Dumbbell Leg Exercises and Workouts for Shredded and Massive Legs

Dumbbells are an amazing addition to any workout!

Whether you’re at the gym or working out at home, dumbbells offer you the versatility that a barbell simply can’t.

Think about it: with a dumbbell, you can train one or both hemispheres of your body at once. Working both sides engages your muscles evenly, but unilateral exercises increase core muscle engagement, leading to stronger abs, back, and oblique muscles.

With dumbbells, the weight is divided evenly between the two sides of your body, but both sides have to work independently of each other to lift the weight.

The result: better coordination, joint stability, muscle stimulation, and correction of muscle imbalances.

Below, we’ve compiled a list of our absolute favorite lower body exercises using only dumbbells.

These movements will be great for a workout at home with minimal equipment, or at the gym if you want to switch things up for your lower-body training sessions.

These dumbbell exercises won’t just shred your legs and develop strength, but they’ll help improve your balance, posture, and form!

Legs anatomy    

Why is it important to understand anatomy, you ask? Understanding anatomy provides basic knowledge about the human body, which can improve training efficiency. For example: many lifters have no idea that the calf comprises two major muscles, gastrocnemius and soleus. The standing calf raise primarily targets the gastrocnemius, and the seated calf raise targets the soleus. 

Understanding anatomy plays a vital role in the balanced development of the target muscle group.

Legs consist of dozens of muscles that bend, extend, flex, rotate, abduct, and adduct. Understanding the basic anatomy will help you get the best out of the workout; additionally, it will rectify the muscle imbalance caused by negligence towards a particular muscle group.

Your leg workout should focus on four broad muscle groups: quadriceps, hamstrings, glutes, and calves. Let’s understand these major muscle groups in detail.

Quadriceps:

The front part of the upper leg is called the quadricep (quad). Its primary function is knee extension. Quads comprise four muscle fibers: vastus lateralis, vastus medialis, vastus intermedius, and rectus femoris.

Vascus lateralis is the biggest quad muscle; it comprises about 69 percent fast-twitch fibers and about 32 percent slow-twitch fibers, meaning your quad will respond more to high-intensity or high-strength exercises.

Hamstrings:

Hamstrings are located at the back of your upper legs, and knee flexion is their primary function. The hamstrings comprise four muscles: the long head of the biceps femoris, the short head of the biceps femoris, the semitendinosus, and the semimembranosus..

Glutes:

Technically, the glutes are not a part of the legs, but they play a major role in the quality of your leg workout. Glutes comprise of three muscles gluteus maximus, gluteus medius and gluteus minimus.

Strong glutes are essential for proper pelvic alignment and it also supports the lower back during training. With weak glutes, you will never be able to maximize your squatting performance.

The glutes work as a primary stabilizer, and all three glute muscles are strengthened while squatting. However, it is always a good idea to include some glute-focused workouts like single-leg glute bridges, sumo deadlifts, and single-leg RDLs, in your workout.

Calves:

Big and strong calves are for more than just good looks; calves play a critical role in ankle, foot, and toe movement. Calves consist of two main muscles — the gastrocnemius and soleus.

The ratio of fast-twitch and slow-twitch muscle fibers in your calves is 50:50. Meaning, you should train calves equally at a higher and lower intensity.

Different Dumbbell Positions and The Muscle They Target

You can hold dumbbells in various positions; different positions will help you train your muscles differently. Let’s learn about unique dumbbell positions for your leg workout:

1. Dumbbells at Your Sides

Holding dumbbells at your sides is a comfortable option to add resistance to bodyweight squats. It’s also appropriate for people who can’t do barbell squats due to back pain.

2. Single Dumbbell Between Your Legs

Those who want to improve their sumo squat should definitely practice this. Place your feet wider than hip distance, and point your toes out. Grab a dumbbell with both hands and squat down like a sumo.

3. Holding a Dumbbell in Front of Your Chest

In this variation, grab a dumbbell with both hands and hold it at chest height. Stand with feet at hips width and toe pointing out. Brace your core and push your hip back to lower into a squat. With two seconds pause at the bottom, drive yourself up to the standing position.

4. Single Dumbbell at the Side (Unilateral)

Holding a dumbbell at your side is a great way to improve your balance.

Exercises that can be performed while holding a single dumbbell at your side include reverse lunges, lateral lunges, step-up to balance, single-leg Romanian deadlift, etc.  

5. Racked Position

Place a pair of dumbbells on your shoulders so that one end of the dumbbell touches or rests on the anterior delts; this is a racked position.

The racked position allows you to perform exercises like dumbbell front squat, dumbbell squat and press, etc. Basically, holding the dumbbell in a racked position allows the lifter to engage more muscle fibers, especially from the shoulders, core, and arms.

Another benefit of racked position is that it does not disrupt the body’s center of gravity.

Racked position exercises are common in Crossfit exercise drills. It’s best for people who like to train for functional strength.

Dumbbell Only Legs Workout Plan

Barbell squats are undeniably the best way to add strength and size to the legs, but that doesn’t mean you can’t develop stronger legs without a barbell. A dumbbells-only leg routine is enough to build a stronger foundation and beach-ready body.

Give below are two dumbbell leg workouts. Now you might ask, why two workouts? Two workouts are best for folks who like to train their legs twice a week; it will prevent redundancy in training. 

Dumbbell Legs Workout #1

#	Exercise	Sets	Reps	Recovery
1	Dumbbell Squat	4	8-10	1-2 Minutes
2	Dumbbell Front Squat	3	10-12	60-90 Seconds
3	Reverse Lunge	3	12-15	60 Seconds
4	Dumbbell Elevated Split Squat	3	8-10	60 Seconds
5	Dumbbell Romanian Deadlift	4	8-12	90 Seconds
6	Dumbbell Hip Lift March	3	12	60 Seconds
7	Dumbbell Seated Calf Raise	4	12	30 Seconds

Dumbbell Legs Workout #2

#	Exercise	Sets	Reps	Recovery
1	Dumbbell Goblet Squat	4	10-12	1-2 Minutes
2	Bulgarian Split Squat	3	10-12	60 Seconds
3	Dumbbell Step-Up	3	12-15	60 Seconds
4	Dumbbell Around the World Lunge	3	8-10	60 Seconds
5	Single-Leg Romanian Deadlift	4	8-12	60 Seconds
6	Dumbbell Hip Thrust	3	12	60 Seconds
7	Standing Calf Raise	4	12	30 Seconds

19 Best Dumbbell Leg Exercises

Train your quads, hamstrings, glutes, and calves with these amazing dumbbell leg exercises:

1. Dumbbell Squats

Squats are, hands down, one of the most effective leg exercises you can do!

Not only is it a compound movement (involving multiple muscle groups across multiple joints), but it specifically targets your quads, glutes, and hamstrings. It even helps strengthen the muscles around your knees to bulletproof them against injuries.

Best of all, they engage your core to maintain balance and stability throughout the squat, which means they strengthen your abdominal and lower back muscles very effectively.

Watch this video to see how to master the Dumbbell Squat:

How to do it:

• Grab a pair of dumbbells using a neutral grip and stand up straight.
• Position your legs at a shoulder-width distance with toes slightly pointed out.
• Inhale and begin to squat by bending your knees while keeping your core tight and spine straight.
• Continue to go down until your thighs are parallel to the floor.
• Exhale and raise your torso by pushing yourself up into a starting position.
• This completes your first repetition, repeat for 8-10 reps.

Pro tip: Those who find it difficult to squat down should try squatting with elevated heels by putting a pound weight plate under the heels.

Benefits:

• It’s a compound movement that trains and strengthens the complete lower body.
• Engages the core but does not stress the lower back.

Target muscles: Quadriceps and gluteus maximus, hamstrings, and calves.

Rep range:

• Hypertrophy: 8-12 reps
• Strength: 1-5 reps

Progression: Goblet squat

Related: Dumbbell Squat

2. Dumbbell Sumo Squats

The sumo squat is an awesome variation of the standard squat, one that shifts the focus slightly inward to target your inner thigh and hip abductor muscles along with your quads, hamstrings, glutes, and core.

Sumo squats require greater hip and knee mobility than regular squats, so they’re an excellent exercise to help loosen up tight joints and increase your lower body flexibility.

Watch this video to see how to perform the Dumbbell Sumo Squat the right way:

How to do it:

• Grab a dumbbell with both hands. You can grab the dumbbell by its handle or plate.
• Position your feet a little wider than the shoulder’s width with your toes pointing outward.
• Start with a slight torso lean for improved lower body engagement.
• Lower into a squat by bending your knees.
• Lower yourself down until the dumbbell almost touches the ground. This is also an excellent hip opener exercise that allows a great range of motion.
• Pause for two seconds at the bottom before you push yourself up.
• Repeat for 8-10 reps.

Pro tip: Try 4-3-1 tempo. This means, four seconds of slow eccentric, three seconds hold at the bottom, and one second of concentric.

Benefits:

• Increased leg range of motion.
• Improved blood circulation to your groin area.
• Reduced tension in your hip joints.
• Greater flexibility.
• Less risk of muscle tears or strains.

Target muscles: Adductors, glutes, quads, hamstrings, calves, hip flexors, and core muscles.

Rep range:

• Hypertrophy: 8-12 reps
• Strength: 1-5 reps

Progression: Sumo squat with front shoulder raise

Related: How to do the Dumbbell Sumo Squat

3. Dumbbell Walking Lunges

Walking lunges take the standard lunge and add an element of forward motion that encourages better mobility in your lower body.

With standard lunges, you’re stepping forward and lowering into the lunge, but then pushing up and stepping back into the original position. Walking lunges, however, involve a step forward, a movement that is far more natural—it’s how you walk, run, and sprint!

Using dumbbells for the walking lunge can increase the difficulty, making your leg muscles stronger through this “stepping forward” movement.

Though it targets your quads, the extra attention paid to your glutes, hips, and core leads to better lower body mobility and more fluid natural movement.

Watch this video to see how the Dumbbell Walking Lunge is done:

How to do it:

• If it’s your first time doing lunges, then grab a pair of lightweight dumbbells.
• Hold the dumbbell using a neutral grip with your chest up and spine straight.
• Take a big step forward with your right leg.
• Lower your body until the right thigh gets parallel to the ground.
• Keep your chest high with your shoulder blades tucked back.
• Transfer the whole bodyweight to the right leg to lift yourself up to get into the starting position.
• Now step forward with your left leg and alternate between legs for recommended reps.

Pro tip: Keep your front shin vertical and power through the front leg heel.

Benefits:

• Walking lunge is a unilateral movement that helps you equally train both legs.
• It also improves hip mobility and core stability.
• Helps you develop bulletproof knees.
• It’s a functional exercise that increases longevity and will make your day-to-day task easier.
• Walking lunges strengthen your glutes. A 2020 study suggests that walking lunges offers better glute activation than conventional squats. [1].

Target muscles: Quadriceps, glutes, hamstrings, calves, abdominals, hips.

Rep range:

• Hypertrophy: 8-10 reps for each leg
• Strength: 3-5 reps for each leg

Progression: Plyo lunge

4. Dumbbell Around the World Lunges

Around the world lunges take the classic lunge and add a new level of difficulty by changing the angle of the exercise. It’s not just a forward lunge, but it incorporates a side Lunge (also known as a lateral lunge), reverse lunge, and, with some variations, even angled lunges (to 45 and 135-degree angles).

By incorporating these variations, it targets the hips, quads, glutes, hamstrings, and core muscles thoroughly, and encourages better mobility in the knees, hips, and ankles.

Using a dumbbell makes it a truly challenging exercise, one that will lead to smoother leg movement and greater overall leg strength.

Watch this video to see how the Dumbbell Around the World Lunge is done:

How to do it:

• Grab a pair of lightweight dumbbells and hold them in a neutral position. Let your arms hang freely by your side.
• Inhale and step forward with your right leg. Lower your body down until your right thigh is parallel to the ground.
• Exhale and push yourself back into the starting position.
• Inhale again and get into a side lunge by positioning your right leg wide at the side of your body.
• Exhale and push off the floor to get yourself back again.
• Inhale and take a giant step backward with your right leg. Bend your knee until your left thigh gets parallel to the ground.
• Exhale and push yourself back into the starting position.
• That’s it; it completes your single repetition of the right leg.
• Do at least five reps on each leg.

Pro tip: Avoid partial reps, decrease the weight and try for a full range of motion. 

Benefits:

• It’s a great lunge variation that strengthens the lower body from multiple angles.
• It improves balance and stability.
• Around the world lunges improve muscle coordination and correct imbalances.

Target muscles: Quadriceps, glutes, hamstrings, calves, abdominals, adductors, hip flexors.

Rep range:

• Hypertrophy: -10 reps for each leg
• Strength: 1-3 reps for each leg

Regression: Dumbbell lateral lunge

5. Dumbbell Reverse Lunge

The reverse lunge isn’t just the forward lunge in reverse.

Both lunges target the quads, hips, glutes, and core muscles. However, the emphasis on the muscles changes when you step backward instead of forward.

Reverse lunges increase the emphasis on your hamstrings and the gluteus maximus, with a little less focus on your quads (the primary focus of the forward lunge).

Reverse lunges also create less instability than forward lunge, which means there is less core engagement and more focus on the leg muscles. They’re even a gentler exercise that places less strain on your knees, giving you greater control over the motion of your lower leg and ankle.

Watch this video to see how the Dumbbell Reverse Lunge is done:

How to do it:

• Hold the dumbbell in a neutral grip with your chest up and spine upright.
• Take a big backward step with your right leg.
• Lower your body until the left thigh is parallel to the ground.
• Keep your chest high with your shoulder blades tucked back.
• Transfer the whole bodyweight to the left leg to push yourself up to get into the starting position.
• Now step backward with your left leg and keep alternating legs for eight reps for each leg.

Benefits:

• Reverse lunges activate and strengthen your glute, quad, and hamstrings.
• It’s relatively easier on knee joints than the forward walking lunge.
• It’s another unilateral movement that improves the whole body’s stability and balance.

Target muscles: Glutes, hamstrings, quads, calves.

Rep range:

• Hypertrophy: 10-12 reps for each leg

Strength: 1-5 reps for each leg

Progression: Dumbbell skater squat

6. Dumbbell Skater Squats

If you’re looking to up the intensity and difficulty of your lower body workout, look no further than the dumbbell skater squat.

Skater squats are a unilateral movement that places all the weight on just one leg at a time, forcing it to do all the work of squatting your bodyweight (plus dumbbells). They require not only a standard squat but also increased hip hinging to maintain balance.

This combination of movements leads to better recruitment of your hamstrings, glutes, and quads, but reduces spinal strain. It also challenges stability and forces you to maintain balance, leading to better, more fluid motion. Best of all, it’s an exercise that will highlight any incorrectness in your posture, form, or movement, giving you immediate body feedback that will help you correct your technique right away.

Watch this video to see how Dumbbell Skater Squats are done:

How to do it:

• Grab a pair of dumbbells (for the counterbalance).
• Hold the dumbbell using a neutral grip with your chest up and spine straight.
• Raise the left foot off the ground and flex your left knee to 90 degrees.
• Lower your body by bending the right knee and simultaneously raising both arms in front until they are parallel to the floor.
• The goal is to get your right thigh parallel to the ground without letting your left foot touch the ground.
• Exhale and push yourself up while bringing the arms back to starting position.
• Perform a set of five reps before switching legs.

Pro tip: Move the knee of the elevated leg up in front of the body at the end of the rep.

Benefits:

• It’s an advanced version of the reverse lunge, which boosts your leg strength.
• Maximize your body’s balance and functional ability.

Target muscles: Quads, glutes, hamstrings, calves. 

Rep range:

• Hypertrophy: 8-10 reps for each leg
• Strength: 1-5 reps for each leg

Regression: Dumbbell step-up

7. Dumbbell Step-Ups

Step-ups utilize the same muscles as lunges, and the motion is actually fairly similar to the classic lunge.

The beauty of step-ups is that they simulate the action of climbing stairs or stepping up onto a ledge. You can customize the height of the step by using a taller or shorter box, bench, or solid surface. This makes it great not only for post-injury recovery but also to increase your range of motion and target muscular development through a much more versatile movement.

Watch this video to see how Dumbbell Step-Ups are done:

How to do it:

• Stand in front of a bench or stepper and grab a pair of dumbbells using a neutral grip.
• Step up while keeping your torso upright.
• Straighten your leg to bring yourself up to the stepper.
• Slowly lower yourself to get into the starting position.

Pro tip: Control the negatives. 

Benefits:

• Develop toned and functional legs.
• It will increase your squatting and deadlift strength.
• Excellent leg exercise for someone with back pain.
• You can increase or decrease the intensity by changing the platform height.

Target muscles: Quads, glutes, adductors, hip flexors, hamstrings, calves, core.

Rep range:

• Hypertrophy: 8-12 reps
• Strength: 1-5 reps

Progression: Dumbbell step-up jump

8. Dumbbell Crossover Lunge

The crossover lunge is a fascinating variation of the classic forward lunge. It targets the same muscles—quads, hamstrings, and glutes—but pays extra attention to the hamstrings and glutes to enhance your lower body strength overall. 

Thanks to the addition of the crossover movement, this exercise introduces an element of instability that your body will have to compensate for. Over time, performing exercises of this nature will improve your coordination and balance far more noticeably than exercises that utilize the natural range of motion.

Watch this video to see how the Dumbbell Crossover Lunge is done:

How to do it:

• Grab a pair of dumbbells and stand tall with feet hip-width apart.
• Engage your core and let your arms hang straight below the shoulders.
• From the standing position, take a step forward across your body.
• Bend both knees and lower your body until the thigh of the front leg is parallel to the ground.
• Keep your chest high with your shoulder blades tucked back.
• Push yourself up to get into the starting position.
• Complete the recommended reps with both legs.

Pro tip: Start with a lightweight dumbbell and pause at the bottom of every rep.  

Benefits:

• It’s a brilliant exercise to challenge your glutes in a transverse and frontal plane.
• Develop toned and functional legs.

Target muscles: Quads, glutes, hip flexors, hamstrings, calves, core. 

Rep range:

• Hypertrophy: 8-12 reps
• Strength: 1-5 reps

Regression: Crossover reverse lunge

9. Standing Calf Raise

The standing calf raise is one of the best exercises to target your calf muscles, a muscle that gets far less love than your upper legs but is actually a lot more important than most people realize.

Calf muscles play a role in the stability of your ankle and foot joints. Strong calves reduce the risk of ankle and foot injuries.

Runners, in particular, need to pay attention to the strength and endurance of their calves. The calves control your stride, how your foot lands, and how you push off into the next step. 

And, best of all, calf exercises help strengthen and protect your knee joints. They work with your upper leg muscles to absorb impact when you jump or run and will increase joint mobility throughout the entire range of lower body motion.

By adding dumbbells, you increase the load on your calf muscles, forcing them to work even harder.

Watch this video to see how the Standing Calf Raise is done: 

How to do it:

• Hold the dumbbell in each hand with feet hip-width apart.
• Keep your arms extended on your sides.
• Rise up onto your toes, and squeeze your calves for two seconds before slowly returning to the starting position.
• Repeat for recommended reps.

Pro tip: Make every rep count by holding the contraction for two seconds.

Benefits:

• Develop calf strength, endurance, and explosiveness.
• Improves ankle stability.

Target muscles: Gastrocnemius, soleus, plantar flexion.

Rep range:

• Hypertrophy: 10-15 reps
• Strength: 1-5 reps

Progression: Dumbbell calf jump

10. Goblet Squats

Goblet squats are an excellent variation of standard dumbbell squats.

They work the same muscles, targeting the quads, hips, hamstrings, glutes, and core, but they also recruit your shoulders, biceps, forearms, and even your upper back into the mix. Because you’re holding the dumbbell up to your chin, your upper body muscles are engaged.

But what makes the goblet squat such a great choice is the fact that it improves your posture. The load is up by your chest, and you have to pay attention to how you lower into the squat to maintain your balance. Your abs and lower back fire to keep you upright while your legs are going through the motions.

Watch this video to see how the Goblet Squat is done: 

How to do it:

• Stand with your feet shoulder-width apart and toes pointing slightly outward.
• Grab a single dumbbell and hold it with both hands.
• Flex your elbows to position the dumbbell in front of your mid-chest.
• Inhale and flex your knees to lower yourself into a squat.
• Get down until your thighs get parallel to the ground.
• Exhale and push yourself back to the starting position.
• Repeat for the recommended reps.

Pro tip: Slow down the eccentric motion and hold for two seconds at the bottom for optimal results.

Benefits:

• Goblet squats allow a greater range of motion.
• Improves hip mobility while strengthening the inner thighs.
• Develop stronger glutes and makes your core work harder.

Target muscles: Adductors, glutes, quads, hamstrings, calves, hip flexors, core muscles.

Rep range:

• Hypertrophy: 10-12 reps
• Strength: 1-5 reps

Progression: Frond rack dumbbell squat

11. Bulgarian Split Squat

Bulgarian Split Squat a unilateral exercise targets your quads, hips, hamstrings, glutes, and even your calves, while your core has to work extra hard to maintain your balance with this very unstable movement.

One more great thing about the Bulgarian split squat: you can get deeper into the squat than you could with a front squat. You’ll increase hip flexibility and improve mobility throughout your entire lower body thanks to this amazing exercise.

How to do it:

• Grab a pair of dumbbells in both hands.
• Begin with your left foot on the ground and your right foot on a bench behind you.
• Keep your chest up and your torso braced.
• Inhale and bend your knees to lower yourself until your left thigh is parallel to the ground.
• Exhale and push yourself back up.
• Repeat for recommended reps before switching sides.

Pro tip: Your front foot will be the working leg during this exercise, and you should not assist the lift by pushing through the leg placed on the bench.

Benefits:

• Focuses on unilateral leg development while improving balance.

Target muscles: Quads, glutes, hamstrings, calves, core.

Rep range:

• Hypertrophy: 10-12 reps for each leg
• Strength: 1-5 reps for each leg

Progression: Medicine ball Bulgarian split squat

12. Front Foot Elevated Split Squat

Take your split squat to another level with the front foot elevated split squat.

Elevated split squat requires you to keep your front foot on an elevated surface to experience a deeper stretch in the quads.

It is a game-changer for someone who struggles with limited mobility.

How to do it:

• Grab a dumbbell in each hand, while standing in front of a stepper or thick weight plate.
• Begin with your left foot on the ground and your right foot on the elevated surface.
• Keep your scapula retracted while keeping your torso braced.
• Inhale and bend your right knee to lower your body until your rear knee is just an inch above the ground. Don’t let your non-working knee rest on the ground.
• Exhale and push yourself back up.
• Repeat the recommended reps before switching sides.

Pro tip: Slow the rep tempo for better mind-muscle connection.

Benefits:

• It’s a beginner-friendly unilateral movement that will develop stronger legs.
• Improves hip mobility and strengthens the groin area.
• It also improves body balance.

Target muscles: Quads, calves, core. 

Rep range:

• Hypertrophy: 10-12 reps for each leg
• Strength: 1-5 reps for each leg

Progression: Walking lunge

13. Dumbbell Front Squat

It’s an excellent compound movement that strengthens the legs while also targeting the core.

Dumbbell front squats emphasize more on quad development without putting too much pressure on the lower back.

How to do it:

• Stand with your feet slightly wider than the hip width while holding a pair of dumbbells.
• Brace your core and clean the dumbbells up to your shoulders so they are touching your shoulders.
• Keep your elbows pointing forward. Now this will be your starting position.
• Breathe in as you bend your knees to lower into a squat position.
• Lower down until your thighs are parallel to the ground.
• Inhale and push yourself up to the starting position.
• Repeat the recommended reps.

Pro tip: Work on ankle mobility to perform deep squats.

Benefits:

• Help you develop stronger legs without huge weights.
• Front squats allow you to go further down for a better range of motion.

Target muscles: Quads, glutes, hamstrings, calves, anterior delts, core.

Rep range:

• Hypertrophy: 10-12 reps
• Strength: 1-5 reps

Progression: Dumbbell front squat and press

14. Dumbbell Jump Squat

If you want to improve power and agility, you must include this movement in the leg training routine. Dumbbell jump squats build explosive strength and boost metabolism.

A major part of your quads comprises fast-twitch muscle fibers. Jump squats train those fast-twitch muscles to improve the strength and size of your legs.

How to do it:

• Grab a pair of dumbbells with your feet shoulder-width apart.
• Extend your arms at your side.
• Keep your torso engaged and your back straight.
• Inhale and squat down until your thighs are parallel to the ground.
• Exhale and push through your heels to jump upwards while keeping your arms extended at your side.
• Land on the balls of your feet. This completes one repetition.
• Perform the recomended reps.

Pro tip: Jump up by slicing the air with your hands to generate more power and momentum.  

Benefits:

• Develops explosive power.
• Trains the fast-twitch muscle fibers that are responsible for strength and size.

Target muscles: Quads, glutes, hamstrings, calves, core. 

Rep range:

• Hypertrophy: 10-12 reps
• Strength: 1-5 reps

Regression: Dumbbell squat

15. Dumbbell Romanian Deadlift

Many lifters consider the deadlift a back exercise, but the Romanian deadlift is an incredible compound movement that trains the whole posterior chain.

Dumbbell Romanian deadlift (RDL) will help you train and strengthen the erector spinae, gluteus maximus, hamstrings, adductors, calves, arms, and core.

How to do it:

• Plant your feet on the ground at hip-width apart and pick up a pair of dumbbells with an overhand grip.
• You don’t necessarily need to pick the dumbbell from the floor; you can grab a pair of dumbbells from the weight rack.
• Hold the dumbbell in front of your thighs, chest high, and scapula retracted.
• Hinge at your hips and lower your upper body.
• Lower your torso until it is parallel to the ground.
• Exhale and pull yourself up to the starting position.
• Repeat for recommended reps.

Pro tip: Maximize glute and hamstring development by slowing down eccentric motion.

Benefits:

• It enhances the performance of the lower back, hip, and hamstrings.
• It’s a compound movement that adds serious strength.
• Improves your ability to deadlift or squat.

Target muscles: Erector spinae, gluteus maximus, hamstrings, adductors, calves, arms, core.

Rep range:

• Hypertrophy: 10-12 reps
• Strength: 1-5 reps

Progression: Single-leg dumbbell deadlift

16. Dumbbell Single-Leg Romanian Deadlift

We have already talked about the dumbbell Romanian deadlift (RDL); now let’s talk about the added benefits when you do the RDL with a single leg. Unilateral RDL isolates the glutes and hamstrings while improving body balance and coordination. 

Single-leg Romanian deadlift is also a great regression exercise of the deadlift. It improves the glute, hamstring, and core engagement before you actually perform heavy conventional deadlifts.

Single-leg RDL helps improve mind-muscle connection, pre-workout muscle activation, and cure muscle imbalance.

How to do it:

• If you are going to start unilateral RDL with your right leg first, then grab a dumbbell by your left hand and with an overhand grip.
• Brace your core while keeping the chest up and get into a hip-width stance.
• Lift the left leg off the ground and hinge forward, and lower your torso.
• As you lower the torso parallel to the ground, you should be able to feel a stretch in the glutes and hamstrings.
• Pause for two seconds before you get back into the starting position.
• Repeat for recommended reps before switching sides.

Pro tip: Keep your back straight and tight, and avoid overarching. The primary focus should be on the glutes and hamstrings, not on hitting a new PR.

Benefits:

• Improves lower body balance and coordination.
• Single-leg RDL improves hip mobility, making it a great warmup exercise before deadlifts or squats.

Target muscles: Erector spinae, gluteus maximus, hamstrings, adductors, calves, core.

Rep range:

• Hypertrophy: 10-12 reps for each leg
• Strength: 3-5 reps for each leg

Regression: Romanian deadlift

17. Dumbbell Thruster

It is a movement used widely by CrossFit athletes. The dumbbell thruster is an excellent compound movement that looks like a dumbbell front squat with a press.

How to do it:

• Stand with your feet slightly wider than the hip-width apart while holding onto a pair of dumbbells.
• Brace your core and Clean the dumbbells up to your shoulders so they are touching your shoulder.
• Keep your elbows pointing forward. Now this will be your starting position.
• Inhale as you bend your knees to lower into a squat.
• Lower down until your thighs are parallel to the ground.
• Exhale and push yourself up while explosively extending your hips to push the dumbbell straight overhead.
• Perform the recommended reps.

Pro tip: Use the leg drive to push the dumbbell overhead. And as you do the overhead movement, keep the arms close to your ears, parallel to each other, and position the elbows forward. 

Benefits:

• A full-body push movement.
• Helps build explosiveness.
• It’s a perfect full-body exercise for days when you have limited time for training.

Target muscles: Quads, glutes, hamstrings, calves, shoulders, triceps, core.  

Rep range:

• Hypertrophy: 10-12 reps
• Strength: 1-5 reps

Progression: Dumbbell snatch

18. Dumbbell Hip Lift and March

A glute exercise that also works the core. It’s a great progression exercise for glute bridges.

How to do it:

• Lie on your back with your knees bent.
• Position your feet hip-width apart and place a dumbbell on your hip crease.
• Lift your hips off the ground to form a glute bridge.
• Now without dropping your hips, lift one leg off the ground while keeping the knee flexed.
• Hold the leg in the air for two seconds before you bring it down to the floor.
• Now lift the other leg off the ground, and hold the contraction for two seconds.
• Keep alternating between legs while keeping the glutes flexed and your core tight.
• Perform the recommended reps.

Pro tip: Do not try to march too fast; slow down the tempo and use light dumbbells if you are trying this movement for the first time.

Benefits:

• This exercise will strengthen the core and glutes.
• Helps you develop a powerful hip extension.
• Marching movement allows you to fix muscle and strength imbalance.

Target muscles: Glutes, hamstrings, core.

Rep range:

• Hypertrophy: 10-12 reps for each leg
• Strength: 1-5 reps for each leg

Progression: Sigle-leg glute bridge with dumbbell

19. Dumbbell Seated Calf Raise

In order to build symmetrical legs, one should never neglect the importance of calf raises.

Seated calf raise is an excellent calf exercise that primarily trains the soleus. The soleus is responsible for building calf thickness.

How to do it:

• Sit down on a bench or any other stable elevated surface.
• Place a stepper or thick weight plate in front of your bench to place the balls of your feet on.
• Get a set of moderate-weight dumbbells and place them vertically on your thighs just above your knee.
• Now push through the balls of your feet to feel the contraction in your calves.
• Lower your heels as far as you can for a deep stretch.
• Perform for recommended reps.

Pro tip: Squeeze every contraction for three seconds.

Benefits:

• Seated calf raise will help develop calf thickness.
• Stronger calves boost your running and jumping performance.
• Develop a resilient ankle.

Target muscles: Calves (soleus).

Rep range:

• Hypertrophy: 10-15 reps
• Strength: 1-5 reps

Progression: Dumbbell farmer’s walk on toes

Dumbbell Leg Training Benefits

Dumbbell leg training has unique benefits. Let’s have a look at some practical benefits that dumbbells provide:

1. Joint-Friendly Training

Dumbbell squats are a joint-friendly alternative for people who experience back or hip pain. They allow working around your injuries during the muscle rehabilitation process.

2. Great For Unilateral Training

Unilateral training gets more critical when training a complex body part.

You can perform a wide range of unilateral activities with the help of dumbbells. You can do forward lunges, reverse lunges, Bulgarian split squats, single-leg stiff-legged deadlifts, single-leg step up, and many other exercises.

The significant benefit of unilateral training is it equally trains both sides to rectify asymmetries and imbalances.

3. Dumbbells Are Easier To Train With

Beginners are often uneasy about squatting down with a barbell on their backs. A dumbbell is definitely a safer and more convenient option for many exercises.

Additionally, you don’t need to worry about having a spotter. You can just drop the dumbbells if you are about to fail during a rep.

4. Dumbbells Are Easily Available

Unlike squat racks, dumbbells are usually available during gym rush hours.

Dumbbells are also an excellent tool for someone who wants to work out at home but does not have the budget to invest in a squat rack or barbells.

Frequently Asked Questions

Is it okay to work out legs every day?

Before answering this question, ask yourself, why do you want to train your legs daily?

If you want fast results, we suggest you focus more on nutrition and recovery; training your legs daily is not going to grow them faster. Instead, it will increase the chances of muscle overuse injuries.

A few sets of bodyweight squats or lunges can be done daily, but if you are thinking about heavy-weight leg training days, then we do not suggest you do that every day.

Do legs respond better to higher reps?

It has been known that heavyweight and low reps help increase strength, and lightweight and high reps increase endurance.

Higher reps activate slow-twitch muscle fibers that are responsible for greater endurance. Higher reps also keep the joints healthy and muscles toned.

If you are someone who does not have access to weights, then doing a few reps of bodyweight squats and lunges sounds like a good idea to stay in shape. You can also choose exercises that are difficult with just bodyweight, for example: skater squat, single-leg squat, etc. 

Can I target all leg muscles with dumbbell exercises in a single day?

Yes, of course. We have designed a dumbbell-only leg program that will target the quads, hamstrings, glutes, and calves. You can find those workout plans above.

How to warm up for a dumbbell leg workout?

Muscle warm before legs training is not about 10-minutes jogging; your warmup routine should wake up and activate all the target and supporting muscle groups. Here is a list of exercises you should do as a warmup.

• Jumping jack: To wake up your legs.
• Bodyweight jump squats: They will activate fast-twitch muscle fibers.
• Good Morning: Will activate the whole posterior chain for the workout.
• Single leg RDL: To activate the hamstrings and glutes for the workout. Do it with bodyweight or lightweight.
• Bodyweight side lunges: To open up hips and activate the inner portion of thighs.

How can I tone make my legs with dumbbells?

Are you afraid that you might develop huge legs like pro bodybuilders if you squat 150 pounds? Don’t worry, that’s not going to happen overnight!

If you want to keep your legs strong but toned, then focus more on high reps unilateral movements (ex: walking lunges) and plyometric movements (ex: jump squats).

Keeping the leg muscle non-bulky can be done by optimizing nutrition. Do not eat more than your daily calories needs, and eat plenty of lean protein to maintain aesthetic legs.

How can I do a good leg workout only with moderate weight dumbbells?

By focusing more on unilateral movements!

When you train unilaterally, you are lifting yourself with a single leg instead of both legs, which means you have already increased the resistance.

Additionally, you can focus more on advanced exercises that are almost impossible to practice with heavy weights. Exercises like box jumps, single-leg squats, skater squats, single-leg Romanian deadlifts, and single-leg calf raises are some great exercises that can give you a good leg workout with moderate weights.

What dumbbell exercises should I do to bulk up?

Primarily you will need to fix your nutrition and increase your calorie intake to help your body grow and recover faster. As a general rule of thumb, increase your calories by 10–20 percent above your daily weight maintenance calorie needs. Also, pay extra emphasis on your protein intake, and consume 1-1.5 grams of protein per pound of body weight.

The dumbbell exercises that can help you bulk up are dumbbell squats, dumbbell goblet squats, dumbbell sumo squats, dumbbell walking lunges, dumbbell Romanian deadlift, dumbbell thruster, and dumbbell calf raises (standing and seated, both).

Wrapping Up

Using dumbbells for your leg workouts lowers the load placement, reducing the strain on your lower back while enabling you to target the leg muscles effectively. It’s also a great alternative to working out at home if you don’t have barbells, squat racks, and other equipment.

With the movements above, you’ll be able to shred all the critical leg muscles—quads, hamstrings, glutes, hips, and calves—for a better, stronger, more mobile lower body!

References:

1. Neto W K, Soares E G, Vieira T L, Aguiar R, Chola T A, Sampaio VD L, and Gama E F. Gluteus Maximus Activation during Common Strength and Hypertrophy Exercises: A Systematic Review. J Sports Sci Med. 2020 Mar; 19(1): 195–203. 2020 Feb 24. PMID: 32132843