance. Brace your core and pull your shoulders back and down. Look straight ahead.
4. Bend your legs and lower your rear knee down to just above the floor.
5. Stand back up and continue for the specified number of reps.
6. Switch sides and repeat.

Coach Tips:

• Hold dumbbells by your sides for an added challenge.
• Do this exercise next to a wall or squat rack and use it for balance if required.
• Pause at the bottom of each rep for 2-3 seconds to make this exercise more challenging without using extra weight.

8. Dumbbell Sumo Squat

Sets & Reps	3 x 8-12 for hypertrophy, 1-5 for strength
Equipment Needed	Dumbbells
Target Muscles	Quadriceps, gluteus maximus, hamstrings, adductors, abductors, core

Performed with a wide stance, the dumbbell sumo squat is an excellent inner thigh and hip exercise. It’s also very lower back friendly. Female exercisers enjoy this exercise because they feel it in the areas they want to tighten and tone, not their backs or shoulders.

“Performing this exercise while wearing weightlifting shoes makes a world of difference,” said Saini. “It allows you to achieve greater depth while maintaining an upright torso, which loads the quads and glutes.”

Steps:

1. Place a dumbbell on its end of the floor. Stand astride it in a wide stance, toes turned out.
2. Squat down and grab the top of the dumbbells, hands facing inward.
3. Brace your core, straighten your arms, lift your chest, and pull your shoulders down and back.
4. Drive your feet into the floor and stand up straight.
5. Lower the weight back to the floor and repeat.

Coach Tips:

• You can also do this exercise with a kettlebell.
• Stand on low platforms to increase your range of motion and make this exercise more challenging.
• Take care not to round your lower back, as doing so increases the risk of injury.

9. Stability Ball Dumbbell Squat

Sets & Reps	3 x 8-12
Equipment Needed	Dumbbells, stability ball
Target Muscles	Quadriceps, gluteus maximus, hamstrings, adductors, abductors, core

You won’t see many people doing this exercise, and that’s a shame because it’s brilliant! Doing squats with a stability ball behind your back makes balancing easier. It teaches you how to sit back into a squat without falling over. Add some dumbbells, and you’ve got a great alternative to barbell back squats. Try it; you’re gonna love it!

Saini compares this exercise to hack squats and recommends it to people who train in their home gyms.

Steps:

1. Place a stability ball between your back and a wall. The ball should sit in your lumbar curve. Hold a dumbbell in each hand, arms by your sides.
2. Stand with your feet shoulder-width apart, toes turned slightly outward.
3. Brace your core and pull your shoulders back and down.
4. Bend your legs and squat down until your thighs are parallel to the floor. Use the ball as a balance aid, and try not to lean against it too heavily.
5. Drive your feet into the floor and stand back up.

Coach Tips:

• You can also do this exercise with kettlebells.
• Skip the weights and just use your body weight for resistance for an easier workout.
• Use a booty band to increase glute/abductor engagement.

10. B-Stance Romanian Deadlift

Sets & Reps	3 x 8-12
Equipment Needed	Dumbbells
Target Muscles	Hamstrings, gluteus maximus, core

B-stance Romanian deadlifts let you emphasize one leg at a time while maintaining balance and stability. My clients find this exercise more accessible than the conventional single-leg RDLs but no less effective, where lack of balance can be a limiting factor.

Steps:

1. Hold a dumbbell in each hand and stand with your feet together. Bend your knees slightly, brace your core, and pull your shoulders back and down.
2. Place one foot back behind you so only the ball of your foot rests on the floor. This is your supporting leg and is only for balance.
3. Hinging from the hips, lean forward and lower the dumbbells down the fronts of your legs. Get a good stretch in your hamstrings. Do not round your lower back.
4. Stand back up and repeat.
5. Switch legs and do the same number of reps on the other side.

Coach Tips:

• You can also do this exercise with kettlebells or a barbell.
• Hold the weight in front of your chest to make this a B-stance good morning.

11. Clamshells

Sets & Reps	3 x 8-12
Equipment Needed	NA
Target Muscles	Gluteus maximus, abductors

Clamshells target the external rotators of your hips, namely the gluteus minimus, medius, and maximus. These muscles are vital for hip stability and a better-looking butt. Don’t mistake this for a beginner’s exercise; it’s surprisingly challenging and ideal for exercisers of all experience levels.

Steps:

1. Lie on the floor on your side. Your hips should be stacked and level. Bend your knees at 90 degrees so your feet are in line with your butt. Rest your head on your hand or outstretched arm.
2. Without letting your hips roll backward, open your legs and lift your knee up and outward. Imagine you are opening a gate or, as the name suggests, a clamshell.
3. Return to the starting position and repeat.
4. Roll over and do the same number of reps on the other side.

Coach Tips:

• Make this exercise more challenging by putting a booty band around your legs.
• Prevent your hips from rolling back by doing this exercise against a wall.
• Place a folded mat under your hips for comfort.

12. High Step-Up

Sets & Reps	3 x 8-12
Equipment Needed	Dumbbells, plyo box
Target Muscles	Quadriceps, gluteus maximus, hamstrings, adductors, abductors, core

Many people view step-ups as a cardio or conditioning exercise. However, done with a high step, they’re also a great way to strengthen and tone your lower body, one leg at a time. Think of step-ups as a vertical lunge that works your glutes, quads, and hamstrings. You can do this exercise with or without weights, making it suitable for all fitness levels.

Saini adds that leaning forward on the concentric and eccentric phases will bias the glutes and hamstrings while staying upright will load the quads.

Steps:

1. Stand facing a high, stable step. Ideally, it should be roughly knee height or above.
2. Bend one leg and place your foot firmly on the top of your step.
3. Without pushing off your other leg, drive your lead foot into the platform and stand up. Push down through your heel to maximize glute and hamstring engagement.
4. Lower your trailing foot back to the floor and repeat.
5. Do all your reps on one leg, rest a moment, and then swap sides.

Coach Tips:

• You can also do this exercise using an alternating leg action if preferred.
• Hold onto a pair of dumbbells to make this exercise harder.

The Best Leg Day Workout for Women

Armed with this list of 12 exercises, you now have everything you need to create your own leg workouts. But, to save you the time and effort, I’ve written one for you. Do this program once or twice a week as part of a body part split, e.g.:

Monday	Tuesday	Wednesday	Thursday	Friday	Saturday	Sunday
Lower body	Upper Body	Cardio and Core	Lower body	Upper Body	Cardio and Core	Rest Day

However, before you begin, make sure you spend a few minutes warming up to prepare your muscles and joints for what you’re about to do.

According to a study published in the Journal of Strength and Conditioning Research, a good warm-up will improve your workout performance. It could also help lower your risk of injury (2). As I tell my clients, if you don’t have time to warm up, you don’t have time to work out, so please don’t skip this critical step.

Your warm-up should include the following components:

• Cardio pulse raiser: 5-10 minutes of cycling, jogging, rowing, etc., to get your blood pumping.
• Dynamic mobility and flexibility exercises: to ready your muscles and joints.
• Preparatory sets: a few easy reps of your main exercises for practice and to assess how you are feeling.

Warmed-up and ready to go? Then let’s get to work!

#	Exercise	Sets	Reps	Recovery
1	Lateral Bend Walk	2-4	8-20 per leg	60-90 seconds
2	Booty Band Goblet Squat	2-4	8-20	60-90 seconds
3	B-Stance Romanian Deadlift	2-4	8-20 per leg	60-90 seconds
4	Deficit Reverse Lunge	2-4	8-20 per leg	60-90 seconds
5	Clamshells	2-4	8-20 per leg	60-90 seconds
6	High Step-Up	2-4	8-20 per leg	60-90 seconds

Benefits of Leg Training for Women

Leg training can be tough. The muscles of the lower body are large and numerous and, as such, demand a lot of energy and oxygen. This means lower body workouts are invariably very tiring. Subsequently, many exercisers skip leg day. Needless to say, this is not something I recommend!

That’s because leg training offers a wide range of worthwhile benefits. In short, the payback is worth the cost.

Here is a list of the main benefits of leg training for women.

Burn More Calories and Fat

Leg exercises involve multiple muscles. In fact, your lower body contains about 40% of your total muscle mass. As such, any leg exercise or workout will burn a lot of calories. Frequent lower-body workouts will make it easier to manage your weight and burn fat. So, if you want to get lean and stay lean, make sure you train your legs!

Improved Functional Strength

Most physically demanding activities involve your legs. Walking upstairs when the elevator is out, picking up your kids, kicking a soccer ball, or regaining your balance after a trip or fall are all good examples.

Training your legs will ensure that your muscles are plenty strong enough to cope with these demands. This will make the activities of daily living easier and less tiring.

Healthier, Stronger Knees and Hips

I once had a client who was told by her trainer to stop training her legs as she had “weak knees and hips.” This is the opposite of good advice! The muscles and joints only get stronger with use. Not training your legs will make them weaker.

Lower body strength training builds knee and hip stability and strength, ensuring these structures stay strong for as long as possible.

That said, if you have a medical condition, such as arthritis or a torn ligament, you should seek medical advice before starting any workout. However, in most cases, a well-designed strength training program will help make any joint issues more manageable.

Increased Bone Density

Bone density peaks in a woman’s mid-30s and then gradually decreases. Loss of bone mass accelerates during menopause. Very weak, porous bones is a condition called osteoporosis. Osteoporotic bone is easy to fracture and is a common problem in older people.

A comprehensive meta-analysis showed that resistance training has a very positive effect on bone mass in pre- and postmenopausal women (1). Osteoporosis tends to affect the hips and lumbar spine. Lower body training affects both these areas, which is why leg training is so good for your skeletal health.

Better Posture

Prolonged sitting is one of the worst things you can do for your posture and general health. Sitting weakens some muscles and overstretches others, leading to changes in posture. For example, you may develop a posterior pelvic tilt or rounded lower back. Your head position may also shift forward, and your shoulders can become rounded.

Obviously, none of these changes will improve how you look, feel, or perform! The good news is that lower body training helps strengthen the muscles that weaken through sitting. It also stretches those that are tight.

While sitting less is always good advice, it’s not always possible, especially if you have a desk job. However, you can undo some of the damage of prolonged sitting by training your legs frequently and consistently.

Improved Balance and Coordination

Many leg exercises require and develop your balance and coordination. This is especially true for unilateral or single-limb exercises. Balance and coordination are critical for efficient movement and tend to decrease with lack of use.

Exercises like lunges, Bulgarian split squats, step-ups, and others develop your balance and coordination, enhancing functionality and athletic performance.

Better Looking Butt and Thighs

All of the benefits I’ve listed so far relate to health and function. But let’s get real for a moment – these benefits are probably not at the front of your mind when you are training your lower body. Instead, you’re working out for firmer, leaner, better-looking legs.

The good news is that form follows function, so if you improve your lower body capacity and health, your legs are going to look better, too. This is why athletes look so good – even though they don’t exercise for improved aesthetics.

FAQs

Do you have a question about my list of 12 best leg exercises for women or the leg workout? No problem, because I’ve got the answers below. But if you still need more information, feel free to drop me a line via the comments section, and I’ll get back to you pronto.

1. Can I change the exercises in the workout?

With 12 exercises to choose from, you’ve got plenty of scope for changing the exercises in my workout. So, feel free to switch things up with some alternatives if you want to. However, don’t change a movement just because you find it hard. After all, it’s those challenging exercises that drive your progress.

That said, if a movement causes pain or is impractical from an equipment perspective, switch it for another one.

2. Can I do the workout every day?

While I admire your enthusiasm and commitment, working the same muscles every day is not a good idea. Your body adapts to exercise when you rest, so off-days are as important as training days. Training your legs every day is a good way to become overtrained, which will hurt your progress.

Remember, too, that you also need to find the time and energy to train your upper body and core; you can’t just do leg workouts. So, limit yourself to 2-3 leg workouts per week, and remember that more is not always better.

3. Why do I have to include unilateral exercises in my leg workout?

While bilateral (two-limbed exercises) allow you to lift more weight than single-leg or unilateral exercises, they can lead to strength and muscle imbalances. Unilateral exercises can help identify and fix these imbalances and are typically better for improving stability, coordination, and athleticism (3).

That doesn’t mean you should avoid bilateral exercises. Instead, you should use both types of movement to build the best lower body you can.

4. How often should I increase my training weights?

This is a tricky question to answer because your progress depends on many factors, including your training experience, age, diet, sleep patterns, and several other considerations. Some people progress faster than others, too.

So, increase your weights when you feel you can. This might be as often as weekly or only monthly. However, never sacrifice good exercise form for more weight. Poor exercise form can cause injuries.

5. How long can I do this program for?

Even the best workouts have a limited shelf life, and doing any program for too long could hurt your progress. Generally, you should change your workout every 6-8 weeks. That said, if you are still making progress, you can continue with your program for a little longer. But, if your progress has stalled, you’re probably ready for a new program.

However, you should avoid jumping from one program to the next too often, e.g., weekly, as that could undermine your results.

Closing Thoughts

The barbell back squat deserves the title of king of exercises. However, that doesn’t mean everyone has to do it. After all, what works well for one person may not be suitable for another. That’s one of the reasons that there are so many exercises and programs to choose from – one size does NOT fit all!

The 12 exercises listed in this article stand the test of time and have worked for me and my clients. They’re safe, effective, and readily accessible. Building your workouts around these movements will definitely help you reach your lower body training goals.

Nonetheless, there are many more exercises you can choose from, and they’re almost all useful and effective. So, don’t worry if your favorite leg exercise isn’t on my list. These are MY favorites, and you are welcome to add your own to this list. Post them in the comments section below so others can learn from your experience.

References:

1. Kelley GA, Kelley KS, Tran ZV. Resistance training and bone mineral density in women: a meta-analysis of controlled trials. Am J Phys Med Rehabil. 2001 Jan;80(1):65-77. doi: 10.1097/00002060-200101000-00017. PMID: 11138958.
2. Fradkin AJ, Zazryn TR, Smoliga JM. Effects of warming-up on physical performance: a systematic review with meta-analysis. J Strength Cond Res. 2010 Jan;24(1):140-8. doi: 10.1519/JSC.0b013e3181c643a0. PMID: 19996770.
3. Speirs DE, Bennett MA, Finn CV, Turner AP. Unilateral vs. Bilateral Squat Training for Strength, Sprints, and Agility in Academy Rugby Players. J Strength Cond Res. 2016 Feb;30(2):386-92. doi: 10.1519/JSC.0000000000001096. PMID: 26200193.

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