We hope you never experience knee pain, because it can not only stop you from working out, it can feel so uncomfortable it disrupts your everyday activities.

It’s always worth seeking help from a qualified practitioner if you have acute knee pain, but if you have low-level aches, one of the best ways to reduce your knee pain, or to avoid it altogether, is to strengthen the muscles that support the joint.

Physical therapist and run coach Bonnie Wilder recently shared an Instagram Reel with three exercises she prescribes for knee pain and I got in touch with her to find out more.

“These exercises are best for muscular associated knee pain, which is usually an achy or dull pain, arthritis and any type of sports injury such as ligament sprains,” says Wilder.

To perform these exercises, you’ll need a kettlebell or another type of free-weight, something to elevate your heels on such as a weight plate, and a short resistance band.

Wilder recommends performing three sets of 10 reps for each exercise, but you’ll need to repeat these exercises regularly and increase the difficulty by using a heavier weight or completing more reps to see a reduction in knee pain.

Take a look at Wilder’s Instagram Reel where she demonstrates each of the exercises.

The exercises in this routine will target the quadriceps, the muscles located at the front of your thighs, and the glutes—the large muscles in your buttocks.

“Bulgarian split squats and heel-elevated squats target the quads which are a critical component for reducing knee pain,” says Wilder. “This is because the quads attach to the patella [the kneecap] and help improve stability and reduce unwanted movement.”

The final exercise is a hip clock, which targets a specific part of the gluteus muscles. "The hip clocks work by improving the side glute—the glute medius—which stabilizes the knees and reduces translation [movement] of the knees inwards,” Wilder says. “This improves stability as well and keeping the knees in alignment.”

Try incorporating these movements into your routine a few times a week, and once you’ve built strength with these exercises, move on to these knee-strengthening exercises and these preventive runner’s knee exercises.

If you run regularly, you’ll be familiar with the aches that are part and parcel of this high-impact sport. One of the areas that tend to get stiff is the hips—no great surprise given the important role the muscles around the hips have in running.

Most people turn to hip stretches to reduce stiffness, but this deals with the symptoms, rather than the cause.

“Stretching your muscles may provide temporary relief, but it won't build up the hip's capacity to tolerate more load, whereas strengthening will,” says physiotherapist and certified running coach Richelle Weeks. 

“When running, your glute medius and minimus—the glute muscles on the outside of your hip—can take two to three times your body weight in peak force with every step,” says Weeks.

“Sometimes, if your glutes are not strong enough to handle this impact, they can start to feel quite tight, especially towards the end of a long run or after a hard workout.”

Recently, Weeks also posted an exercise to her Instagram, which targets the hip rotators, strengthening them so that they’re protected from this impact. 

Take a look at Weeks' Instagram Reel where she demonstrates the move.

“For this exercise place a mini band around your feet and a ball or yoga block between your legs,” says Weeks. “Keep your hips and knees at 90° as you rotate your feet out as far as possible.”

Try to hold the end position for 3-5 seconds and then three sets of six reps.

For more on how to build a body that can better handle the rigors of running, read this expert guide to strength training for runners.

There are so many different exercises to choose from, it can be difficult to know which movements to spend your limited training time on.

That’s why I was intrigued by physiotherapist Sam Caddick’s ringing endorsement of the Cossack squat in a recent Instagram post, so I spoke to him to find out more.

According to Caddick, the Cossack squat is one of the best tests of strength and mobility, as it recruits a wide range of lower-body joints and muscles.

“The reason why I love this drill so much is because it brings in the four mechanics of the lower body,” says Caddick. “These are ankle mobility (dorsiflexion), knee flexion—driving the knee over the toe—as well as working into a deep hip-flexed position and working through the adductors, testing the groin strength and length.

“It’s also a great way of working through the lateral movement pattern, so left to right.”

What’s more, it's also a unilateral exercise, which means you’ll be working on one leg at a time, ensuring both are equally as strong and mobile.

So what’s stopping you from adding it to your leg workouts? Probably the fact that it requires greater mobility than many of us possess, which is why Caddick’s Instagram post is so helpful. Watch him demonstrate several regressions to help you get started.

“To regress the drill, use a band strapped around something [such as a squat rack] to lean back on so you're able to get further and deeper into the motion,” says Caddick. “You can always use your hands to support you on a block to help you get further into the position. Or use a weight as counterbalance which should reposition the torso so you’re able to get deeper into the stretch.”

If you have limited ankle mobility, Caddick recommends raising one heel on a wedge or a block, so you can move deeper into the exercise.

Once the movement comes easily, Caddick has also provided progressions too. “You can straddle wider and you can add additional load in the form of a kettlebell or a dumbbell and hold it in a front-loaded position at the chest.”

If you spend a lot of time sitting (and who doesn’t?) whether that’s at a desk, in a car or even on the sofa, you may well find your hips are prone to tightness. As I sit typing this, I can feel a niggling discomfort in the front of my hips—a sign I need to stand up and move my hip flexors. While stretching can offer reprieve, Pilates offers more than a temporary fix to this problem.

I spoke to Pilates teacher and sports therapist Chiara Boswell, founder of SW4 Pilates in London, to see what she recommends for tight hips.

“Tight hips are such a plague!” says Boswell. “Most people suffer from it. I see a lot of people with this issue, professionals who spend most of their day sitting, which makes their hips flexors short, tight and weak. At the same time the hamstrings and glutes and deeper muscles at the hips are also getting weaker as we sit on them for so long.”

And it’s not just the sedentary among us who suffer from tight hips. “There are also very active people such as runners and gym-goers who suffer from tightness at the hips, and this comes down to the muscle activation that occurs at the hip flexors,” says Boswell. “Again, these people might be sitting most of their day and then get up and run, those tight quads are not really helping the situation. That’s when Pilates can help.”

You might be thinking, ‘Surely a bit of stretching can fix that?’. I often imagine that a few deep breaths in pigeon pose will sort out tightness in my hips, but according to Boswell, that’s not enough to make a real difference. “Stretching will help you for about 15 minutes but it is not a long-lasting solution, even if you do it regularly,” says Boswell. “To change the tightness at a neurological level—because tightness is a nervous system response—we need to teach muscles to activate differently.”

Even if you work out a lot you may have weaknesses you’re not aware of that can affect your hips. “I’ve had toned and muscular people coming to my classes and shaking with the strain because their body is not used to holding those muscle contractions,” says Boswell. “And they’ve left my classes feeling more supple and mobile.” Something we’d all like to feel, I’m sure.

Pilates Exercises For Tight Hips

1 Single-leg circle

Reps 5 in each direction, on each side

Lie on your back, with your legs extended and arms by your sides. Lift your right foot up towards the ceiling, keeping your leg as straight as possible. Rotate your right leg so that your right kneecap is pointing towards your right shoulder. Try and keep this external rotation for the whole movement.

Slowly circle your leg anticlockwise, lifting your right hip slightly off the mat as your leg crosses over to the left side and resting your hip on the ground when the leg is out to the right. Inhale as you circle downwards and exhale as you circle back up to the start. Do five circles then change direction. Repeat on the other side.

2 Shoulder bridge

Reps 5

Lie on your back with your knees bent, arms by your sides, and feet flat on the floor, shoulder-width apart. Exhale as you tilt your pelvis upwards and roll up through your spine, one vertebra at a time, pushing down through your feet so your body is in a straight line from your shoulders to your knees. Hold at the top as you inhale, and then exhale to roll down. Make sure you’re pressing your arms down into the ground to support your spine throughout.

“This is a great stretch for tight quads and a fabulous activation exercise for the hamstrings, which are often weak,” says Boswell.

3 Lying side-kick

Reps 5 in each direction

Lie on your side with your legs straight and a little in front of the line made by your torso. Prop your head up with your hand and lean on your elbow. Raise your top foot to hip level. Slowly move your leg forward, keeping your lower back in a neutral curve, and pulse once at the furthest point. Reverse the movement and continue backward. Repeat for five reps in total.

Then raise and lower your top leg for five reps for five reps. Finally, add some ronde de jambe, or big circles, keeping your leg straight, for five reps in each direction.

4 Heel beats

Reps 5 breath cycles

Lie on your front with your legs extended, your upper arms out to the sides and elbows bent and your forehead resting on your hands. Keep your head and upper back relaxed. Stretch your legs away from you so they float off the mat slightly. Externally rotate your legs, so your knees point slightly out. Open and close your legs, beating your inner thighs together, keeping the movement small and fast. Inhale for a few beats, exhale for a few beats. Aim to do five breath cycles, then relax completely onto the mat.

Boswell has contributed two more Pilates sessions you may like to try: six Pilates core exercises and Pilates for back pain.

Being able to touch your toes is a mark of flexible hamstrings (the muscles that run right down the back of the thighs to the knees), as well as flexibility in your lower back, glutes and ankles. But if you spend a lot of time sitting down, you may have tight hamstrings and find it difficult to reach your hands lower than your shins when you keep your legs straight. 

It’s not just a point of pride to be able to touch your toes. Improving your flexibility can make day-to-day movement feel easier, potentially reducing pain in the back and the hips, too. And if you take part in sports or lift weights regularly, better flexibility will also have a positive impact on your performance.

Physiotherapist and clinical director of SJC Physio Sam Caddick recently shared an Instagram Reel with three exercises to address tight hamstrings.

Take a look at Caddick's Instagram Reel where he demonstrates the three moves that will help you develop the ability to touch your toes.

To start, Caddick mobilizes the posterior chain, the muscles that run down the back side of your body, with the inchworm.

Next, is the good morning, which Caddick says will build length and strength in your hamstrings. In Coach’s guide to good morning form, the exercise is performed with your weight distributed between both feet, but Caddick adopts the B-stance, moving one foot slightly behind the other and raising the rear heel.

Caddick finishes with eccentric single-leg hamstring curls. Take your shoes off and find a hard surface with some slip. Go into the top of a single-leg glute bridge with your heel on the floor and slowly push your heel away from you. Pause and hold at the end of your range.

Add these three exercises to your routine and you’ll gradually see improvement in your hamstring strength and flexibility. To vary the challenge, incorporate these hamstring exercises and hamstring stretches as well.

Recently I asked five personal trainers and coaches from the WithU and Mvmnt fitness apps to share their best beginner exercises, and two of them picked the air squat. That’s not a big surprise because the squat is undoubtedly one of the best bodyweight exercises for people of all fitness levels and a great move for beginners to get to grips with.

More of a surprise was the top tip Rory Knight, director of fitness at WithU, gave to help beginners improve their squat.

“My game-changing tip is to remove your footwear and perform the exercise barefoot,” says Knight. “You have thousands of nerve endings in your feet that enhance the recruitment of your muscle fibers. To create more engagement, think of each foot as a tripod and look to grip the floor equally with your big toes, little toes and heels. By doing this, you should feel stronger, more balanced and connected when you squat.”

The squat is an exercise that you can work on no matter how experienced you are in the gym. Even if you regularly squat using heavy barbells it’s worth doing some barefoot air squats to regain that connection to the ground and ensure the foundations of your technique are sound.

If you are starting from scratch, Knight also recommends using something for support while you learn the movement.

“Use a chair for stability as you gain confidence with the move, before moving on to an unsupported squat,” says Knight.

If you’re keen to improve your form, then our 30-day squat challenge is a good way to stay motivated and give yourself a short-term goal while you practice good squat technique. The challenge builds up each day so that by the end you can do 250 unweighted squats—no mean feat—whether you’re doing them barefoot or not.

Squats come in a variety of shapes and sizes: the conventional (back squat, front squat), the advanced (overhead squat, squat clean) and the alternative (sumo squat, zombie squat). But one variation which may not be on your radar is the hack squat. 

Popularized over a century ago and named after its creator, weightlifter and wrestler George Hackenschmidt, it allows you to squat a heavy weight without putting quite as much load through your spine. This makes it an attractive option for anyone with back issues. 

It can be performed with either a barbell or a hack squat machine. Both methods target the large quadriceps muscles on the front of your thighs, and knowing how to master this technical lift could take your leg day gains to the next level while saving your back from the rigors of the squat rack. 

To explore the ups and downs and dos and don’ts of the hack squat, we spoke to Eddie Baruta, global head of gym floor personal training at Ultimate Performance. 

Barbell Hack Squat Vs Hack Squat Machine

How To Do The Hack Squat

How To Do The Barbell Hack Squat  

Stand with your feet shoulder-width apart and heels elevated on a pair of small weight plates or heel wedges. “The idea here is to enable your knees to travel forward to help target the quads,” says Baruta. “Elevating your heels allows for an upright torso, full knee flexion at the bottom of the movement and a straight bar path from start to finish.” 

Baruta says it can be challenging to start this exercise from the floor. Instead he recommends setting the bar up in a squat rack positioned just lower than full arm length when standing. Start light as you familiarize yourself with the technique required to take the bar out of the rack and drop into the squat.

Start with your back to the racked bar, and drop into a partial squat to grasp the bar with an overhand grip, palms facing behind you. Retract and depress your shoulder blades to straighten your back, puff out your chest and inhale to brace your core. From here, keep your gaze focused in front of you and stand to lift the bar out of the rack. 

With the bar clear of the rack, bend your knees to lower into a squat, allowing the bar to travel straight down, while keeping your torso upright. “When it’s executed correctly, your hips shouldn’t travel back,” says Baruta. “You want the barbell to move up and down vertically in a straight line, rather than have to travel around your legs.” 

Bend your knees to lower as far as you feel comfortable. Don’t feel you need the bumper plates to tap the floor each rep. From the deepest position, drive through your midfoot and heels to return the bar to the start position in one smooth motion, exhaling as you stand. Once all reps are completed, carefully lower the bar into the rack. 

How To Do The Resistance Machine Hack Squat

Hack squat machines vary, but in general this kit should comprise a fixed platform for your feet, a fixed backrest to take your weight and shoulder pads with handles to press against.

The platform should angle your feet optimally so there’s no need to raise your heels any further. Place your feet shoulder-width apart, grasp the handles and inhale to brace your core. Unlock the machine to take the weight, then bend your knees to lower slowly into a squat.

From here, drive through your midfoot and heel as you exhale to smoothly press your body away from the platform and straighten your legs. “Aim to flex your knee fully and maintain a neutral spine throughout,” says Baruta, adding that you ideally want to reach a squat depth that allows you to close the gap between your hamstrings and calves. 

Another thing to consider with bilateral movements is joint stacking, he says. “When pushing, you have to align your ankle with your knee and your upper leg with your lower leg [rather than letting it travel in or out] to avoid any damage to the knee. To achieve this, you might need to widen your stance to allow for your biomechanics.” 

Common Hack Squat Form Mistakes

Bouncing At The Bottom Of The Rep

For all the benefits of the fixed backrest, it can prove a problem for anyone with even slightly limited mobility in their ankles, knees or hips. That’s because at the bottom of a squat, it’s common for the lower back and tailbone to round, or curl under—known as a “butt wink” in bodybuilding circles. 

When pushing considerable weight, this can compromise the vulnerable lumbar joints and risk common back problems like a slipped disc. A flat backrest exacerbates this risk because it alters the natural curvature of your spine. 

The most important thing to bear in mind is to take extra care at the bottom of the hack squat exercise, says Baruta. Avoid “bouncing” in and out of this deep squat position, and focus on a controlled concentric and eccentric phase of the exercise. 

Pressing Through The Forefoot

While elevating your heels with bumper plates allows you to target your quads effectively, your focus should still be pressing through the midfoot and heel throughout this exercise to avoid placing extra strain on your knee joint and the patella tendon. 

If limited ankle mobility makes this feel impossible, try the resistance machine version of this exercise, or one of the hack squat variations listed below. 

Hyperextending The Knee 

Another all-too-common mistake Baruta warns against is overextending your legs at the top position of this exercise, whether performing it with a barbell or resistance machine. “Focus on moving throughout all phases of the lift with control,” he says. Don’t rush your reps or snap into a hyperextended position at the top of the exercise. 

Hack Squat Progressions, Regressions And Variations

Wall sit 

A beginner-friendly regression, this isolation exercise replicates the 90˚ knee bend and upright torso technique required in the bottom of the hack squat. Lean against a wall with your feet shoulder-width apart, heels down. Slide down the wall until your thighs are parallel with the floor, keeping your back in contact with the wall and core and glutes engaged. Hold this position, breathing normally as long as your thighs will allow. 

Kettlebell hack squat 

An advanced progression, this free-weight exercise demands immense control, balance, mobility and should be considered only if your knees have a clean bill of health. Rather than using weight plates under your heels, the goal is to perform this full move with heels elevated off the floor, balancing on the balls of your feet. Keep your feet close together and hold one kettlebell behind you in both hands. With heels lifted, slowly lower until your knees are bent 90˚, then drive up to stand.

Bodyweight hack squat

This is a slight regression on the kettlebell version. Perform the same exercise, with heels elevated throughout and your weight balanced on the balls of your feet, but without the added load of a kettlebell. Only when you can flawlessly execute three sets of 10 reps should you carefully begin to introduce weight. 

Sissy squat

This is another advanced quad-focused exercise that can be performed with just your bodyweight, or with a sissy squat machine, which can be found in most commercial gyms. For the machine version, position your calves firmly against the rest and your feet locked in tight to the shin pad. Lean back slightly to place tension on your quads, then slowly lower into a squat until your knees bend 90˚. Engage your quads to straighten up again, but keep leaning back slightly to maintain tension in the front of your thighs. 

Leg extension 

“The hack squat targets the quad muscles in their mid range,” says Baruta, noting that it generates a different stimulus than experienced with quad isolation exercises like the leg extension. 

Sit up straight with your back tight to the backrest and knee in line with the machine’s pivot point. Position the pad on top of your shins, keeping your ankles in a neutral position rather than dorsiflexing your feet. Maintain a greater than 90˚ bend at your hips so that you can effectively target the quads through their full range. From this here, squeeze your quads to extend your legs, pause, then slowly return to the starting position. 

About Our Expert

Interest in glute training has been growing steadily for the last 10 years and considering the glutes—the anatomically correct name for the muscles in your butt—are the biggest muscle group in your body, that’s no bad thing.

The glutes are actually made up of three muscles: the gluteus maximus, gluteus medius and gluteus minimus. Together, they are responsible for powering a variety of movements, including leg extension (lifting your leg back), abduction (moving your leg out to the side), and internal rotation of the hips (turning your foot inwards). The glutes also play an important role in maintaining your posture and stabilizing the hip joint and pelvis to keep you balanced, as well as walking and running. 

While there is a long list of glute exercises to choose from, and anyone’s training benefits from variety, research earlier this year identified the exercises that stimulated each glute muscle the most.

A study published in the Medicine & Science in Sports & Exercise journal ranked a range of hip-focused exercises by their peak muscle force for each gluteal muscle. The study found that the loaded split squat, bodyweight side plank and loaded single-leg Romanian deadlift are the best exercises for targeting the gluteus maximus, the gluteus medius and the gluteus minimus respectively. They beat unloaded and 12-rep-max loaded versions of the single-leg squat, single-leg hip thrust, banded side step, hip hike, and side-lying leg raise.

It caught the eye of physiotherapist and strength coach Alec Hewstone who shared those three top exercises for the glutes in an Instagram Reel, writing that it’s “a nice blueprint for some programming essentials to hopefully keep you out of the physio clinic and performing your best!”

I asked Hewstone to tell me more about each movement. “The split squat is putting the glute max into its lengthened phase, which stimulates maximal hypertrophy and strength changes,” says Hewstone, comparing the exercise to the glute bridge, where the gluteus maximus is in its shortened range.

“With the split squat, the torso needs to move straight up and down. A cue that I often use is to imagine that your torso is trapped in a tube,” says Hewstone. “Think about touching your back knee towards the floor rather than arbitrarily bending both knees at the same time. Go as low down as you feel like you can while maintaining a good pelvic position.”

The second exercise is the side plank, which ranked highest in the study for strengthening the gluteus medius.

“The side plank is one of the best exercises that people can do in terms of hip, lower-body and back health, and prevention of muscular and skeletal pain and symptoms,” says Hewstone, who adds that you get the most activation with the top leg raised.

Finally, the study found that the single-leg Romanian deadlift is the best exercise for working the gluteus minimus. “The single-leg Romanian deadlift requires you to stabilize the pelvis while leaning the trunk forward,” says Hewstone.

“Hold the dumbbell in the opposite hand to the working leg for maximal muscle engagement,” is Hewstone's top tip for good form.

According to Hewstone, strengthening the glutes is not just for gym-goers. It’s also important for people who work desk jobs and spend a lot of time sitting down. “When sitting down, the glute muscles are in slightly lengthened ranges for prolonged periods, which is a long-term, gentle chronic passive stretch to that muscle,” Hewstone explains. “This can lead to relative glute weakness.”

Are you looking for more glute-focused workouts? If you are a member of the gym, try this glute workout or booty workout, or alternatively, buy a set of booty bands and use this resistance band glute workout.

Elliot Simmonds is one of the UK’s most successful CrossFit athletes, with three Games appearances and a third-place finish in the team division under his belt. But just six weeks before the 2022 CrossFit Games semi-finals, disaster struck in the form of a torn ligament in his back.

He had to stop training, but still competed, finishing in an impressive 12th place. Groin pain hampered him on his return to training and eventually Simmonds opted for surgery. “I had a full groin reconstruction,” says Simmonds. 

To build himself back to the level where he can compete, Simmonds, a WIT-sponsored athlete, has been working with his coach James Jowsey. “For the last 12 weeks I’ve been doing a single-leg session two or three times per week and a core session two or three times per week to try and rebalance everything,” says Simmonds.

“Here is a selection of exercises from those sessions which I have used to get me back to doing CrossFit movements again. These are all fantastic single-leg movements that anyone can incorporate into their training routine to help iron out any muscular imbalances, and improve your stability and strength.”

How To Do This Workout

The single-leg exercises have been arranged into four supersets and a finisher. However, you should take your ability into account and adjust the sets, time/reps and rest as appropriate. 

“Levels [you will be able to perform at] will vary for each exercise based on an individual’s strengths and weaknesses, so be cautious,” says Simmonds. 

Single-Leg Workout Overview

• 1A Short-lever Copenhagen hold 3 x 20-30sec each side
• 1B Single-leg high knee isometric hold 3 x 30sec each side
• 2A Bulgarian split squat isometric hold 3 x 2 each side with 10sec hold
• 2B B-stance Romanian deadlift 3 x 8 each side
• 3A Single-leg glute bridge isometric hold 3 x 10-20sec each side
• 3B Single-arm bear plank 3 x 30sec each side
• 4A Side plank 3 x 30sec each side
• 4B Hanging single-leg knee raises 3 x 10-20
• 5 Box pistol squat 1 x max reps each side

Single-Leg Exercises Form Guides

1A Short-lever Copenhagen hold 

Sets 3 Time 20-30sec each side

Lie on your side on the floor, side-on to a weights bench. Your lower forearm should be on the floor and your elbow directly underneath your shoulder. Bend the knee of your top leg to 90° and place your lower leg on the bench. Lift your bottom leg and hold it against the underside of the bench. Hold this position, keeping your body in a straight line. Repeat on the other side.

1B Single-leg high knee isometric hold

Sets 3 Time 30sec

From standing, raise your right knee until your right thigh is parallel with the ground. Hold this position, concentrating on staying upright, and avoiding leaning forward or backward. Repeat on the other side.

2A Bulgarian split squat isometric hold 

Sets 3 Reps 2 each side with 10sec hold

Stand facing away from a weights bench or box. Place the top of one foot on the bench behind you. Bend your knees to lower until your rear knee is just above the floor. Hold this position for 10 seconds. Push through your front heel to return to the start. Do two reps, then switch sides.

2B B-stance Romanian deadlift

Sets 3 Reps 8 each side

Stand with your feet shoulder-width apart, then place one foot slightly behind the other. With a slight bend in your knees, push your hips back and hinge your torso forward. When your hands reach the middle of your shins, push your hips forward and return to the start. Do all your reps on one side, then switch sides.

3A Single-leg glute bridge isometric hold

Sets 3 Time 10-20sec

Lie on your back with your knees bent and feet flat on the floor. Tilt your pelvis to press your lower back into the floor and, keeping the knee bent, lift one foot. Push through the grounded foot to lift your hips off the floor until your body forms a straight line from shoulders to knees. Hold this position for 10-20 seconds. Lower under control, then repeat on the other side.

3B Single-arm bear plank 

Sets 3 Time 30sec each side

Start on all fours with your hands underneath your shoulders and your knees underneath your hips. Press through your hands and lift your knees off the floor. Lift and extend one arm in front of you. Hold this position for 30 seconds, using your core and glutes to stabilize you. Return to the start, then repeat on the other side. 

4A Side plank

Sets 3 Time 30sec each side

Lie on your side with one leg on top of the other. Your lower forearm should be on the floor and your elbow directly underneath your shoulder. Lift your hips so your weight is resting on your forearm and feet, and your body forms a straight line. Hold this position for 30 seconds, then repeat on the other side.

4B Hanging single-leg knee raise

Sets 3 Reps 10-20

Hang from a pull-up bar using an overhand grip with your hands shoulder-width apart. Pull on the bar slightly and retract your shoulder blades, moving them back and down, so you are in an active position. Keeping the rest of your body as still as possible, raise your right knee until it’s higher than your hips, then lower under control back to the start. Repeat with your left knee. Continue alternating legs. 

5 Box pistol squat

Sets 1 Reps Max each side 

Stand on a 30in box with one foot close to one side and the other foot suspended over the side of the box. Keeping your hips square, bend your knee and push your hips back to lower the suspended foot slowly towards the ground until you’re in the bottom of a squat position (or as close to as you can manage). Drive through your planted foot to return to the start, and repeat until you can no longer perform a rep with perfect form. Repeat on the other side.

To make this move easier, you can use the side of the box to support the foot you’re lowering or reduce the distance you lower your foot.

Anyone who regularly strength trains or runs will probably find that a specific area can get pretty tight. As well as working on your hip mobility with a range of hip stretches, it’s worth spending time doing exercises that are designed to strengthen the muscles around your hips. 

The hips are an area of my body that deserve TLC. I often experience aches in this area, especially after a day spent working at a desk. I’ve tried a series of resistance band stretches from osteopath Dr Andrew Harkin to help my hips before, so when I saw he had posted a new routine for building hip strength I saved it for later and tried it during my lunch break.

Take a look at Harkin’s Reel to see him demonstrate each of the four exercises. All you’ll need to complete this routine is a resistance band. Harkin uses an open-ended resistance band that’s been tied off, but a mini loop resistance band will also do the job (our guide to the best resistance bands has affordable options of both types if you’d like to get some).

I train for CrossFit a number of times every week, but let me tell you that the exercises in this routine are more difficult than they look and I found myself struggling to balance almost straight away, particularly on my left leg.

I have a long-term knee injury and to help move past it I have been dedicating time to single-leg strength exercises to make sure both of my legs are as strong as each other.

I completed eight reps of each movement on each side and my lower-body muscles were burning by the time I'd finished the workout. Harkin recommends repeating the workout two to three times a week to see the benefits. 

If you’re keen to continue strengthening your joints once the above routine has stopped delivering, add these physiotherapist-approved hip and knee exercises to your week.

Knee pain is fairly common, but that doesn’t mean it’s something you should ignore. A good way to start dealing with low-level knee pain is by doing exercises that are designed to mobilize the knee and strengthen the muscles around it.

If you’re not sure where to start, try this routine put together by musculoskeletal physiotherapist Alec Hewstone, which is designed to help people who are experiencing pain at the front of the knee or underneath it.

“Pain around the kneecap or underneath the kneecap is generally regarded as a condition called patellofemoral pain syndrome, or for the layman, runner’s knee,” Hewstone tells Coach.

“This kind of pain is usually exacerbated by going downstairs or sitting for extended periods,” he says.

Hewstone shared some straightforward leg exercises which can help reduce this type of knee pain, however, depending on the intensity of your knee pain, you might also need to see a physiotherapist. “If you feel genuinely concerned about your knee pain, particularly if it’s something you’ve had for a little while that may be worsening or at least not getting better, and which is stopping you from doing the things you enjoy, physio could help,” says Hewstone.

Hewstone adds that physio is important for anyone who has experienced trauma to the knee, such as twisting injuries, hyperextension injuries or any kind of blunt force trauma. “If you’re experiencing mechanical symptoms, such as the knee giving way and general instability, as well as any kind of locking or catching of the knee, these symptoms are more of an urgent appeal to see a physio,” he says.

However, for general knee pain that isn’t significantly impacting your life, incorporating some exercises into your routine that strengthen the muscles around the knee is a good way to reduce aches and pains, and improve the way you move.

Take a look at Hewstone’s Reel below where he demonstrates each of the exercises: the single-leg hip thrust, B-stance Romanian deadlift and front-foot-elevated split squat.

These are strength exercises and you may need a dumbbell or other weight to complete them effectively, depending on your ability.

Hewstone recommends doing 2-3 sets of 15-20 reps on each side, performed at a slow and controlled tempo. Gradually increase the load—whether that’s weight, reps or sets—over time.

“The exercises in this video are slightly more advanced in terms of rehabilitation, but anyone that goes to the gym or is active should be able to engage with these kinds of exercises,” says Hewstone. You can also try these preventative runner's knee exercises which can all be done with just your bodyweight if you’re finding the above movements difficult.

Hewstone says that it’s normal to experience some discomfort while exercising. “It’s absolutely fine to have discomfort while doing physiotherapy exercises as long as the pain and discomfort you’re experiencing goes back to how it was before you did the exercise within 24 hours,” says Hewstone.

If the pain is unmanageable while doing these exercises, however, stop and speak to a doctor or a physiotherapist.

Need help choosing? Our guide to the best dumbbells can help you decide.

Knee pain is incredibly frustrating when you are an active person. Whether running, going to the gym or even walking, it holds you back.

So it’s no wonder there are hundreds of videos online dedicated to preventing this from happening. As I trained for my first marathon, the lingering fear of injury and knee pain was ever present. 

To prevent this, I’ve been looking into knee exercises to strengthen my legs, which is how I came across this simple routine from coaching duo Vivienne and Mike Addo, level 3 PTs who go by Mr and Mrs Muscle online.

Vivienne told Coach that these low-impact moves will allow you to “continue moving, while building, or in some cases recovering and rebuilding your foundation.

“Knee pain can occur for many reasons: overuse, impact injury or muscle imbalances, for example. It is important to keep the joint mobile by including stretches and strengthening exercises.

“These exercises help provide support to the joint and ensure that the weaker/neglected muscles are strengthened. By strengthening them, they take more of an active role in sharing the load when we move.

“The stronger muscles or the muscles that are overworked become overloaded as a result of compensation or overuse. This is where pain and tightness around the knee joint tend to occur. So doing some of these exercises like the tibialis raises or calf raises—which are typically exercises people don’t do—can make all the difference in strengthening your legs and also your knee joints.”

I decided to try these exercises after my usual leg-strengthening workout. I followed the trainers’ recommended reps (four sets of 10-15 reps) and it took me less than 15 minutes to complete.

However, it’s important to remember that you shouldn’t use these exercises if you’re experiencing knee pain already. If you are, it’s essential to get an in-person diagnosis from a medical professional, as consultant orthopaedic surgeon Ian McDermott explained when we quizzed him about runner’s knee.

If you’re looking for more ways to strengthen the muscles around your knee, try these preventive runner’s knee exercises, or add this low-impact knee-strength workout to your routine. 

While you build your knee strength, you could also use this YouTube playlist of knee-friendly workouts from Mr and Mrs Muscle. 

If you work a desk job like me, the chances are that you probably have tight hips. This can cause a lot of discomfort, not only around the hips but in other areas of the body, such as the lower back. This is because when you have weak hips, the muscles and joints surrounding them have to take on extra load to compensate.

Quitting my day job isn’t really an option, so I’ve been on the hunt for simple ways to mobilize and strengthen my hips. Regular stretching that incorporates hip mobility exercises is one of the best ways to do this and I’m trying to spend five to 10 minutes stretching and mobilizing my body each day.

As part of that, I decided to try a routine by osteopath Dr Andrew Harkin that’s designed to relieve stiff hips. It’s only three exercises and all you need is a resistance band.

It involves two passive stretches and one dynamic stretch and it’s simple to do no matter your ability level. I did it first thing in the morning to wake up my body and warm up my joints before a day of work.

Watch the Instagram post below where Harkin demonstrates the exercises.

Hold the first two stretches for 60 seconds and complete 20 reps on each side of the band hip mobilizations.

I’d never tried any of the moves in this routine before and using a resistance band certainly intensified the stretches. I’m fairly flexible, and hypermobile in certain areas of my body, so sometimes I find it difficult to achieve a deep stretch with bodyweight exercises, but each of these three moves immediately opened up my hips.

Using a resistance band for these exercises also encouraged me to move deeper into the stretches as I held them, particularly with the passive movements. As my muscles got warmer, I realized I could actually move my legs further down during the groin stretch, with the band encouraging me to do so.

Taking time to stretch at the start of the day also helped me start my morning in a mindful and relaxed way, because I focused on my breathing while holding each of the stretches. Plus, it only took five minutes to do this routine, so it’s not as much commitment as a yoga or Pilates session.

If you’d like to try this session but don’t own a long looped resistance band, you’ll find our recommendations in this selection of the best resistance bands. It’s worth the outlay, especially because that type of resistance band is required for workouts that can improve your posture, like this resistance band shoulder workout.

Even if runners never experience knee pain during their running career, they will very much experience the fear of developing knee pain. There is a condition called runner’s knee, after all—even though when we asked an authority on the subject if running is bad for your knees they said, in short, no. Although they did also say that that relies on runners getting appropriate amounts of rest, strengthening their core, warming up and stretching, as well.

As I undertake my first marathon training plan, I am visited by the ghosts of knee injuries past. A faint niggle will appear, reminding me of the dislocated knee I suffered as a teenager. To stop a flare-up from occurring, I have been following a regimented lower-body routine, making sure to include knee-strengthening exercises.

Several weeks ago I came across this TikTok video of leg-strengthening exercises from physiotherapist Tash Gale. There are just two and all they require is a step, whether that’s an aerobic step at the gym or one of the stairs in your home.

For the past four weeks, I have been adding these two movements to the end of my workouts. I do between 15 and 20 reps on each leg and I usually repeat this around three to four times. Generally I do this at the gym on a trusty Reebok step, but I have also done this on a stair at home as part of my run warm-up.

The moves are simple enough but after including them in my routine for several weeks, I can already feel increased strength and stability in the area around my knee.

For more ways to strengthen the muscles around your knee, try these runner’s knee exercises to improve your strength before injury strikes, or add this low-impact knee-strength workout to your routine. 

Be warned that you should use these exercises only if you’re not experiencing any knee pain. If you are, it’s essential to get an in-person diagnosis. As consultant orthopaedic surgeon Ian McDermott told us in Coach’s guide to runner’s knee prevention and treatment.

“You can’t really talk about treatment until you’ve got a clear and specific diagnosis,” says McDermott. “If you’re getting any significant symptoms in your knees, go and have a proper assessment from either a physio or a knee specialist.

“What’s often required is a period of relative rest combined with specific exercises to strengthen up your glutes, to stretch out your ITB and to build up the inner part of your quads [your VMO], combined with ensuring that your alignment, posture and running style is fully optimised.”

The glutes are the biggest muscle group in the body and strengthening them is particularly important for runners, because the glutes anchor your pelvis and can have a big effect on how you move. Strengthening your glutes will help you generate more power when running and help to prevent injury too.

But targeting specific muscles in your workouts isn’t always as easy as you’d hope. If you lack mobility or are dealing with tightness in the area you’re looking to target, weight training alone might not be enough to fully engage the muscles. 

Runners are often tight in the lower body, which is why it’s a good idea to activate your glutes before beginning any targeted glute exercises to build strength. “It’s best to activate the glutes before lower-body exercises or running because this helps strengthen weaker parts and helps with imbalances in the body,” says Lucy Usher, a trainer at Barry’s UK. “The glutes not firing up in exercises could be due to tightness in the lower back or hip flexors so stretching out these areas will help too.”

To make sure you’re able to prime your glutes, Usher has provided a three-move routine, followed by two exercises to strengthen your lower body.

You can do this workout on a rest day from running, or try the activation moves before a run. For more advice on how to incorporate resistance training into a running routine, read our guide to strength training for runners.

Three Glute Activation Exercises

1 Banded clam

Sets 2 Reps 10 each side

Place a mini resistance band just above your knees and lie on your side with your leg and forearm on the floor, and one leg stacked on the other. Keeping your hips square and your feet together, lift your knee as high as you can. Pause at the top, then lower under control. Do all your reps on one side, then switch sides.

2 Fire hydrant

Sets 2 Reps 10 each side

Place the band just above your knees and get on your hands and knees, with your hands directly under your shoulders and knees underneath your hips. Keeping a 90° bend in your leg and your hips square, lift one leg to the side. Squeeze your glute at the top of the move to the highest point, keeping your hips parallel, then lower slowly. Keep your core tight and remember to breathe. Do all your reps on one side, then switch sides.

3 Dumbbell crab walk 

Sets 2 Reps 10

Stand with your feet shoulder-width apart and the resistance band above your knees, holding a dumbbell in front of your chest. Bend your knees and push your hips back, then step to the side into a wide squat position, then step your other foot in the same direction to finish with your feet shoulder-width apart again—this is one rep. Stay low as you travel from side to side, keep tension in the band and move slowly.

Two-Move Glute Workout

1 Heel-elevated squat

Sets 3-4 Reps 8

With your feet slightly narrower than hip-width apart, elevate your heels using a dumbbell or a step. Holding a dumbbell in front of your chest, bend your knees and push your hips back to lower as far you can. Drive through your heels to return to standing. Keep your shoulders down and breathe out as you stand.

2 Reverse lunge off bench

Sets 3-4 Reps 8 each side

Stand on a step or elevated surface with your feet shoulder-width apart. Take a big step backward off the bench and drop your knee down to the ground, then drive through the heel of the leg on the bench to stand, raising your knee to hip level. Do all your reps on one side, then switch sides.

We’ve waxed lyrical about the standard squat on many occasions and we’re about to do so again, because the squat is a foolproof way to strengthen your legs and glutes, as well as working your core muscles.

You could do squats for the rest of your life and it’d be time well spent, but to up the ante you should also consider the jump squat. Not only will adding in a jump spice up any training sessions that are starting to get dull, it also helps you build the explosive power that will be a boon in all of your sporting endeavours, while also increasing the cardiovascular demands of the exercise. Because of this ability to send your heart rate rocketing, the jump squat is a superb choice for HIIT sessions.

Squat Jump Benefits

Squat jumps are plyometric, which means they involve an explosive movement – the jump bit, basically. Doing this will increase your ability to generate power, and this kind of explosive strength translates directly into many sports, which is why plyometric exercises feature prominently in sports training.

The addition of a jump also ramps up the cardiovascular demand when compared with the standard squat, which is why squat jumps are a popular addition to HIIT workouts. They are a surefire way to raise your heart rate quickly, and work well as part of a workout finisher as well.

All the muscles worked in the classic squat are targeted by squat jumps, which means most of the lower body and your core, with the quads and glutes doing the bulk of the work.

How To Do the Squat Jump

Stand with your feet about shoulder-width apart, toes pointing slightly outwards. Inhale as you lower your hips back and down gently into your standard squat, aiming to keep your thighs slightly higher than your knees. Then, exhale and explode into the air with as much power as you can, driving hard with your legs and pushing yourself further upwards with the balls of your feet. Your body should be poker-straight while you’re in the air, and your hands should be above your head – keep your core engaged to prevent your body from rotating. Land with your legs slightly bent before controlling your gentle descent back down into the squat position.

Squat Jump Variations

Box jump

Once you’ve mastered the jump squat you can take it up a level (quite literally) by jumping onto a platform like a box or bench. Stand facing a box, lower into a squat, then leap up and land softly on both feet. Pause for a second, then step back down. Use a box that’s around 50cm high while you get used to the exercise, then increase the height to up the challenge. For reference, the Guinness World Record for a standing jump is a truly remarkable 1.7m.

Weighted jump squat

You can also try doing jump squats while holding weights to increase the difficulty of the exercise, but keep it light – trying to leap up while holding massive dumbbells will probably pull your body out of position in the air. If you are struggling to remain in control, practise rocking on the balls of your feet as you come out of the squat rather than leaving the floor. This should help you get used to the movement and ensure you maintain your form in the full exercise.

The hamstrings are among the most important muscle groups in the lower body. All the best leg exercises will involve them in some way, but the most effective leg workouts will always include a few moves that primarily target your hammies.

That’s because with many fundamental leg movements like squats and lunges, it’s the quads and glutes that do a little more work than the hamstrings. So it’s worth making sure your hamstrings are doing their fair share in the gym, because they can tend to be underused during your day-to-day life.

“The hamstrings bend and stabilise the knee, and are among the most underworked muscles in the body,” says Emma Harbage, personal trainer at Snap Fitness Burntwood in Staffordshire. “Most of us spend the day sitting on our hamstrings with bent knees, causing them to be weak yet tight.”

To make sure your hamstrings are getting the attention they deserve, take note of these hamstring exercises selected by Harbage.

“Keep your rep ranges above 10 to 15,” says Harbage. “There is no need to go heavy – go slow and focus on good form to ensure maximum muscle fibre engagement.”

Beginner Hamstring Exercises

Hamstring curl

“These come in two variations, seated and lying on your front, both done on a weights machine,” says Harbage. “The lying-down variation is better, because you are not sitting on your hamstrings as they move, but both versions are highly effective.

“Get on the machine [either sitting or lying] with your legs outstretched and set the bar around the mid calf/upper ankle. Keep your legs as straight as possible in the starting position to ensure maximum stretch. Pull your heels back, tracking them towards your bum to contract the hamstring. Hold the squeeze position for a split second and then return to the start.

“These curls can be done with both legs, or one leg at a time. A top tip for an extra stretch is to contract with both legs, then when your hamstring is fully contracted, release the tension fully on one leg and lower the weight with the other leg. This overloads the eccentric phase of the movement where the muscle is strongest.”

Gym ball hamstring curl

“This is a very good beginner bodyweight movement,” says Harbage. “It may look easy but it’s not! It can also be performed with your feet in the handles of a suspension trainer.

“Lie on your back and place your heels up on a gym ball. Dig your heels into the ball and stabilise by bracing the core. Ensure your hips are high, bridging off the ground, and pull your heels to your bum, rolling the ball from a straight leg to a bent leg.”

Glute bridge

This simple bodyweight move is a great option for beginners. As the name suggests, it mostly targets the glutes, but do your bridges with good form and you’ll also enlist the hamstrings. Lie on your back with your knees bent and your feet planted. Lift your hips until you form a straight line from your knees to your neck. Squeeze your glutes in the top position, then lower slowly. Make sure to drive your heels into the floor during the move to engage your hamstrings more effectively.

Intermediate Hamstring Exercises

Partner Nordic raise

“The Nordic raise is a classic hamstring exercise that can be easily adjusted to progress as you get stronger,” says Harbage. “It’s fantastic for injury rehabilitation and no equipment is needed.

“Kneel down with your body upright and have your partner place their hands on your ankles to keep them on the floor. Keeping your torso as straight as possible, lower your chest and hips down to the ground. Then pull yourself back up using your hamstrings.

“Most beginners will need to perform a kneeling press-up to get back up, because these are tough. Make sure to lower slowly and go as low as you can before assisting with the hands. As you get stronger, use less and less upper-body assistance.”

Barbell good morning

“A good morning is a great hamstring and glute exercise when done properly,” says Harbage. “Some people struggle to feel this because they have incorrect upper-body position and bend the knees too much.

“The barbell should be placed on the back of your neck, just like a back squat starting position. Your feet should be narrower than for a squat, with your toes and heels forming a square, and your knees bent slightly. Bring your shoulders forwards, hinge forwards and drive your hips back, keeping your back flat. When you feel tension in your hamstrings, pull your upper body back up to the starting position to reset, keeping your back straight throughout. To feel a greater stretch place your toes on a small weight plate.”

Kettlebell swing

The kettlebell swing is a formidable compound exercise that works most of the muscles in your lower body, including your hamstrings. Stand holding a kettlebell in both hands in front of you, with your feet shoulder-width apart and knees bent slightly. Hinge forwards at your hips to swing the weight back between your legs, then drive your hips forwards to swing the kettlebell up to shoulder height. Control the weight as it swings back down between your legs and go straight into the next rep.

Advanced Hamstring Exercises

Romanian deadlift

“Another classic hamstring exercise that, again, many people do incorrectly,” says Harbage. “Most people load up with too much weight and then fail to work the correct muscles. To start with, many people will find an empty bar is sufficient.

“Take hold of the bar and lift it to the top deadlift position. Your feet should be shoulder-width apart, or slightly narrower, and your knees should be slightly bent. Lower the bar, bending at your hips – the bar should shave your legs as you lower it. When you feel the tension in the hamstrings then pull directly up, like you’re pulling up a big pair of trousers, to return to the starting position, pushing your hips forwards and squeezing your glutes.

"Once you are comfortable with the movement, start adding weight.”

Barbell hip thrust

“The hip thrust is primarily a glute exercise, but there is also a good amount of hamstring activation during the move, especially when the upper body is propped up,” says Harbage.

“Place the barbell across your hips – you can use a mat or pad to protect the hip bones. Bend your knees at 90° with your body propped up on a bench or step – your upper back should be half on and half off. Lower your hips to the floor, then thrust them directly up. Your heels should be dug into the floor. Squeeze both the glutes and the hamstrings on every rep.”

Deadlift

This is the quintessential posterior chain exercise, and it’s important to ensure your form is spot-on to reduce the risk of injury. Stand with a barbell on the floor in front of you. Push your hips back and bend your knees to reach down and take hold of the bar. Brace your core, then lift the bar by driving your hips forwards to come back up to standing. Lower the bar slowly back to the floor by reversing the movement. Maintain a flat back throughout.

More Ways To Train Your Hamstrings

• Five Hamstring Stretches To Keep Your Legs Loose
• The Best Hamstring Workout To Strengthen Your Hammies
• How To Do The Glute-Ham Raise

Compound exercises are great at sparking new muscle growth. Targeting more than one major muscle group in one move not only provides your muscles’ fibres with the stimulus to increase in size, but also sets off processes that boost your recovery and results.

It’s hard to argue with anyone who says the best compound leg exercise is the squat, which works your quads, glutes and hamstrings in one fell swoop. But that’s not to say there aren’t highly effective alternatives, and one of those is the split squat.

The split squat stimulates the same leg muscles as the squat, but the single-leg foundation places a significant amount of tension on the abdominal muscles with the added benefit of boosting your overall functional strength.

Split Squat Benefits

The split squat targets the same muscles as the unweighted squat, which is pretty much every muscle in the lower body, with the glutes and quads doing most of the work. However, by adopting a split stance you place the focus on one side of the body at a time. This means you can identify and then work on any strength imbalances in your body, so that when you return to standard squats both sides of the body are pulling their weight, so to speak.

Another benefit of the staggered stance is that it creates more tension in the abs, which you should keep engaged throughout the movement to ensure proper form and improve your core strength.

How To Do The Split Squat

The unweighted squat, or air squat, is an exercise that ticks a lot of boxes. It’s one of the best bodyweight exercises you can do, suitable for all levels of fitness, increases your functional strength and targets multiple muscle groups in the lower body as well as working your core.

It’s pretty much perfect as leg exercises go, but once you’ve figured out how to do a squat with perfect form take things up a notch. For one thing it’s worth increasing the challenge involved with progressions like squat jumps and the goblet squat, or even the barbell back squat. For another it’s important to mix in some unilateral work using the split squat, which lets you work one side of the body at a time.

Barbell Split Squat Form Tips

• Keep your knees in line with your toes.
• Initiate the movement with the back leg rather than front. This reduces the risk of injury on your front knee.

Split Squat Variations

It’s good to get to grips with the split squat by doing it without any resistance at first, but once you’re sure you’ve nailed the form you can increase the difficulty by adding weight. You can hold a dumbbell in each hand or a kettlebell against your chest, but the most common progression is the barbell split squat.

Barbell split squat

Engage your upper traps as you would with a barbell squat and position the bar across this area. Step back out of the rack and then take a long step forwards, raising your back heel so your foot is supported by the toes. Retract your shoulders, and keep your chest and chin elevated. Lower slowly, flexing at the knee on the front leg, until your back knee is almost touching the floor. Keeping your core engaged, rise to the start position. Make sure you initiate the movement with the back leg rather than the front. This reduces the risk of injury to your front knee.

It’s always tempting to skip leg day, mostly because no-one enjoys the DOMS that tends to follow a hard set of leg exercises. No weight-training plan is complete, however, without at least one leg-focused workout a week. 

This doesn’t need to involve shifting barbells loaded with heavy weights. You can work your legs out effectively at home with no equipment or just a set of dumbbells. 

We’ve picked our favourite beginner leg exercises to do at home and at the gym below, and we also have a section on the best leg exercises to do with dumbbells. Some of the moves have been picked out by Andy Page, strength and conditioning coach at the new Pure Sports Medicine Chancery Lane clinic, and we’ve supplemented those with our own favourites.

Beginner Leg Exercises To Do At Home

Squat

The quintessential leg exercise, and one with endless variations, but it’s best to start with the unweighted or “air” squat. From standing, engage your core muscles, bend your knees and push your hips back to lower until your thighs are at least parallel to the floor. Push through your heels to come back up.

Lunge

From standing, take a big step forwards on one leg and lower until both knees are bent at a 90° angle – don’t let your back knee touch the floor. Push back through your front heel to standing. Keep your core engaged and torso upright throughout the exercise.

Glute bridge

“The glutes are often overlooked but they’re a key muscle group,” says Page. “Strong glutes will make everything from running and squatting easier, as well as helping to keep you injury-free. One of the most common causes of lower-back pain is poor glute activity.

“The bridge is a great way to work on your glutes. Lying on your back with knees bent and feet flat on the floor, squeeze your glutes and push your heels into the floor to lift your hips into a bridge. You should finish with your hips straight and abdominals tight.”

Calf raise

This simple leg exercise is just about the best way to work on your calves, which are not the easiest muscles in the body to target. If you’re a keen runner or sportsperson then calf raises are an absolute must, whether you do them in the gym or while waiting for the kettle to boil.

While standing, push down through the balls of your feet and raise your heel so you are up on your toes, then lower again. You can also do calf raises with your toes on the edge of a step which allows for a greater range of movement at the bottom of the move, or add weight to increase the challenge.

Bent-knee calf raise

The classic calf raise focuses on the gastrocnemius muscle – the larger calf muscle – while the bent-knee variation of the move works the soleus, which is smaller but no less important. When adding the exercise to your routine it’s worth doing an equal mix of normal and bent-knee raises, and it’s easy to switch between them during a set – simply bend your knees slightly.

Wall sit

A nice easy leg exercise, this. Find a wall and sit back against it so your thighs are parallel to the ground and your knees are bent at 90°. Wait, did we say easy? We meant horribly hard, because after the first 15 seconds or so holding this position becomes absolute murder on your thighs. It’s worth it, though, because you’ll build serious strength in your quads. If you’re a runner you’ll be pleased to learn the move can help prevent the all-too-common injury known as runner’s knee.

Dumbbell Leg Exercises

Goblet squat

“Any lower-body programme should be built on the ability to squat,” says Page, “and the goblet squat is the ideal way to perfect the movement before moving on to its more complex cousins.

“Hold a kettlebell or dumbbell close to your chest, push your hips back and squat down slowly until your thighs are parallel to the ground. From this position, drive up to standing, leading with your chest. Working in front of a mirror will help to keep your knees in line with your feet and torso upright.”

Dumbbell step-up

“The ability to lunge with good form has great carryover benefits to many other sporting movements as well as strengthening your hamstrings, quads, glutes and hips,” says Page. “With a dumbbell in each hand, lunge forwards and bend your front knee until your back knee is just above the ground, then drive back up. Bring the back leg through to initiate the next lunge and walk forwards to continue the movement. Focus on keeping your torso upright.”

Single-leg Romanian deadlift

“This move incorporates balance, proprioception (your sense of where your body parts are positioned) and glute control as well as hamstring training,” says Page, “making it a great way to make the most of your training time.

“Holding a kettlebell or dumbbell in your left hand, lift your left leg straight behind you and lean forwards over your right leg by pushing your hips backwards, feeling the stretch down your right hamstring. Practise facing the mirror to keep your head up and your back straight, and make sure you are moving in straight lines and not rotating over your standing leg.”

Split squat

This compound exercise works the quads, hamstrings and glutes, and the single-leg focus makes it a great move for all athletes but runners in particular. From standing, take a big step forwards like you would with a lunge. Drop your back knee until it is almost touching the ground, then drive back up but stay in the split stance. Perform all your reps on one leg, then switch to the other.

Farmer’s walk

There’s a limit to the weight you can carry in this move, but that doesn’t mean your legs will have it easy – they’re going to spend more time under tension than in a typical sets and reps move. Walk holding heavy dumbbells or kettlebells by your sides with your core braced and chest up.

Gym Leg Exercises

Leg curl

The leg curl requires the use of a dedicated weights machine, so it’s one to do in the gym unless your house is unusually well kitted out with a multigym. The reason for doing leg curls is simple – it’s one of the most effective ways to strengthen your hamstrings. To do a seated leg curl (some gyms also have machines you lie on to perform the move), sit on and set up the machine so the padded lever sits just below your calves (also refer to the instructions on the specific machine you’re using). Raise your legs in front of you, then pull the lever back down using your legs.

Leg extension

This weights machine exercise isolates your quads and is simple to perform, but it’s best done with light weights at first to avoid any risk of damaging your knees. Sit on the leg extension machine with your back straight against the backrest and adjust the pad so it sits on your shins just above the ankles. Hold the side bars and extend your legs out in front of you, making sure you’re powering the movement with your quads rather than kicking up with your feet.

Leg press

The leg press is another machine move, but unlike the leg extension and leg curl it doesn’t just focus on one muscle group: it works the quads, glutes and hamstrings in one fell swoop. Sit back on the machine with your feet on the plate shoulder-width apart. Release the handles so your legs take the weight, then lower your legs towards your chest slowly. Drive them back up, but don’t lock out your knees.

Hex bar deadlift

“Deadlifting is a great way to build strength in the posterior chain – your hamstrings, glutes and back – and lifting with the hex bar makes it far more accessible,” says Page.

“Standing inside the hex bar, hold both handles securely and lower your hips so they are as close to the height of your hands as possible. Slowly take the tension on the bar and then stand up, pushing through your glutes, to lift the bar. Keep your chest high with your head facing forward during the whole movement. When performed properly, the hex bar deadlift is a particularly good option for anyone with a sore back from years of orthodox deadlifting.”

Barbell back squat

Once you’re comfortable with squatting without weights and dumbbell/kettlebell moves like the goblet squat, it’s time to step up to the barbell back squat. It’s a powerhouse of a move that delivers big benefits to your legs, but you need to do it right.

Unrack the bar and rest it on your rear shoulder muscles, standing with your feet about shoulder-width apart and your toes turned slightly outwards. Start the movement by sitting back as if aiming for a chair behind you, lowering until your thighs are at least parallel to the ground, then drive through your heels back to standing.

Sled push

Shifting a prowler sled is a tough but low-impact move, which makes it a fine option for runners who go to the gym to cross-train. Grasp the handles of the sled as low down as possible – if you hold on too high you may apply force downwards rather than forwards – with either bent or straight arms. Then push off the balls of your feet to drive the sled forwards. Getting going is the hardest part; it gets somewhat easier after that. If you’re looking to develop power, choose a light weight and move fast, aiming for four one-minute rounds. For strength, load up the sled and do sets of short distances, resting after each effort.

Box jump

While some leg exercises increase your strength, this plyometric exercise will improve your power and can be a real pulse-raiser too. Find your gym’s plyo box – pick a height that you’re sure you can land comfortably on – and stand facing it square on. Looking at the box, pick a spot that you want to land on, squat down to half depth to help generate power then explode up, swinging your arms forwards as you do to ensure that your jump takes you onto the box. Land softly, bending your knees to absorb the shock, then stand. For your knees’ sake, step down from the box rather than jumping.

TRX Bulgarian split squat

“This move both challenges single-leg stability and hits the posterior chain really hard,” says Page. “The position should resemble a lunge and targets similar muscle groups – the difference is that it recruits more muscle fibres.

“Face away from the rig with one of your feet in the handle of a TRX (or any suspension trainer), keeping your head up. Squat down on your standing leg. Ensure you are pushing back with the suspended leg and keeping your torso upright during the movement to minimise strain on the knee and maximise glute activation.

“At first, no weight will be needed and only light weights should be added as you progress.”

Hang clean

“The slower of the two Olympic lifts, the clean is a fantastic way to build power and explosiveness,” says Page, ”and the hang clean is a great version of the move to start with because it doesn’t require substantial mobility to perfect.

“Starting with the bar held at mid-thigh height, lower yourself into a powerful jumping position. Then forcibly extend your ankles, knees and hips to drive the bar up towards your shoulders. Drop under the bar, pivoting your arms around to catch it across the front of your shoulders. You should definitely ask one of the trainers in the gym for some tips before attempting this for the first time.”

Overhead squat

“If you can master the king of lower-body exercises, you’ll see the effect on your lower-body and core strength, shoulder stability, and mobility from your shoulders to your ankles,” says Page. “Holding a bar over the crown of your head, with your hands wider than shoulder-width apart, squat down as low as possible and use your glutes to drive back up to the starting position. Start with light loads until you master the technique – and prepare for a challenge!”

It’s tempting to rely on clanking gym machines and heavy barbells on leg day, but you can use much lighter equipment and still challenge yourself – as proved by this simple legs workout which uses only dumbbell exercises. This six-move routine has been designed by personal trainer Cian O’Reilly, who is a huge advocate for glute workouts.

“Your glutes are crucial when performing lower-body exercise,” she says. “They are part of your ‘core network’, so building strength in these muscles is paramount for protecting you from injury and supporting safe movement – like when performing squats, for example.”

She advises that this workout is for people with a bit of experience with weights, but it can be modified for all levels. If you’re struggling with an exercise or aren’t sure your form is on point, try ditching the dumbbell and completing the movement with just your bodyweight. You’ll also find plenty of beginner-friendly moves with our picks of the best leg exercises and glute exercises for all levels.

The exercises target the glutes, quads and hamstrings, with the glutes and quads picking up most of the work during the concentric (lifting) phase of the movement. We recommend performing this home glute workout first to activate the muscles before you add weight.

You will need a pair of dumbbells (shop our recommendations for the best dumbbells to equip your home with some) and a box or bench.

There are a couple of ways to turn these dumbbell leg exercises into a workout. O’Reilly suggests a superset circuit format. Perform all the reps of exercise one, then all the reps of exercise two, then rest for 30 seconds. Move on to exercises three and four, and use the same format. Take 60 seconds rest after exercises five and six. That’s one circuit. Complete four circuits in total. 

If you’re short on time, try performing each exercise as a circuit for 45 seconds with 15 seconds of rest for four rounds. 

1 Bulgarian split squat

Reps 8-10 Rest 0sec

Stand facing away from a knee-high box or bench, holding dumbbells by your sides. Place one foot on the box. Your toes or the top of your foot can be resting on the box. 

Keeping your back straight and ensuring your front knee doesn’t go further forwards than your toes, bend your front knee to lower. Drive through your front foot to stand for one rep. Do all your reps on one side then switch legs.

The depth of your squat will depend on your range of motion but aim for a 90° bend in your front knee. Try to avoid turning your back knee during the descent – keep your hips square. You can progress the exercise by pressing back up explosively to add a small hop.

2 Frog squat

Reps 10-12 Rest 30sec

Stand with your feet wider than shoulder-width apart with your toes pointing out at 45°. Hinge forwards at your hips and bend your knees into a low squat position; your back should be straight with your shoulders pulled back and bum low. Hook your elbows to the inside of your knees to prevent them from collapsing inwards, and hold one dumbbell in both hands. Slowly tilt your chest forwards towards the ground and lift your bum without fully extending your knees, then return to your starting position for one rep. 

Continue in a see-saw motion. 

3 Sumo deadlift

Reps 8-10 Rest 0sec

Stand with your feet wider than shoulder-width apart and your toes pointing out at 45°, with the dumbbells on the floor between your feet. 

Hinge forwards at the hips and push your bum back, while keeping your chest up and back flat, and bend your knees to reach down and take hold of the dumbbells. Engage your core, move your shoulders back and down, then squeeze your glutes and drive through your heels to stand for one rep.

Thrust your hips forwards as you stand but not too far, otherwise you will overextend. Avoid any rounding through your spine. 

4 Glute bridge with butterfly abduction

Reps 8-10 Rest 30sec

Lie on your back with the soles of your feet together, heels close to your bum and knees splayed to the sides. Tilt your pelvis towards your spine to flatten your lower back, and place a dumbbell on your hips. 

Engage your core and glutes, then push through the sides of your feet to lift your hips until you form a straight line from your shoulders to your knees; you should feel your outer glutes engage. Pause at the top, then slowly lower back down.

To progress this exercise, place your feet on a box or bench to create a deficit and increase the range of motion through your spine. Try to keep your hips lifted at the top of the movement to prevent pressure on your lower back. 

5 Step-up

Reps 8-10 each side Rest 0sec

Stand in front of a box or bench at knee height, holding dumbbells. Engage your core, then place your right foot on the box and push yourself up to bring your left foot onto the box. Step down leading with your right leg for one rep. Repeat on the other side. To progress this exercise, choose a higher surface to step on.

6 Single-leg box squat

Reps 8-10 Rest 60sec

Stand facing away from a box or bench, holding a heavy pair of dumbbells close to your chest. Move your weight into your right leg and begin to lift your left leg out in front of you as if you were doing a pistol squat. Bend your right knee to lower your bum onto the box. Press through your right foot, keeping your left leg lifted, to stand for one rep. Do all your reps on one side, then switch legs. 

The Smith machine is a piece of equipment that those new to the gym often avoid. Not only does it look pretty imposing, it’s also popular with regulars so you have to queue for it and then do your sets while others wait, which can feel intimidating.

However, while everyone can benefit from using the Smith machine, it’s perhaps most useful for beginners unsure about doing barbell back squats. The Smith machine has a fixed path for the bar and you can re-rack it at any point, making it less nerve-racking to load a heavy weight on your back. 

It's a safer option all round, and even if you’re used to doing barbell back squats there can be a benefit to switching to the Smith machine later on in a workout when you’re tired because it helps to maintain good technique.

When using a Smith machine, as with all weights machines, the fixed path of the bar does mean that you won’t enlist as many stabiliser muscles as you do with the barbell back squat, and the benefits to your core strength will be reduced as a result. However, you will still be working your quads, glutes and hamstrings in the same way.

How To Do The Smith Machine Squat

Crouch under the racked bar and rest it on the back of your shoulders, holding it with your palms facing forwards. Your feet should be shoulder-width apart with your toes turned slightly out, and positioned slightly in front of the bar. 

The path of the bar in some Smith machines is slightly angled. If that is the case, stand so you’re facing away from the slope, so the bar comes forwards as you lower.

Engage your core muscles and lift the bar out of the rack. Lower into a squat, bending at the hips and knees until your thighs are parallel to the ground. Push through your heels to come back up to standing. Keep your chest up and look forwards throughout the lift to keep your spine in a neutral position.

One of the most common mistakes people make with resistance training is to assume that it’s something that only youngsters looking to build bulging muscles should do. The truth is that everyone can benefit from resistance training, and those who suffer from joint pain in particular will find it can greatly improve the strength and mobility of their body.

For more information on the benefits of resistance training for your joints, we spoke to Nuffield Health’s head of physiotherapy John Doyle.

Who should be doing exercises to strengthen their joints?

“Virtually everyone can benefit from undertaking resistance or strength training exercises,” says Doyle. “There are a huge number of positive benefits that can be gained through this form of activity, not just muscle size gains.

“Physiotherapists find that a lot of people think strength training is only for those who are young, fit and healthy, and believe that they shouldn’t do it because they have pain, they are too old or too unfit, or because they are worried they might hurt themselves. However, these are the people who can benefit the most. In terms of strength training, there is generally no such thing as a bad exercise – it is just a case of knowing where to start and how to progress sensibly to achieve individual goals.

“Strength training has been proven to be effective in both the treatment and prevention of joint pains such as back pain, shoulder pain and arthritis. In fact, strength training should be an integral part of treatment for all musculoskeletal conditions and has been recommended by the National Institute of Clinical Excellence.”

Can strength training help reduce joint pain?

“Pain is highly complex and involves many factors that all interact to create the experience of pain that each individual feels,” says Doyle. “However, strength training can positively affect many of these factors.

“Undertaking resistance training has been proven to reduce the level of chemicals in the body related to inflammation. Less inflammation can result in significant improvements in pain.

“Strength training is a really effective way to help people lose weight. Many people still believe that in order to lose weight they must undertake cardiovascular exercise, but high-intensity resistance training can deliver great results too. This has a direct impact on pain through a reduction in stresses and strains on the joint but also potentially through a reduction in chemicals related to inflammations.”

How often should you do resistance training?

“The required frequency and intensity of resistance exercise remains a hotly debated topic,” says Doyle. “The reality is that something is better than nothing and everyone has to start somewhere. Getting into a routine with goals will help keep up the motivation to continue to exercise. The benefits aren’t immediate and can take many weeks to appear, so it is important that people stick with it.”

Joint-Strengthening Exercises

Doyle recommends doing the following four exercises to strengthen the hip and knee joints. If you have already suffered from symptoms of osteoarthritis, common signs of which include soreness, swelling or aching in the joints during or after activity, check with a healthcare professional before tackling the exercises.

Wall squat

Sets 3 Reps 15 Rest 30sec

“Stand with your back against a wall with your feet about 60cm away from the wall,” says Doyle. “Slide down the wall by bending your knees as far as you can comfortably go. Pause briefly at the bottom of the squat, then straighten your knees to slide back up the wall.”

Glute bridge

Sets 3 Reps 15 Rest 30sec

“Lie on the floor with your knees bent so that your feet are flat on the floor and slightly apart,” says Doyle. “Lift your hips up from the floor as high as you comfortably can manage. Pause briefly at the top, then slowly lower your hips to the floor.”

Single-leg balance

Reps 3 each leg Time 30sec

“Practise standing on one leg with a straight or slightly bent knee,” says Doyle. “Have something solid nearby to hold on to in case you lose your balance.”

Straight-leg raise

Sets 3 Reps 15 Rest 30

“Lie on your back with one knee bent and the other straight,” says Doyle. “Lift the straight leg 30cm off the floor making sure you keep it straight. Pause briefly, then lower back to the floor.”

See related

• Give Your Joints A Break With This Low-Impact Workout From Studio FLY LDN
• Look After Your Legs With These Knee-Strengthening Exercises
• This Shoulder Workout Will Strengthen Your Shoulder Joints Without Weights

The above exercises should be suitable for people of all fitness levels, but if you are already a regular gym-goer Doyle suggests doing these three additional exercises.

Romanian deadlift

“Many people are put off deadlifts worrying that having a slight bend to their back will have disastrous consequences,” says Doyle. “My advice would be to start light and build up the weight as you feel able. Also if you don’t feel confident doing a full deadlift, reduce the range of motion.”

For the Romanian deadlift you start with the barbell in your hands, rather than on the floor. With a slight bend in your knees, lower the weight until you feel a slight stretch in your hamstrings, then drive your hips forwards and use your hamstrings to stand back up.

Goblet squat

“This is technically easier than the back squat but still demanding on the big muscles in your legs and trunk,” says Doyle. “Hold a dumbbell or kettlebell with both hands, tucked in to your chest. Descend slowly as far as you feel comfortable, sticking your bottom out as if you were going to sit down on a chair. As you rise from the squat position, concentrate on pushing your hips forwards. Some people like to have a chair or gym bench behind them as they learn the technique to help them know how low to go.”

Hip thruster

“These are a great way of really working the gluteal muscles hard,” says Doyle. “These muscles are absolutely vital for strong and pain-free hip and knee joints. Sit with your bottom on the floor and your upper back against a weights bench. With the feet flat on floor drive your hips up by pushing your heels into the floor. At the top of the movement your shins should be vertical. Pause at the top of the movement and squeeze your glutes as hard as you can, then slowly lower to the floor. When you master this, you can add weight by holding a barbell across your hips.”

The leg press is sometimes looked down on as an inferior leg exercise to the back squat. But while there’s no doubt the barbell move is one of the finest lower-body exercises, that shouldn’t blind you to the many benefits of the leg press. For an exercise with quite a short range of motion, it’s highly effective at training the quads, glutes and hamstrings.

Like the rest of your gym’s weights machines, it may not train all the stabilizing muscles in your joints or recruit the core muscles in the same way that free-weights exercises do. But working in a fixed movement pattern with a resistance machine can be very useful for isolating the exact muscle you’re looking to train and moving a lot of weight safely. 

We want to help you make good use of this leg-strengthening stalwart, so we asked USA Weightlifting-certified coach Karl Bratland to explain how to use the leg press machine properly, how to avoid common mistakes and when to use it instead of a traditional barbell back squat. 

Types Of Leg Press Machine

Most gyms will have two kinds of leg press machine.

The horizontal leg press machine involves sitting in a moveable chair with your feet resting on a horizontal plate. You select the weight by moving a pin in a weight stack and then push the seat away from the plate by straightening your legs. This type of leg press machine is better for beginners and doing variations like single-leg leg presses and leg press calf raises.

The angled or 45° leg press machine involves you sitting at an angle that puts your feet against a platform above your head. You select the weight by moving a pin, then use a safety catch to release the weight. Lower the platform towards you by bending your knees, then straighten your legs.

How To Do A Leg Press

Here’s Bratland’s expert guide for the 45° leg press machine. 

“You want your feet a little bit outside shoulder-width apart, toes slightly angled out, although this is going to depend on what’s comfortable for you,” says Bratland.

“If you have longer legs or femurs [thigh bones] your feet will probably need to be a little bit wider. If you’re shorter you can put your legs a little narrower. It’s harder to go as deep [with a narrow stance] if you’re taller.”

You will need to twist or move a handle near the seat to release a safety catch. Make sure you’re supporting the platform with slightly bent knees before you do this and you’re ready to take the weight. 

“Unrack the weight and control it down by bending your knees,” says Bratland. “Try to get to a point where your thighs are parallel to the platform. Then drive through your feet to return to the starting position. 

“At the top of the rep, you want to have your knees slightly bent so your leg muscles stay engaged.”

Leg Press Foot Position

“If you put your feet higher up [on the platform] it will hit your glutes and your hamstrings a little bit more,” says Bratland. “Putting your feet lower on the platform will hit your quads a little bit more. 

“It’s the same thing with putting your feet a little bit narrower. This will work your quads more, and if you put them wider it will be more glute- and hamstring-focused.

“Slight changes like this can help target certain muscles slightly more, but all variations are still going to hit your glutes, quads and hamstrings.”

Common Leg Press Mistakes

1. Locking Your Knees

“If you have a lot of weight on there and lock out the knee, you could get hurt or hyperextend the knee,” says Bratland. “If your knee has a lot of weight while it’s trying to resist hyperextension, that can be bad on the joint and the cartilage.”

2. Lifting Your Heels

“People not keeping their heels flat is another common mistake I see,” says Bratland. “We don’t want to see any part of the sole of your foot lift off at any stage of the exercise.”

3. Not Going Deep Enough

“The leg press is a machine you can load a lot of weight on easily, but then people start doing quarter squats and feeling really strong,” says Bratland. “It’s better to lower the weight, use a full range of motion and get as much muscle activation as you can.”

Leg Press Pros

“It’s great for beginners,” says Blake Newbold, PT and manager at PureGym Coventry. “There is less potential breakdown in the movement pattern, which makes it easier to overload the target muscles, and there is virtually no technical barrier for people to learn the leg press—it’s much easier to master than squatting! You also don’t need a spotter, making it ideal for those who go to the gym alone.

“It’s a great tool for hypertrophy—muscle growth—especially to effectively maximise quadriceps size. The shorter range of motion, in combination with the stabilisation of the back, lends itself well to constant tension which are needed for muscular growth.

“The leg press doesn’t load the spine, so it won’t aggravate lower-back problems.

“You can adjust which leg muscles get extra emphasis simply by changing your foot position on the footpad.

“It’s easy to adjust the weight on a leg press machine—either move the pin or slide on or off a plate depending on which type of leg press machine it is. This makes it ideal for drop sets.”

Leg Press Cons

“The leg press won’t fit all body types equally,” says Newbold. “Machines aren’t fully adjustable, and the range of movement might not fit every one of us.

“The central nervous system (CNS) won’t be challenged as much as with a squat. A squat demands more co-ordination, which is important for the body to develop. If you improve CNS efficiency, your strength potential and capacity to increase performance in other movements will go up.

“Your workout won’t be as well rounded. Because of the stability that the machines provide you won’t work your stabiliser muscles as well. Squatting leads to higher levels of quad, hamstring, gluteus maximus and erector spinae activity than the leg press machine can offer.

“There’s a false sense of safety. Don’t be fooled by the comfort that the leg press machine provides. Yes, your back is supported more but if you bend your knees too deeply and lower the weight too far, you can still round your lower back, which can lead to injury. You also need to avoid fully extending the knees into lock-out at the top of the movement – this will transfer all the weight from the muscle to the joint and could cause serious injury.”

Leg Press Vs Squat: What’s the Best Lower-Body Move for You?

This isn’t an either/or situation. There’s a strong case to be made for including both these movements in your gym workout routine. It’s just a case of knowing which one to use and when.

“Obviously they’re both going to build leg strength and muscle,” says Bratland. “Deciding which one to use depends on what you want. If you just want to hit the muscles without worrying about stabilization or balance then the leg press is the one to go for. 

“But the squat is probably going to activate more muscles because you’re going to need 

core stability, and you’re going to be moving more of your body through space. It’s also a little bit more functional.”

The leg press can be easier on the back, however, because you don’t have any weight compressing your spine. It can also be a good option if mobility is a major issue for you.

“You sometimes see people bend forward on the squat,” Bratland says. “You don’t have that issue with the leg press. 

“If you lack mobility, you’re a beginner or you struggle with stabilizing or maintaining good position through the squat, the leg press might be a good place to start to prevent injury and try to get some strength and muscle built up in your legs first.”

Read on for a crash course in when to stick with the traditional barbell back squat, and when to swerve it in favor of the leg press machine. 

Use The Leg Press If…

You need assistance work If you want your legs to grow, the leg press can be a good way to add volume to your workouts without risking failure under the bar. Try Jim Wendler’s Triumvirate workout: three sets of five squats, five sets of 15 on the leg press, and 4 sets of 10 on the leg curl. Good luck with those changing room stairs.

Your main goal is fat loss Yes, it can be an effective fat-loss tool. Load it up with a weight that’s just under your usual 10-rep max, and do leg press Tabatas—20 seconds of as many reps as possible, 10 seconds off, repeated 8 times. Because the machine’s on a set path, you can push yourself without worrying about form.

You’re too weak to squat This is unlikely: even back squats with an unloaded bar would strengthen your legs and let you push the weight up eventually. But if you’re completely de-conditioned, the leg press can be an option to build up some basic strength.

You need the extra support The leg press machine acts as a guide to proper leg and back positioning for you as you work your quadriceps. For example, most leg-press machines feature a padded backrest, which promotes proper posture while also supporting your back. Many leg presses also offer hand rests for you to place your hands on while your legs do the work. This means your chance of injury is reduced as you're less likely to take up the wrong position.

Use Squats If…

You’re training to be functional Lying on your back and shoving a platform away might give you strong legs, but it’s unlikely to give you a more powerful rugby tackle or improve your 5K time. In studies, squats show huge levels of posterior chain and core activation, which will strengthen your body as a unit, making you better at… well, pretty much everything.

You want to work every muscle in your legs According to a 2001 study, squats activated more rectus femoris, vastus lateralis, vastus medialis, lateral hamstring and gastrocnemius than leg presses. Translation: as well as your quads, squats work your calves, hamstrings and glutes too.

You want to get huge Though you’ll often see bodybuilders on the leg press, the all-time greats—Arnold, Dave Draper, Lou ‘The Hulk’ Ferrigno and Ronnie Coleman all swear by the squat. And you don't know more about training than them.

You want to improve your core strength Since squats are typically loaded from top to bottom, either in the form of a barbell or a dumbbell, your core has to work double-time to prevent injury and maintain an upright posture. In terms of building your six-pack, heavy compound exercises like squats should be a staple.

Chest day – Mondays, always. Leg day – avoided, mostly. Calf day – not a thing. “It’s such a small muscle group, there’s no sense in coming to the gym just to focus on that,” says Ero Unuabona, PT at PureGym Leeds. His solution? Base a leg session around squats, lunges and Romanian deadlifts, then add on two or three of his recommended calf exercises below.

It’s just not aesthetics that might persuade you to include these isolation exercises. Your calves support the triple extension – the extension of your ankle, hips and knees – when you’re running or jumping, so developing your calves can help you to develop force there.

Unuabona has suggested a range of movements to train your calves: the final one is best left to people with some training experience – if in doubt, ask a PT on the gym floor for advice. The fundamental rep ranges to use are three to five to develop power, eight to 12 to build strength, and 15 plus for size.

The Best Calf Exercises

Hands on hips vertical jump

With your hands on your hips, bend your knees to lower slightly, no further than a quarter squat, then explosively jump straight up. Land softly, reset, then repeat. Make sure you pause between reps so you can generate the same level of force in your last rep as you did in your first.

Bodyweight calf raise

From standing, raise yourself on to your toes, then lower slowly.

Loaded calf raise

Holding free weights – dumbbells, kettlebells or a barbell – raise yourself on to your toes, then lower slowly. The addition of extra weight will stimulate a strength response.

See related

• The Best Leg Exercises For All Levels Of Gym-Goer
• The Best Leg Exercises For Runners
• Do This Leg Workout At Home To Strengthen Your Lower Body

Seated calf press

The seated position allows you to overload the movement. Sit with a weight resting just above your knees. Raise your feet up on to your toes, then lower slowly.

Seated single-leg calf press

Sit with a weight resting on one knee. Raise your foot up on to your toes, then lower slowly. Do all your reps on one side, then switch.

Leg press machine calf raise

This is best reserved for people with more experience with resistance training, especially if using the incline leg press. Set up in the leg press machine, but put the balls of your feet on the plate, rather than the entire foot, with your legs almost straight, keeping a slight bend in the knee. Flex your foot to push away from the plate, then lower slowly.

The answer to the question who should be doing knee-strengthening exercises regularly is a simple one – everyone.

“The knee is the largest joint in the body and is involved in most activities of daily living, such as walking and getting up from sitting,” says Dr Folusha Oluwajana, a GP and level 3 personal trainer. “Knee pain is a common complaint in people of all ages and does not only affect people who are very active.

“Knee-strengthening exercises can reduce your risk of pain and injury, and also help relieve your symptoms if you are suffering from knee pain. Knee pain can be caused by acute injury or overuse in people who are active, but also can be linked to inactivity and weakness. In addition, as we get older we lose more muscle mass and strength, which can contribute to knee pain so older people should also consider knee-strengthening exercises to counteract this. Everyone should be doing knee-strengthening exercises!”

As for the exercises to do, Oluwajana has suggested several great options below. Just make sure you take a sensible approach if you’re coming to them as a beginner.

“Knee-strengthening exercises can usually be done easily and safely by most people as a preventive practice,” says Oluwajana. “Start slow, especially if you are new to strengthening exercise, to avoid causing injury. Build up the intensity over time by increasing how often you perform the exercises and adding resistance.”

If you’re already suffering from knee pain, then you can try using some exercises to address it, but it’s certainly wise to seek advice from a professional first.

“Sometimes rest and self-care using some knee-strengthening exercises can help improve the problem,” says Oluwajana. “However, recurring or chronic knee pain is often actually the last sign that you have a problem – the problem is likely to have begun well before your developed pain.

“Identifying the underlying problem and cause of your pain will allow you to target your rehab and exercises more effectively to directly treat the problem and also prevent recurrence. This is why it is a good idea to get the opinion of a professional, such as a physiotherapist or doctor, if you are suffering from knee pain.”

Knee-Strengthening Exercises: Quads

“Quad-strengthening exercises are essential for developing knee strength and stability,” says Oluwajana. “The quadriceps muscle is the large muscle at the front of your thigh, which inserts into the front of the knee joint and is responsible for extension, or straightening the knee."

Lying straight leg raise

Lie on your back, with your working leg extended and your non-working leg bent at the knee. Activate the quadriceps of your working leg by pushing the back of your knee down into the floor. Raise the leg without bending your knee, to about height of the knee of the non-working leg, and lower with control. Repeat on the opposite side.

Leg extension

Start sitting in a chair with both knees bent and your feet on the floor. Extend and straighten your right leg so that it forms a straight line parallel to the floor. Lower with control. Repeat on the opposite side. You can increase the difficulty by looping a resistance band around your ankle and attaching it to something behind you, or by using ankle weights.

Lateral step-down

Stand sideways on a step, with your right foot on the step and your left off the step. Bend your right knee to slowly lower. Lightly tap your left heel on the floor, then push through the right foot, straightening your knee to return to the start position. Do not push off your left foot when it meets the floor. Repeat on the opposite side. Start with a low step, and increase the height of the step as you get stronger.

Knee-Strengthening Exercises: Hamstrings

“The hamstring is the muscle at the back of the thigh that inserts into the back of the knee, and it also plays an important role in knee health and strength,” says Oluwajana. “It is responsible for flexion – bending the knee joint.”

Hamstring curl

Lie face down on the floor with a resistance band around your right ankle attached to something sturdy behind you. This can also be done standing, facing the anchor point. Bend your knee, bringing your ankle towards your bottom against the resistance of the band. Lower back to the start with control. Repeat on the other side.

See related 

• The Best Resistance Bands: Plus, Black Friday 2021 Deals On The Best Resistance Bands
• Help Avoid Runner’s Knee With These Exercises And Expert Advice
• Runner’s Knee: What Is It, Why Does It Happen And How Do You Avoid It?
• How To Do The Wall Sit: A Great Exercise To Prevent Runner’s Knee

Knee-Strengthening Exercises: Other Stabilising Muscles

“Knee strength is also dependent on the muscles and joints close to the knee, particularly the hip and glute muscles,” says Oluwajana. “Muscles here help provide stability to the knee, and knee pain can often be a sign of weak glutes.”

Lying hip abduction

Lie on your side, with your bottom leg bent and your top leg extended. Keeping the top leg straight, raise it, leading with your heel. Lower to the start position. Repeat on the other side.

Lunge with lateral resistance

This exercise strengthens the quads and the hip muscles – external rotators and glutes – as well improving your balance and neuromuscular co-ordination.

Stand in a split stance, with your right foot flat on the floor in front of you and your left foot behind you with the left heel raised. Place a resistance band on the outside of the right leg just above the knee attached to something sturdy to the left of you.

Perform a split squat by bending both knees and lowering your back knee, while simultaneously counteracting the pull of the resistance band and ensuring your front knee stays in line with your first or second toes and does not cave in. Repeat on the opposite side. You can add resistance by holding weights.

Dr Folusha Oluwajana is a GP and personal trainer who offers fitness consultations, personal training and exercise plans suitable for all abilities. For more info visit fitdocfolu.com

First question: are you sitting comfortably?

Roger Frampton certainly appears to be, legs crossed on the floor, as we discuss his new book, Stretch: Seven Daily Movements to Set Your Body Free. And that’s because he’s already spent the morning releasing and realigning his spine, hips and shoulders from the rigours of modern life.

Since qualifying as a movement coach in 2011, the 37-year-old has become a mobility missionary, spreading the good word of conscious movement, bodyweight exercises, gymnastics and yoga to his many thousands of followers across Instagram and YouTube. And his influence is growing: his 2016 TED Talk, Why Sitting Down Destroys You, has been viewed over four million times.

In 2018 Frampton published his first book, The Flexible Body, exploring this theme. Now, with Stretch, Frampton has drawn up a seven-step action plan to reverse the damage of our sedentary life and help us regain the fluid movement we took for granted as kids.

We joined him (on the floor, naturally) via video call to learn more about his new book, and asked him for some hip mobility drills to help us get back off the floor.

What are the seven daily movements covered in Stretch?

“These movements focus on the critical areas of the body, specifically the spine, hips and shoulders, as well as your balance, which is essential for overall mobility,” says Frampton. “We also cover common problem areas, like the IT band and hip flexors, which can lead to pain and injury.

“The book includes seven principal stretches, with variations on each, that will help improve everyday movement. Each exercise takes just a minute to perform and there are six levels you can build up to, depending on your flexibility and mobility.”

Is it all beginner-friendly?

“This book is for those just wanting to get started. I want it to resonate with people’s parents and grandparents, and especially for those who sit at a desk for eight hours a day.

“At the same time, it will help anyone looking to get stronger. It doesn’t matter if you’re 25 or 75. Everything in the book is scalable and starts with just seven minutes a day. As long as your body isn’t getting any tighter, you’re making huge progress.”

Can stretching make you stronger too?

“In gymnastics, which is an inspiration for much of my coaching, as you improve in your flexibility the strength movements become easier because you have more range of motion in your body. Whereas if you’re tight, you’re essentially fighting your own body.

“Because gymnasts are so flexible, they make strength moves look basic. For example, with a handstand, if you have flexible shoulders, a handstand should feel like no more effort than just standing. So by stretching regularly, using this book, people will find their flexibility, mobility and strength will all improve.”

In the book you say sitting is as bad for your health as smoking – so what should we do instead?

“There’s nothing wrong with sitting in a chair. The problem is if we’re always in the same position. The same is true with sports, like running, which involve repetitive movements. If that’s all you do it will eventually become problematic. Stretching is about variety and getting the body moving in different ways.”

Try these three tips from Frampton to avoid some of the problems that can come with too much sitting.

1. Imagine you have a tail. To avoid crushing it, you have to sit on your legs, not your bottom. It will naturally help untuck your pelvis and raise your chest for a better posture.
2. Uncross everything. Feet, arms, legs. Constant crossing, because it’s always on the same side, will twist your body into pain points. I know it’s comfortable but it’s a habit that you can break.
3. Finally, and especially if you’re working from home, sit on the floor, sit against a wall, kneel, stand. Mix it up throughout the day so you don’t get locked into one repetitive position.

See related 

• Four Back Stretches And Exercises To Prevent Painful Problems
• Loosen Up With This Full-Body Stretching Routine
• Treat Your Body To This 10-Minute Stretching Workout
• Three Easy Neck Exercises To Help Prevent Neck Pain

Three Essential Stretches For Hip Mobility

Now that we’ve cracked the curse of sitting, we asked Frampton for his go-to hip mobility drills from Stretch.

Remember, this set of stretches is just one of your seven essential daily movements, alongside four for the spine, one for the shoulders and one for balance, but it’s a good place to start if you want to keep your lower back and knees pain free.

“Ideally you should use these stretches after a workout, when you’re warm,” says Frampton. “If you’re doing them first thing in the morning when you’re cold, start light. Aim for around a four or five out of 10 for intensity and build it up over time.

“Aim for a minute on each side, building up to three minutes on each.”

1 Lazy wall stretch

All you need is a wall and a mat or firm-gripping surface to stop you sliding away mid-stretch.

Sit in a very slouched position with your back leaning against a wall and your legs out straight in front of you. Next, bend your right knee so the sole of your right foot is on the floor – you want the sole of the foot to be in contact with the floor at all times because you will use this as leverage. Next, pick up your left foot and place it on your right thigh. For more of a stretch, place the foot on the thigh; for less, lay your ankle on the thigh.

This is your base position. You can then make two adjustments to increase the stretch. Bring the sole of the right foot closer or sit up taller on the wall.

“For maximum stretch over time, work towards getting your lower back closer to the wall. As you progress, focus on lifting the chest to advance the stretch,” says Frampton.

2 Single-leg frog

This move targets the groin, but it can also be beneficial for the calves, hamstrings, hip flexors and quads. We recommend doing it on a mat with your heel and knee cushioned.

To begin, kneel on the floor next to a wall. Extend your right leg out to the side until your right foot is flat against the wall, toes pointing up and heel on the floor. Once comfortable, and really the key is comfort here, wiggle your left knee out as far away from the wall as you can while still remaining upright. You could also hold on to something in front of you, like a chair, and build up to placing your hands on your hips. Push your hips forwards to engage your glutes and increase the stretch.

“On the supporting leg, your heel and your knee should be in a straight line,” adds Frampton. “The toes can be tucked or untucked (pointing straight behind you). As you progress, the distance between the supporting knee and the opposite heel will increase.”

3 Elevated pigeon

This is one of Frampton’s favourite stretches, and he suggests using a sofa, low chair or table with a soft yoga block on top, and a mat or cushion under the knee.

Place your shin on top of the sofa, chair or low table so it is perpendicular to your body, and lower your back knee to the floor. If your raised knee doesn’t lie flat, use a couple of yoga blocks or cushions to support it. Over time it will be able to go lower. The shin of your back leg might rotate inwards because your hip is rotating out to one side. To combat this, squeeze the glute on your back leg. You may also get a bit of a quad and hip flexor stretch at the same time. Keep your body upright and try to relax into this position, then change over to the other side.

“As the heights [of the objects you might use] are so varied, the concept of what we are trying to achieve is most important,” says Frampton. “Essentially, the higher the surface I use, the more challenging the exercise becomes and the stronger the stretch is going to be.”

Stretch: Seven Daily Movements to Set Your Body Free by Roger Frampton is out now (£14.99, Pavilion Books)

You might not pay much attention to your inner thighs, but it’s important to exercise them for a number of reasons. One of those reasons is not because it’s desirable to develop a “thigh gap,” a misguided fitness goal for some women. The thigh gap is often down to genetics and really shouldn’t be paid any attention. Let’s all move on.

The inner thigh muscles, AKA your adductors, are stabilising muscles that help to align your hips and thighs, keeping them in line with the rest of your body.

The hip adductors consist of five muscles which, when strengthened, can help reduce the chance of knee injuries and improve your posture. This is because these muscles run down from your pelvis (hip bone) to your knee.

This short workout is designed to strengthen and support the inner thighs. The workout is made up of five moves and all that’s required is a resistance band and a dumbbell. However, you can perform it as a bodyweight workout if that better suits your fitness level, or if you don’t have any equipment.

Run through all the reps of each exercise, then repeat the entire sequence two more times, for a total of three rounds.

1 Side lunge

Reps 10 each side Rest 30sec

Stand with your feet hip-width apart, holding a dumbbell in both hands. Step your left leg out to the side, wide, and bend your left knee and push your hips back to lower. Your right leg should stay straight throughout. Keep your back flat and gaze forwards. Push up through the left foot to rise, then repeat on the other side. Alternate sides with each rep.

2 Standing leg raise

Reps 15 each leg Rest 30sec

Stand side-on to a wall so it’s next to your right arm and wrap a mini loop resistance band just above your ankles. Place your right hand on the wall to support yourself, engage your core, look forwards and, keeping both legs straight, raise your left leg away from the wall as high as you can. Lower your leg but before your foot touches the floor, lift it back up again. This keeps your muscles under tension for longer. Do all the reps on one side, then switch.

3 Leg circles

Time 30sec each side Rest 15sec

Lie on your left side, propping up your head with your left hand, your right leg resting on top of your left. Lift your right leg and move it in a circular motion for 30 seconds, ensuring it doesn’t touch the left leg at any point. When the 30 seconds are up, swap over onto your right side, and work the circles with your left leg.

See related 

• The Best Leg Workout To Do At Home From The Lead PT Of Women’s Workout App SHREDDY
• The Home Glutes Workout That Will Get Your Day Off To A Flyer
• The Best Glute Exercises For Women

4 Curtsy lunge

Reps 10 each leg Rest 30sec

You can do this as a bodyweight exercise or add a dumbbell to challenge the inner thigh muscles a little bit more. Stand with your feet hip-width apart. Step your left leg back and across your right leg, and bend both knees to lower until your left knee touches the floor. Push up through your right heel to come back up to standing. Repeat on the other side, alternating sides with each rep.

5 Sumo squat

Reps 15 Rest 30sec

This is a little different from a regular squat because your feet are placed much farther apart. You can hold a dumbbell in both hands while doing this move to add a greater level of resistance. Stand with your feet wider than shoulder-width apart, toes pointing out. Maintain a flat back and keep your gaze forwards as you bend both knees, push your hips back and drop into a squat. Try to push your knees outwards as you lower. Pause at the bottom of the squat, then push up through your heels to return to standing.

Leg day is a phrase that strikes fear into the hearts of even the most seasoned gym-goers, simply because the day that follows it can involve hobbling around on severely aching pins.

However, there is a reason that so many people take the maxim “never skip leg day” to heart. The lower body contains the biggest and most powerful muscle groups, and you’re selling yourself short if you’re not training them at least as much as the rest of you.

If you’re looking to increase the size of your legs in particular, then these tried-and-tested tips can help you out. We also have lots of legs workouts for you to pick and choose from.

Train Quickly

You’ll often be told that you should move through your weightlifting exercises at quite a slow pace to put your muscles under the maximum amount of stress. While this does apply for much of the upper body, when you train your legs making explosive, faster movements allows you to do more reps and actually builds muscle faster. Try timing your leg exercises, doing as many (controlled) reps as you can in two minutes, taking a short rest, then doing another set.

Ensure Balance By Training Unilaterally

Most people are either right- or left-dominant, meaning one side of their body is usually doing a bit more work than the other. This creates a slight imbalance in muscle size and growth. Add unilateral exercises like single-leg squats or lunges to ensure that both of your legs are developing evenly.

Use Isolation Movements To Increase Muscle Definition

The leg curl and leg extension machines found at most gyms are perfect for this. Put the weight on a medium resistance and go for high reps to sculpt your hamstrings and quad muscles. Make sure you set the machine up correctly for your height to prevent injury. The joint of your knee should line up directly with the hinge of the machine.

Work On Your Stabiliser Muscles

A lot of people trying to add muscle to their legs completely neglect the smaller stabiliser muscles found in the hips. These help to prevent injury and ensure stability and safe movement in the pelvis and hips. If these muscles aren’t working correctly, all other movements become far less effective and potentially more dangerous. Be sure to train your adductors (inner thigh) and your abductors (outer thigh) as part of any routine, especially prior to deadlifting or squatting.

Pick Up A Set Of Resistance Bands

Add a set of mini resistance bands to your gym bag. It’ll be the best investment you make. Loop them around your ankles, below the knees or above the knees and work against the resistance to warm up, pump up or fatigue the muscles. The beauty is that they help you target muscle groups – such as your often-neglected glutes, adductors and abductors – that can be hard to hit with basic squats or lunges.

Don’t Neglect Your Derriere

Strong glutes are as vital for big strong legs as abs are for upper-body strength. If you’re soft in the middle, everything else will crumble. Before any legs workout, or even when at home watching TV, use mini bands to do crab walks or donkey kicks to grow your glutes. For crab walks, wrap the band below your knee, lower into a half squat and take big steps out to your side, leading with your knee rather than your ankle. To perform donkey kicks, wrap the band around your ankles and hold a chair in front of you. Keep one leg on the floor and kick the other leg straight back and up, then lower slowly. Do three sets of 12 on each side for both moves.

Don’t Forget Your Calf Muscles

We assume that during the summer of Jack Grealish and his stupendous calves no-one needs to be told how important it is to train your calf muscles – but just in case you are ignoring them, stop ignoring them.

Concentrating on the bigger quad and hamstring muscles may seem the logical approach to bigger legs, but working only on those and leaving out your calves could put you at risk of having legs that look completely out of proportion.

For calves you can be proud of, try deficit calf raises. Stand holding dumbbells by your sides with your heels on the floor, resting your toes on a block 5-8cm off the ground – a weight plate works well. Lift yourself to stand on your toes, pause, and then lower again. Three sets of ten deficit calf raises every leg session will set you well on your way to bigger calves.

The first benefit of strong, well-trained glutes is obvious – they look damn good in a pair of jeans. But there are many other reasons why you should ensure glute exercises feature in your workouts.

The glutes play a key role in keeping your body aligned correctly, which helps you avoid injuries, and provide the power for many movements, especially walking or running up hills or stairs. If your day-to-day involves sitting behind a desk there’s a good chance your glutes aren’t firing as efficiently as they should, and this can contribute to the type of lower back pain that plagues office workers.

To help you get to work on your glutes we asked Andy Macaulay, trainer and ambassador for Virgin Active, and Toby Lynes, The Fitting Rooms Gym personal trainer, to pick and explain the best beginner, intermediate and advanced glute exercises, and we’ve thrown in a few of our favourites, too.

Naturally you should warm up before attempting any exercise, but if you’re about to attempt a move that will take you out of your comfort zone it’s crucial to warm up thoroughly because it’s annoyingly easy to injure your glutes. Both jogging and light stretching will help, as will doing bodyweight versions of the glute exercises you’ve already mastered.

Beginner Glute Exercises

Glute bridge

“This is a great move for beginners, activating the glutes while giving a good stretch without the need for equipment,” says Macaulay.

“Lie on your back with your knees bent and feet flat on the floor. Keep both arms on the floor by your sides with palms facing up. Before lifting your hips, check your heels are close to your butt and your feet are hip-width apart. Squeeze your glutes and lift your hips until you form a straight line from your knees to your shoulders. Pause at the top and squeeze your glutes again to make sure they’re still active, then lower slowly.”

Reverse lunge

“Stand with your feet hip-width apart,” says Macaulay. “Step one leg straight back and lower your torso by bending your knees until both are at 90°Ensure your front heel is grounded, your hips don’t rotate and your chest remains upright throughout. Rise back to standing by pushing down through your front heel and squeezing your glutes.”

Squat

“One of the most popular and versatile exercises for glute and leg training, the squat is highly effective if done correctly,” says Macaulay. “It can also help improve your strength, power, speed and endurance, as well as weight loss.

“Stand with your feet shoulder-width apart. Bend your knees and lower your hips, pushing your knees out over your toes – this takes the pressure off your lower back while promoting glute activation. Lower until your thighs are parallel to the floor, then push back up through your heels. When starting out, focus on mobility – if you find your heels lift, try shortening the range of the squat so that they stay down.”

Floor hip extension

“This is a simple yet effective exercise for working your glutes,” says Lynes. “Get into a press-up position and bring one knee to your chest. Then extend the same leg behind you until it’s completely straight and parallel to the floor. Try to limit the arch in your lower back when extending your leg.”

Cable hip abductions

“This simple movement will work the muscles on the side of your bum,” says Lynes. “Attach a pulley from a cable machine to one ankle. Hold on to something for support and raise the leg attached to the machine out to the side. The most effective approach is long sets – keep going until you feel the burn.”

Clamshell

Not only will this terrific move strengthen your glutes, you can also use it to loosen them up ahead of a run, a tough weights session or a long day at your desk. Lie on your side with your hips and legs stacked one on top of the other and your knees bent at a 90° angle. Rest your head on one arm, and place the other hand on the floor in front of your chest to improve stability and stop your hips rotating during the exercise.

Keeping your feet together, rotate the hip of your top leg so your knee rises towards the ceiling. Lift only as far as you can without your pelvis starting to turn or the lower knee rising off the floor. Then rotate back down.

Step-up

Let’s not overcomplicate this. You’ll need a stable platform at roughly knee height to step onto.

If you’re going for a duration of time then you should aim to alternate your lead leg after every step. If you’re working in sets, try to do an even number of sets and alternate the lead leg from set to set.

Bird-dog

As well as working the glutes, this bodyweight move will also strengthen your hamstrings, lower back and core. Start on all fours with your hands under your shoulders and your knees under your hips. Simultaneously lift and extend your right arm in front of you and your left leg behind you. Slowly come back to the starting position, and then extend the opposite limbs. Keep your back straight and your movements controlled throughout, and ensure your hips stay level.

Wall sit

This isometric exercise is absolute murder on your thighs, but also hits the glutes and the tricky-to-target calf muscles hard. Stand about 60cm from a wall, facing away, and lean back and press your torso against it. Slide down the wall until your thighs are parallel to the ground. Your knees should be bent at 90° and directly above your ankles, while your upper back and shoulders should be pressed into the wall. Then it’s as simple as holding this position for a set time. It’ll feel fine at first, but the burning sensation in your lower body will build quickly.

Plank

You might not immediately associate the plank with your glutes, but when maintaining proper form with the exercise, you engage your entire core including the glutes and lower back. Get into position with your weight on the balls of your feet and your forearms, creating a straight line from your shoulders to your ankles. Engage your abs and glutes to make sure your hips don’t move up or down during the hold.

Intermediate Glute Exercises

Bulgarian split squat

“This is not only is a great way to activate the glutes but also improves your lower-body stability, plyometric ability and mobility,” says Macaulay.

“Stand facing away from a bench, then raise one leg behind you and rest the top of the foot on the bench. Keep your torso upright and brace your abdominals to help keep your hips square to the bench. Bend your knees to lower slowly until the rear knee nearly touches the floor and the front thigh is parallel to the ground. Pause at the bottom, then squeeze your glutes to push back up explosively.”

Sumo squat with kettlebell

“The wider foot position of the sumo squat allows more external rotation of the hips which improves glute activation,” says Macaulay. “It really burns! Holding a kettlebell is a great way to progress to back squats.

“Stand with your legs wider than shoulder-width apart and your toes pointed out. Hold the kettlebell handle in both hands between your legs, with your palms facing in. Looking forwards and keeping your chest up, lower your body by bending your knees until your thighs are parallel to the ground. Then push back up. Keep your back straight and heels on the ground throughout, and keep the pace slow and controlled.”

Single-leg glute bridge pulse

“This is a great progression from the beginner glute bridge,” says Macaulay. “Once you’ve gained the strength to keep your hips square this is what you should try next.

“Use the same form as a standard glute bridge until your hips are raised. Then raise one leg until it is stretched out straight. Squeeze the glute muscle on the side of the grounded foot while pushing down through the heel. Pulse your hips at the top ten times before swapping legs.”

Donkey kick

This is a progression from the floor hip extension. Start on your hands and knees with your back straight. With one leg, keeping the 90° knee bend throughout, kick back and up so the sole of your shoe faces the ceiling, just like a disgruntled donkey – only you’re happy because you’re working on a great set of glutes.

Make sure the kicks are controlled and try to avoid grounding your knee throughout the set. Go for 30 seconds to one minute on a single leg, then swap.

Kettlebell swing

This could easily make the advanced list, but you’re not going to make the mistake that many make, namely using your arms and back to move the weight. Oh no, you’re going to master the hip hinge using a light weight first.

Start with your feet shoulder-width apart and a slight bend in the knees, with the kettlebell on the floor between your feet. Keeping your arms and back straight, bend over to pick up the kettlebell, swinging it back between your legs to start generating momentum.

Drive your hips forwards to stand upright and swing the kettlebell up to eye level. Control the swing back down, allowing the kettlebell back through your legs and bending at your hips. Remember, if you’re predominantly using your upper body to move the kettlebell, you’re doing it wrong.

Box jump

This explosive exercise hits all the major muscles in the lower body, building power that translates well to any sports that involve running and/or jumping, which is most sports come to think of it. Find yourself a box – don’t go too high at first, around 50cm should do it – and stand in front of it with your feet shoulder-width apart. Drop into a shallow squat and swing your arms back, then swing them forwards and leap up onto the box, landing with both feet in the same quarter-squat position you used to take off. Then step back down and go again.

Sumo deadlift

The deadlift is a terrific exercise and you’ll find another variation further down this list, but when you’re relatively new to weight training it’s one that’s easy to get wrong, and if your technique is off you can find that your back feels the strain in all the wrong ways. To reduce the risk of that, start with the sumo deadlift: not only does it reduce the load on your back, but it also shifts the focus of the move from your hamstrings to your glutes. Which is ideal for anyone interested in the best glutes exercises, right?

Stand with your feet wider than shoulder-width apart with your toes pointed out at 45°. Bend at the hips to reach down and grab the bar, either with an overhand grip or a mixed grip, where one hand is underhand. Your back should be flat in this bottom position. Drive through your heels to extend your knees and push your hips forwards to raise the bar to mid-thigh level. Then lower the bar back to the start.

See related 

• The Best Glutes Workout
• The Best Leg Exercises For All Levels Of Gym-Goer
• How To Master Hill Running – And Why

Advanced Glute Exercises

Barbell lunge

"Once you’re confident with the dumbbell lunge, try this challenging progression,” says Lynes. “By eliminating the grip strength required for dumbbell lunges you can load more weight, making it a fantastic exercise to strengthen your glutes and hamstrings.

“Stand with your feet shoulder-width apart holding the bar behind your neck, resting on your traps. Inhale and take a big step forwards, keeping your torso as straight as possible. Bend your knees to lower your body until your front thigh is roughly horizontal. Exhale and return to the start position. If you take a small step the quadriceps will mostly be isolated, but we want to hit your glutes, so take a big step!”

Barbell hip thrust

“This move delivers fantastic posterior strength,” says Macaulay. “Sit with your upper back against a bench, a barbell over your hips, bent knees and your feet firmly on the ground close to your glutes. Drive up through your heels and push your upper back onto the bench to lift your hips and the barbell. Squeeze your glutes and press your hips up as high as possible. Pause for a second or two at the top, bracing your abs to maintain a strong neutral position, then lower back to the start. Make sure you are driving straight up through your heels and avoid pushing yourself backwards over the bench and arching your spine.”

Stiff-leg deadlift

“This move will improve your posture and set your glutes and hamstrings on fire!” says Macaulay. “Standing upright with your feet hip-width apart and your arms straight down, hold the bar with an overhand grip, palms facing you, so it’s resting against your thighs. Inhale and bend at the hips, lowering your upper body toward the floor. Tilt your tailbone back, keep your back straight and your knees soft but straight, and look forwards as you descend. Keep the bar close to your legs – if the bar moves away from your legs it places increased stress on your lower back. Stop the movement when you feel a slight stretch in your hamstrings. Exhale as you stand back up.”

Hill sprints

“Head for the great outdoors to really fire up the glutes, but make sure you stay fast and explosive,” says Macaulay. “Running through fatigue can force your body to recruit other muscles and prevent the focused gains you’re after.

“Find a hill and sprint up it as fast as you can, driving your knees up and forwards. Push down with your feet as if you’re pushing the ground away from you. Once you start slowing down, stop, walk back down the hill and wait until you completely recover. Do three hill sprints at first and progress to ten.”

Sliding leg curl

A word to the wise: if you’re doing this properly it will feel hard very quickly, so take it slow. You will need two slider pads. Lie on your back, bend your knees and place your heels on the sliders. Extend your legs using the sliders while keeping your glutes off the ground, then drive them back again.

Unless you have a truly remarkable technique, you use one leg at a time to run. So it follows that a good strength training for runners plan does the same.

This session from coach George Anderson is made up entirely of single-leg exercises to help improve your running performance and resilience to injury.

“Some runners don’t bother with the gym, but working on key areas such as your glutes and hip muscles will allow you to run faster for longer while reducing your risk of injury,” says Anderson.

“Also, most runners have one leg that’s slightly stronger than the other, which can have a negative effect on performance, so I’ve chosen single-leg exercises to ensure both sides of your body develop at the same rate.”

How To Do This Workout

“The best time to do this workout is when you’ve just come back from a short run because your muscles will be warmed up,” says Anderson. “Do three sets of each exercise with a 30-second rest between sets. Take a one-minute rest before going on to the next move."

Anderson has given three suggested reps or duration for each exercise based on your level.

“Start with the beginner reps and durations for each exercise and only move to the next level once you can complete the whole circuit with ease,” says Anderson. “I recommend doing the workout two to three times a week.”

See related

• Unilateral exercises to add to your training
• 15-minute core workouts for runners
• Increase your strength and speed on the run with these essential leg exercises for runners

Leg Strength Workout For Runners

1 Clock mobiliser

Sets 3 Reps 5 (beginner), 10 (intermediate), 15 (advanced) each side Rest 30sec

Stand on your left foot and imagine you’re at the centre of a clock. Rotating your hip, tap your right foot on the ground at one o’clock, then seven o’clock, and hold at seven o’clock for 10sec. Mirror your foot’s movement with your right arm. For the opposite side tap at 11 o’clock and five o’clock.

2 Single-leg squat

Sets 3 Reps 10 (beginner), 15 (intermediate), 20 (advanced) each side Rest 30sec

Balance on one foot and squat as low as you can while making sure the knee on your standing leg doesn’t go in front of your toes. Pause at the bottom, then push back up through your heel, squeezing your glutes.

3 Curtsy lunge

Sets 3 Time 30sec (beginner), 45sec (intermediate), 1min (advanced) each side Rest 30sec

Stand tall and step back with one foot so your feet are in line, one behind the other. Lower into a curtsy and hold for the time indicated, then drive back up again through your front heel.

4 Assisted pistol squat

Sets 3 Reps 3 (beginner), 5 (intermediate), 8 (advanced) each side Rest 30sec

Holding suspension trainer handles, stand on one leg and raise the other in front of you. Lower as far as possible, keeping your raised foot off the floor. Push through your heel to return to the start – try not to lift yourself with your arms.

5 Single-leg hip hinge

Sets 3 Time 30sec (beginner), 45sec (intermediate), 1min (advanced) each side Rest 30sec

Stand with one foot in front of the other, then lift your back leg straight out behind you. Push your bottom out, keeping your back as flat as possible, and lower yourself until your thigh is at 45˚ to your torso. Hold for the amount of time indicated, then return to the start.

6 Hop-up

Sets 3 Reps 10 each side Rest 30sec

Stand on one leg in front of a step. With your arms behind you, lower into a squat and hop onto the step. Pause to get your balance, then step back down and repeat with the other leg. The reps are the same no matter what the level for this exercise, but intermediate and advanced runners should use higher steps.

If you’re a runner, the chances are that you know you should be doing some kind of strength work to support your running. This will not only increase your leg strength and improve your performance, it will also build resilience in your body so you’re less likely to succumb to injury, especially when you’re following a marathon training plan and logging a lot of miles.

You don’t have to knock out savage leg sessions daily to benefit, either. Merely cycling through the below exercises once or twice a week can make a big difference.

These leg exercises for runners have been selected by Chris Betteridge, running coach for WeRun. The WeRun Virtual Running Club has 140 coaches that provide members with training sessions, strength and conditioning workouts (including a four-week challenge to whip you into shape), and yoga and Pilates classes. It costs £8 a month or £70 a year to be a member and you can try a free sample week to get a better idea of the benefits, either via the website or the app (App Store and Google Play).

For more detail about how to approach this supportive work, check out our strength training for runners guide.

Unweighted squat

“The squat is perfect for balancing the strength of your hips, knees and ankles,” says Betteridge. “The basic squat is also a safe and effective move.

“Stand with your feet parallel and hip-width apart. Keep your heels grounded throughout and your chest directly above your pelvis at all times. Drop your hips as low as you can, then stand back up. Don’t worry about bending your back – if you’re not holding a weight the risk of injury is significantly lower. Just keep your chest high and hips low.”

Reverse lunge

“The forward lunge shifts the focus onto the quads rather than the glutes, while the reverse lunge replicates and strengthens the running movement of each leg in turn,” says Betteridge. “It’s perfect for increasing the power in your stride.

“Step back and drop to one knee, then return to standing. Keep the front heel grounded throughout, and make sure your front knee stays over your toes and there’s no side-to-side movement.”

Single-leg deadlift

“This is the best movement for improving strength in the posterior chain,” says Betteridge. “It’s also great for improving your foot and ankle strength, both of which are essential for good balance.

“Stand on one leg. Bend at the knee and hinge from the hips to reach towards the floor with both hands. Try not to bend your back, and keep your shoulders, back and chest open. You do not have to touch the floor – it’s better to keep your back straight.”

See related 

• The Fundamentals Of Strength Training For Runners
• 15-Minute Core Workouts For Runners
• The Benefits Of Pilates For Runners, Gym-Goers, Office Workers And Men
• Support Your Marathon Training With This Home Workout For Runners

Side lunge against wall

“This is a great exercise for working the outer hips and inner thighs, which makes it perfect for improving stability against lateral forces through the running stride,” says Betteridge. “It’s essential for keeping the pelvis level and stable.

“Stand with the outside edge of your left foot against a wall. Step your right foot out wide. Now try to touch your left hip to the wall at the same time as your left knee. If that’s easy, step wider. Try to find the point where it is difficult, but not impossible to reach.”

Calf jump

“This is skipping without the rope,” says Betteridge. “It’s a great plyometric workout for the calf, achilles and plantar fascia, and amazing for foot and ankle strength. It helps you access free energy on the run – when the muscle can contract with elasticity, some of the energy is preserved and created by a natural springiness.

“Jump, keeping the knees fixed in a straight but not locked position. Try this exercise at 180bpm – use a metronome to keep to the right speed – for up to two minutes per mile that you wish to be able to run. Make sure that the heel makes a solid contact with the ground with each jump for maximal calf lengthening.”

And just so you don’t think we made a mistake, Betteridge is indeed recommending 52 minutes of calf jumps for marathon runners.

“Anyone with the physical conditioning required to run a marathon should expect to be able to do that length of time in calf jumps,” says Betterridge. “The biggest practical problem when approaching this length of time is boredom, and that’s when skipping becomes more attractive because you can incorporate other skipping skills to keep you interested.

“For beginner runners, calf jumps are more accessible and relevant to the discipline of running than skipping. There are some who will struggle with the time allocation of calf jumps, and it's these runners that tend to be heavier-footed and carry heavier impact through their stride. However, if your primary focus is on injury prevention and longevity in running, calf jumps are vital.”

If there’s one thing runners love doing, it’s running (obviously). And if there’s one thing runners don’t really enjoy, it’s strength and conditioning work. There’s no mystery to it – if you’re already running a lot, making time for more exercise that you don’t enjoy as much is not an appealing proposition – but doing some strength training for runners is vital if you want to improve your running and make yourself more resilient to injury.

Leg exercises like the goblet squat, Bulgarian split squat and single-leg Romanian deadlift are commonly prescribed, but don’t leave calf exercises out of the equation because strong calves are essential to strong running. Every step you take when running puts a significant amount of strain on the calves, and common injuries like achilles tendonitis and plantar fasciitis are often caused by weak calves that can’t handle that strain. Building up your weekly mileage gradually (a good-quality running training plan will do this for you) and strengthening your calves are your best bets for reducing the risk of suffering these problems.

The calf raise is an excellent (and virtually the only) place to start, and it’s not just runners who should be doing the move. Any keen sportsperson will benefit from stronger calves, and gym-goers will no doubt already know that they are tricky muscles to target, so adding calf raises to your routine is a must.

How To Do Calf Raises

Exercises don’t come much simpler than the calf raise. Stand up straight, then push through the balls of your feet and raise your heel until you are standing on your toes. Then lower slowly back to the start.

For this reason, calf raises are just about the easiest exercise to slip into your day-to-day life. Do them while brushing your teeth, or waiting for the kettle to boil, or standing in an lift.

Calf Raise Variations

Weighted calf raise

It’s a good idea to increase the difficulty of calf raises with weights once you’re well acquainted with the exercise. Holding a dumbbell in each hand while doing raises will help prepare the calf to handle the extra pressure put on it during sports like running.

Raised calf raise

Stand on a step so your heel can drop lower than the rest of your foot at the bottom of the movement. This provides a greater range of motion in your calf during the exercise. You can hold dumbbells to make this variation tougher, but it can be tricky to keep your balance when holding dumbbells that are too heavy.

Bent-knee calf raise

Bending your knees slightly when doing any kind of calf raises switches the workload from the gastrocnemius – the larger calf muscle – to the soleus, which might be smaller but is no less important. Your calf raise routine should include as many bent-knee exercises as straight-knee raises.

Seated calf raise

Many gyms have a seated calf raise machine where you can adjust the weight easily, but you can also do this variation by sitting on a chair with your feet on a raised surface so your heels hang off the back. With the latter you can rest dumbbells on your knees to add resistance to the movement. Seated calf raises are especially good for working the soleus muscles and allow you to add significant weight to the exercise with less risk of losing your balance.

Single-leg calf raise

If you are a keen runner, one thing that won’t have escaped your attention is that you don’t run on two legs at the same time, so it’s a good idea to train your legs individually. You can, and should, try standard calf raises, bent-knee raises, seated raises, or raised raises on one leg, and progress to adding weight to the move.

Supine gym ball calf raise

Adding instability by using a gym ball means your calves are forced to work harder to stabilise your entire body. Rest your head and shoulders on a gym ball, with your knees bent at 90° and your feet flat on the floor. Your body should form a straight line from knees to shoulders. Push up onto your toes and hold for a two-count before lowering. 

Single-leg calf jump

Explosive moves like this target your fast-twitch muscle fibres, which have the most potential for growth. Place the ball of your foot on a step and balance on that foot. Use your toes to push off into a jump, landing on the floor, not on the step. 

Calf jump

The calf jump was recommended to us as one of the best leg exercises for runners by Chris Betteridge, running coach for virtual running club WeRun. “It’s a great plyometric workout for the calf, achilles and plantar fascia,” says Betteridge, “and amazing for foot and ankle strength.”

With your knees straight but not locked, push off the balls of your feet and your toes to jump straight up, making sure your heels touch the floor when you land. Repeat at pace – Betteridge recommends 180bpm (here’s a metronome on Google set to that tempo) and aim to keep going for two minutes for every mile of the distance you’re training for. Yes, if you’re training for a marathon, that’s 52 minutes of calf jumps. One to work up to. 

The squat has been a favourite leg exercise ever since someone first decided to beef up their glutes and quads, and there are innumerable types of different squats you can add to your workout routine.

You can sumo squat, goblet squat, pistol squat, box squat… Basically anything that involves some kind of hunkering down on your haunches is going to strengthen your legs. No squat repertoire, however, is complete, without some kind of split squat. And the toughest kind of split squat is the elevated split squat, commonly known as the Bulgarian split squat.

The only difference from a standard split squat is that the rear foot is elevated but this small change brings a host of benefits, although it increases the difficulty considerably.

To help you successfully add the Bulgarian split squat to your training, we spoke to Fiona Scott, head of physical performance and academic liaison at Performance Herts at the University of Hertfordshire. 

Read on to find out how to perform the perfect rep, expert tips for making the most of this movement, how it differs from a standard lunge and some variations to try in your training. 

Bulgarian Split Squat Benefits

The Bulgarian split squat is a unilateral exercise which can help to even out any strength imbalances. “It’s always worth having some single-limb movement in any training programme,” says Scott. “Training out asymmetry is important because we are all slightly one-sided. I’ve worked with athletes from tennis and golf, where the activity is extremely one-sided, but even with a more bilateral exercise like swimming there is still a dominant arm and leg.

“It’s a big compound exercise, so you’re using a lot of muscles at the same time with just one movement. You’re prioritising the quads and glutes primarily, with a little bit of hamstring activation too. Because of the single-leg stance you’re getting a little bit more stability, balance and core activation than a standard squat.”

All of the above could be said of the split squat, so what do you get from placing your rear foot on an elevated platform like a bench or box? “It allows you to load the front leg more than a normal split squat and increases the quad dominance of the movement,” says Scott. “You’re also increasing the range of motion that you are training, which can be beneficial for mobility.

“A lot of us sit too much in our everyday lives in this day and age, so by having the back foot raised you’re instantly getting a hip flexor stretch on the back leg at the same time as strengthening the quad and glute in your front leg.”

And finally, it’s a convenient way to progress from the basic squat if you don’t have access to any equipment. “It’s a great exercise because you don’t need much equipment to do it,” says Scott. “We used it a lot during COVID when people were in need of effective home workouts. All you need is something that’s around mid-shin to knee height to rest your rear foot on.” 

Bulgarian Split Squat Instructions

Getting into the starting position can be challenging. Many people begin by standing, putting their foot back and then hopping around until the distance feels right. This method is superior in our opinion: sit on the bench with your rear foot under your opposite glute, extend your working leg so it is straight and your heel is resting on the floor, and then stand up and move your rear foot across so it is resting on the bench behind you. Scott recommends having your heel directly above your toes for added stability, but you can rest the top of your foot on the bench if you find that more comfortable.

Keeping your hips square, bend your knees to lower until your front thigh is almost horizontal, keeping your knee in line with your foot. Don't let your front knee travel beyond your toes. Drive up through your front heel to return to the starting position.

You can add load in a range of ways – Scott advises starting with a dumbbell in the goblet position – but whichever you choose, your trunk should lean slightly forwards when you bend your knees, and you should maintain a neutral spine. 

Bulgarian Split Squat Form Tips

Master the split squat first “I wouldn’t progress to the Bulgarian split squat until you’ve mastered the standard split squat,” says Scott.

Foot placement “The mistake people often make when performing split stance movements is they place their feet too close to being in line,” says Scott. “Keep your feet hip-width apart to help you stay balanced. Imagine you’re standing on parallel train tracks rather than a straight line.”

Front-foot placement “Generally, you need to place your front foot in a position so that, when you bend both knees, your front knee doesn’t come over your front toes,” says Scott. Standing closer to the bench will also put greater emphasis on your quads. Don’t stand too close though or you risk triggering knee pain.

Rear-foot placement “Don’t place your foot too far back on the bench or box, or you’re going to hit your shin before you reach a full range of motion,” says Scott. 

Lunge Vs Bulgarian Split Squat

Lunges and Bulgarian split squats have a lot in common. They’re both leg exercises, they’re both quad-dominant, and they’re both unilateral movements, but there’s a difference it’s worth knowing about. 

“With a Bulgarian split squat, your feet are in a staggered position and they stay fixed – you just move up and down,” says Scott. “With a lunge, you step into the movement, making it more dynamic.”

And that distinction makes each one better suited to a different purpose. “You can load more with split squats as you are in a fixed position,” Scott says. This makes it a good choice for strength and hypertrophy training because you can overload the muscles. 

“If you’re training for a sport where lunges are a key part, like squash, then you need to get better at lunges,” says Scott. “During a more sport-specific period of someone’s training, we would put in relevant exercises like dynamic lunges. You can perform these forwards, backwards, laterally, multi-directionally or while walking. The negative is they reduce the load you can lift. They’re more powerful, explosive movements that rely on you having good form, but there are more shearing forces on your joints so you might find them less favourable if you’ve had knee injuries in the past.”

Bulgarian Split Squat Variations

Gym ball Bulgarian split squat

One of the key challenges of the elevated split squat is maintaining your balance, so why not make this part of it even harder by resting your back foot on a gym ball? The unstable surface will demand even more from your core and front leg as you try to complete the movement smoothly.

Dumbbell Bulgarian split squat

When adding weight to this exercise, dumbbells are an easier option than a barbell, making them a good first step up from the unweighted version. Hold a dumbbell in each hand and let them hang by your sides as you perform the movement.

Gym ball Bulgarian split squat with twist

Ditch the weights for this variation, which adds another plane of movement to test your balance and co-ordination in new and exciting ways. Hold your arms out in front of you with your hands together, then twist your torso to one side as you lower into the squat. Alternate sides with each squat.

Squats, squats and more squats. If you’re looking to strengthen the muscles on the front of your thighs, there’s really no need to look beyond squats. But it is worth varying the type of squat you do, because some are more effective and should be included in your quad workouts.

As you can probably guess from the name, there are four muscles that make up the quadriceps. “You’ve got the vastus lateralis on the outside of the thigh, the vastus medialis on the inner portion of the thigh, the rectus femoris sitting between the two and the vastus intermedius beneath this,” says Keith McNiven, founder of personal training company Right Path Fitness.

“Because these large muscles stretch from your hip to your kneecap, keeping your quads strong can help to reduce the likelihood of injury from exercises like running and walking.”

We asked McNiven for his favourite quad exercises and to stick with the quad theme, he provided and explained four squat variations that are well worth adding into your next leg workout.

Wall squat

Stand with your back flat against a wall and your feet shoulder-width apart. Keeping your back straight, press it into the wall from your head to your hips, then lower into a squat until your knees are bent at a 90° angle. Hold for 60 seconds, then return to the top position.

Barbell hack squat

An alternative to using the hack squat machine (pictured) is the barbell hack squat. Grab a barbell and place it behind you on the floor, then stand tall with your legs shoulder-width apart. Squat down to pick up the barbell behind you using an overhand grip (with your palms facing backwards) and stand up so it’s behind your thighs. From this starting position, lower into a squat using your quads until the barbell is on the floor behind you, then rise back to standing.

Squat on toes

This is one of the hardest of all squats to do because you’re relying purely on your quads to do the work, so this exercise is usually best reserved for those with a good level of fitness and without any pre-existing knee issues.

Grasp the squat rack with one hand, with your feet in the usual shoulder-width apart position but raising your heels so you are up on your toes. Then lower into a squat, hold it for ten seconds, then rise back to the starting position. As you improve, you can add an extra challenge by holding a weighted plate with your free hand.

Front squat

This is another seriously challenging exercise. For the front squat you need a barbell which you can place inside a squat rack so that it is in front of you, just below shoulder height. To start, cross your arms over and grab the bar with an overhand grip so that it sits just under your shoulders with your elbows forwards and up in front of you. Unrack the barbell and take a step away from the rack to give yourself the range of motion required. Then lower into a squat, mimicking the motion of sitting on a chair. When your knees are bent at 90°, carefully push back up to the starting position.

Everybody squats (or should squat). It’s one of the best leg exercises you can do, and the benefits extend beyond the legs. Once you graduate to the barbell squat, it becomes a full-body exercise, with your core and back muscles working to keep your body in the right position.

As a result of its many benefits, you’ll find barbell back squats on the training plan of pretty much anyone who uses weights. Bodybuilders and powerlifters, of course, but all sorts of athletes use the move to boost their strength and power and build muscle—and it should be a workout staple even if you only visit the gym once or twice a week during your lunch hour.

The squat is a compound exercise that primarily works the quads, hamstrings and glutes, while also strengthening the joints, ligaments and tendons around the knee and hips. Aside from working those muscle groups, the back squat also requires ankle stability in order to drive through the heels, core stability to maintain the weight you lift, and impressive shoulder mobility and trap activation to keep the barbell under control.

It can be a daunting move to tackle for those new to the gym, and if you’re a beginner, ensure you’ve got the movement pattern and range of motion nailed by first incorporating unweighted squats into your workouts. Then and only then should you progress to weighted variations.

How To Build Up To The Barbell Squat

Practice by performing the unweighted squat. Keep your core tight and place your feet shoulder-width apart, toes pointing outward slightly. Slowly lower your body until your quads are parallel to the floor (or even a little lower), keeping your chest up and back straight. To get enough practice, try our 30-day squat challenge.

When you can comfortably perform multiple sets of 15-20 reps you can progress to goblet squats, where you hold a kettlebell or dumbbell with both hands in front of your chest as you perform the move. This adds further resistance and helps you keep your back straight. When you’re happy with your performance here, progress to adding a barbell.

How To Do The Barbell Squat

Take the bar out of the rack with it resting on your rear shoulder muscles. Take two big steps back and stand with your feet roughly shoulder-width apart, toes pointing slightly out. Keep your spine in alignment by looking at a spot on the floor about two meters in front of you, then “sit” back and down as if you’re aiming for a chair. Descend until your hip crease is below your knee. Keep your weight on your heels as you drive back up.

Back Squat Form Tips

1. Don’t drop your chin

Before you lower into the back squat, pick a point on the wall in front of you and focus on it. Keep looking at that point as you lower and then drive back up. This will help you avoid dropping your chin towards your chest, which encourages unhelpful movement in your upper spine that will cause you to hunch forwards and make it more difficult to complete the lift once you fatigue towards the end of the set. You might also want to avoid staring yourself out in the mirror because that can be distracting.

2. Get your chest up

If you want to lift as much weight as possible and reduce your risk of injury, keep your chest up throughout the move. If you drop your chest, your spine will flex (bend forwards) and that’s not a great thing when you have a heavy load on your back. One thing that will help you keep your chest in the right place is taking a deep breath before you lift and holding the air in your lungs as you lower. Once you begin to rise from the bottom position and are in control of the lift, you can exhale as you return to the start position.

3. Push your elbows forwards

Try to push your elbows forwards before you start the lift. This may feel slightly uncomfortable but it will help you maintain a strong position when you move the weight. The reason it helps is because when your elbows point backward (as opposed to downwards), this encourages your shoulders to internally rotate and makes it harder to keep an upright neutral spine. Pushing your elbows forwards will also help you to engage your lats – your big back muscles—which will further stabilize your upper body.

4. Keep your knees in line with your toes

Plant your feet roughly shoulder-width apart with your toes turned out slightly at a “10 to two” position. Bend at the knees and hips simultaneously to lower your backside towards the ground and as you lower, keep your knees in line with your toes. It doesn’t matter if your knees go over your toes but you do want to avoid letting them turn inwards. You can spread your knees slightly at the base of the lift to open your hips and sit lower, then squeeze them back in to initiate the upwards movement.

5. Heels flat on the floor

Your weight should be on your heels and mid-foot throughout the lift. If you go onto the balls of your feet you’re in a weaker position that puts extra pressure on your knees. One reason people struggle to keep their heels down is because they have tight hamstrings, so stretch these muscles by squatting down with your back against a wall and hugging your knees to your chest. It doesn’t matter if your spine curves because, in this instance, you’re not carrying external load. The aim here is getting depth.

Barbell Squat Assistance Moves

Add these exercises to your workouts to target the key muscles involved in a back squat so you can lift more weight.

Front squat

How Take the bar out of the rack with your hands crossed over your chest, supporting it across the front of your shoulders. Squat down, keeping your chest up, then drive up through your heels to stand.

Why The front squat focuses the effort on your quads (front thighs) and because the weight is in front of you it encourages you to keep your chest upright.

Goblet squat

How Hold a kettlebell in both hands and squat down with your back straight and chest up. Descend until your elbows touch the insides of your knees, then put your weight on your heels as you stand back up.

Why This is ideal for beginners because it’s a relatively easy way of working on your depth. If you use a light weight you don’t have to worry too much about spine position and you can focus on getting as low as possible.

Split squat

How Start in a split stance, with one foot in front of the other, holding a bar across the back of your shoulders. Bend both legs until your trailing knee touches the floor. Straighten both legs to return to the start, then go straight into the next rep.

Why Doing this move will ensure that you develop leg strength evenly because you work one side at a time.

Bulgarian split squat

How Start with your back foot on a bench with a dumbbell in each hand. Bend at the knee to lower towards the floor, keeping your torso upright, then press back up to the start. Do the same number of reps with each leg.

Why This variation of the squat will target your quads – a key muscle group involved in heavy squats. It also works your legs independently so that you become equally strong and stable on both sides.

How To Achieve A New Back Squat PR

Whatever your current lifting level, expert Tom Wright has advice that will push you on to a new back squat PB. Just find the bodyweight multiple you’re aiming for and use his gym wisdom to help you hit it

1 x Bodyweight

“As the first big benchmark in squatting, you want to get up to this as quickly as possible,” says Wright. “Adding a small amount of weight each week will help you to progress. When you hit a plateau, leave your ego in your locker for just one session and simply drop the weight by 10% for that week. This small deload will allow you to recover, adapt and push past your sticking point, enabling you to hit that bodyweight target.” 

1.5 x Bodyweight

“As you approach this target, new factors come into play such as having a strong core,” says Wright. “Most people can piggyback one person but as soon as you throw another on they crumple from the middle. The strength you need comes from the abs and lower back, so make sure you train them. Pause squats will also help because static holds work the core hard to stabilise the body.”

2 x Bodyweight

“This really is the big time, and to play with the big boys and girls you need to think and train like them,” says Wright. “A structured training plan with calculated cycles is required because you’re working with marginal gains. Tried and tested programmes such as strength coach Jim Wendler’s 5-3-1 (jimwendler.com) help to build max strength because you train at levels that allow you to overload the muscle but recover sufficiently.”

Barbell Squat Challenge

If you're in need of a squat-based test of mettle, may we suggest the bodyweight squat challenge? The rules are simple:

1. Weigh yourself in kilograms. That number is the weight you want to be lifting. Load your bodyweight onto the barbell, preferably with it already in a squat rack at shoulder height and with the safety pins in to catch the bar if you fail at the bottom of the lift.
2. Unrack the bar, taking the weight on your shoulders and stepping back from the rack so you’re in the top position of the squat.
3. Do as many full rep squats as possible, “resting” in the top position of the squat if as and when you need but without re-racking the bar at any point.
4. Once you’ve hit your limit and you can’t manage any more reps, set the bar down or re-rack it.

Standing with the bar on your back while you recover between reps isn’t just allowed, it’s encouraged. Pace yourself between reps—a good rule of thumb is to take one deep breath between reps for the first ten or so, then more breaths as necessary as the reps pile up. If you’re strong, you could end up spending five minutes with the bar unracked. A respectable total? 20 reps. A phenomenal total? 50.

If you’re going to take a serious run at the magic 50, you need to get used to high-rep squats. In week one, do one 20-rep set. In week two, do two. In week three, do three. In week four: go for it.

You don’t need to be the proud possessor of a goblet to pull off this effective leg exercise (sorry, LARPers), but it does require a kettlebell or dumbbell.

The move was invented by American strength and conditioning coach Dan John to help people master the correct movement pattern of the barbell back squat and gets its name from the way you cup the weight in two hands.

Whether you plan to graduate to the back squat or not, it’s a great move to include in your exercise plans, so we went to USAW Level 1-certified coach Karl Bratland for his tips and advice on how to execute the move.

Goblet Squat Benefits

There’s much to like about this move. For starters, the goblet squat is an important stepping stone from the unweighted squat to heavier compound lifts, such as back squats, front squats and deadlifts. 

Because the load is in front of you, the goblet squat creates a natural counterbalance, making it easier to keep your torso upright and preventing your heels from rising off the floor. This in turn lowers your risk of a lower-back injury.

As with most free-weight exercises, it can be used to build strength and muscle if you use an appropriate rep scheme. But because the weight you’re lifting is limited by what you can hold in your hands (not what your legs can lift), there are better strength-boosting options out there. 

It is, however, a highly effective exercise for burning fat, allowing you to do a high number of reps in one set (ideally towards the end of a weights workout) to get your heart rate high, and increase energy and oxygen consumption.

The goblet squat will improve flexibility around your hips too, and do wonders for your lower-body strength and balance.

How To Do A Goblet Squat

“Hold the dumbbell by one end as close to your chest as you can,” says Bratland. “If you hold it away from the body you won’t be able to support as much weight, so keep it close to the chest under your chin.” If you’re using a kettlebell, hold it upside down with your hands cupping the bell.

“Your feet should be a little outside shoulder-width apart, with your feet slightly turned out,” says Bratland. While Bratland encourages you to make individual adjustments by trial and error to account for your biomechanics, he recommends you avoid a narrow stance because that will make it more difficult to achieve enough depth.

Now you’re all set up correctly, it’s time to squat.

“Brace your core, push your hips back and bend your knees,” says Bratland. “Lower like you’re sitting into a chair. You don’t want to sit too far back, so pull your butt down between your legs and try to get your thighs parallel with the ground. 

“Keep your chest up so you’re not leaning too far forward. Your torso might not be perfectly vertical, but leaning forward too much will put a lot of pressure on your lower back.”

Bratland is also keen to dispel the myth that your knees shouldn’t come over your toes during a squat, or any other exercise. 

“If your knees are in line with your toes, it’s still a natural movement. It happens when you’re going up and down stairs or picking something up. 

“It only becomes an issue when your knees start to flare out or cave in. That can create an internal pressure.”

When you reach the bottom of the rep, drive through your feet to straighten your legs and return to your starting position.

“Keep your heels flat and don’t come onto your toes,” says Bratland.

Common Form Mistakes

When trying most moves for the first time, it can be easy to fall into some simple form errors that can soon become big problems, both in terms of increased injury risk and not taxing the target muscles to the greatest extent. The goblet squat is no exception. Here are some of the most common mistakes and how to avoid them.

Falling forward

The goblet squat, like all squat variations, requires you to keep your chest up at all times to keep your center of gravity over your feet. Start by standing tall with your chest up and focus on maintaining this body position.

Falling backward

The key to avoiding this is to keep your lats—the big muscles down the rear sides of your torso—tight throughout each rep to keep your body balanced and stable. Do this by pretending someone is standing behind you trying to tickle your armpits, so you draw your elbows in towards your sides.

Wobbling

Make sure you start each rep with your abs and lower back tight and tensed. This will keep your torso more stable and assist in creating a smoother and controlled rep. Focus on squeezing and tensing your glutes at the top of each rep, too.

FAQs

How To Progress Goblet Squats

Your first option is to add weight, but there’s a limit to how much weight you can hold by your chest. If you’ve hit that limit, or the equipment you have access to is limited, here’s another way to make an exercise more challenging.

“Slow the reps down for more time under tension,” says Bratland. “Take three seconds on the way down, pause, then drive back up. Things like that will make the goblet squat more challenging, achieving more muscle activation without having to increase the weight.”

As Bratland says, pausing during the movement is a great way to increase the challenge and as well as holding the bottom of the movement you can lower in stages, pausing two or three times on the way down like a lift stopping at different floors.

To really feel the burn in your legs during your squat session, add pulses at the bottom of the movement. Push up slightly and then lower again five to 10 times, making sure to keep your back straight while pulsing. Then drive back up to the starting position.

Your final option is to change to a unilateral exercise such as the goblet split squat and work one leg at a time.

Goblet Squat Variations

Goblet squat with overhead press

If you only have time for one exercise when you hit the gym, this combo-move might well be your best bet for all-round results. Not only do you get the lower-body strength benefits of the goblet squat, but you also work your upper body by pressing the weight overhead. This enlists your shoulder and back muscles as well as increasing the challenge to your core. On top of that, if you perform long sets of this exercise or use it as part of a HIIT circuit, you’ll improve your cardiovascular fitness as well.

You can perform the move by pressing the kettlebell overhead with both hands as you come back up from your squat, or use one hand to press the weight up and switch to the other once you’ve completed half the reps in your set. This latter variation will work the muscles in your upper body unilaterally, and you’ll be able to spot if one side of your body is stronger than the other. Lifting the kettlebell one arm at a time also increases the work your core does to resist rotation and keep your torso upright.

Goblet squat with resistance band

Wrap a resistance band around your feet or shins, and move your legs apart until the band is taut before you squat. Throughout the movement you’ll have to work against the band to stop your legs collapsing in, and this strengthens the outer glutes and thighs. This in turn will help ensure your legs don’t cave in during all your future squats, even when there’s no band involved.

Double kettlebell front squat

This is a serious upgrade in difficulty on the goblet squat because you’re doubling the load, and when working with heavy kettlebells it’s actually one of the toughest types of squat you can do full stop, so make sure you have your goblet technique nailed before reaching for a second kettlebell. And while you get used to squatting with two kettlebells racked, make sure they’re light ones.

To perform the double kettlebell front squat, hold two kettlebells in the rack position in front of your shoulders. Your elbows should be close to your ribcage, with the handles of the two kettlebells held next to each other under your chin while the weights themselves rests on your forearms. Once you have both kettlebells in position, lower into a squat as normal, then drive back up.

The placement of the two kettlebells on the front and sides of the chest makes this variation especially challenging for your core, which has to battle to keep your body stable during the movement.

In This Series

• Introduction
• Lunge Variation: Reverse Lunge
• Lunge Variation: Side Lunge
• Lunge Variation: Clock Lunge
• Lunge Variation: Walking Lunges
• Lunge Variation: Jump Lunge
• Lunge Variation: Curtsy Lunge

While the curtsy has never been less popular, the curtsy lunge is a move that’s very much coming into fashion and with good reason. If you’re looking for a way to mix up your usual roll call of squats and lunges come leg day, then the curtsy lunge is an exercise worth including, because it targets the lower body in different ways.

While the quads and glutes remain the principal targets of the curtsy lunge, it also works the inner thighs and gluteus medius muscles – both areas that get off easy when you perform regular lunges. These muscles help to stabilise the body and if you’re a runner then you’ll feel the benefits of repeated curtsy lunge sessions, because the move helps with your running posture and increases your resilience to injury.

There is one caveat to the high praise we’re giving the curtsy lunge, however, which is that it can put extra strain on the knees as you take them out to the side and down during the move. The lateral movement in particular can risk inflaming niggles, so be careful to maintain correct form and opt for lighter weights if using any. If you have any concerns about your knees, it might not be the best move to add to your workout routine.

How To Do The Curtsy Lunge

Stand with your feet shoulder-width apart. Step back and across with your right foot so the toes of your right foot make contact with the ground in line with the outside of your left foot. Lower until your front thigh is roughly parallel to the ground, then push back up to your starting position. You can do all your reps on one side before switching, or alternate legs.

See related 

• Do This Leg Workout At Home To Strengthen Your Lower Body
• Try This Leg Strength Workout After Your Next Easy Run
• The Best Leg Exercises For All Levels Of Gym-Goer

You can also do a version of the curtsy lunge in which you step back, drop and then aim to hold that position for set time, rather than coming back up and trying to hit a certain number of reps. This will increase the benefits to your stabilising muscles as you work to keep your balance.

If you play sports, there are few bodyweight exercises so worthwhile as the lunge. By simply taking a stride forward and dropping your back knee to the floor, you target multiple joints and muscle groups, making them stronger and improving your balance and flexibility overall. 

Sounds easy, right? In reality, it requires co-ordination, control and practice to do it properly. To master this essential exercise, and understand how it could help you, we spoke to running specialist Rory Knight, director of fitness at leading fitness app WithU. Here’s his expert guide, tips on how to avoid the move’s common pitfalls and an explanation of why it’s totally safe to let your knees travel beyond your toes.

And once you can lunge with the best of them, keep scrolling to find a range of lunge variations to help you progress.

How To Do A Lunge

The Set-up

Stand tall with your feet hip-width apart and your core engaged but not overly tense. Identify a point on the floor a meter or so in front of you where you will aim to land with each step forward. Keep your chin up to correct your posture so you don’t end up staring down at your leading foot, which makes balancing more difficult.

The Descent 

Take a generous step forward, landing with your weight evenly distributed across your heel and midfoot, and your torso upright, rather than with your bodyweight over your front leg. Your back heel will lift off the floor at this point. Bend both knees to lower until your back knee is just off the floor—or you can tap it gently on the floor. Keep your front knee directly above your front foot. 

“Always control the descent, even as you fatigue,” says Knight. “Use your glutes and hamstrings to slow the eccentric phase of the move. Feel the rep, don’t steal the rep.” 

The Return

To return to the start, powerfully press through the heel and midfoot of your front foot and step back to standing. When driving out of the deep lunge position, keep your core engaged and torso upright, rather than leaning over your front knee. Reset, then repeat on the same side, or alternate sides with each rep. 

“Once you feel strong and stable and can confidently perform eight to 12 reps on each side, don’t be afraid to add load so that you can progress this exercise further,” says Knight. 

Common Lunge Mistakes

Crowding Your Front Leg

A strong, safe forward lunge relies on accurate foot placement. Too big a step forward and any impingements in mobility will limit the depth you can sink per rep. Too small a step and you’ll crowd out your front leg, tipping your bodyweight forward and overloading your knee and ankle. Before you add any extra load, practice a few reps to locate the sweet spot, then mark it out like a cricketer measuring their bowling run-up.

Failing To Control The Descent 

Another common lunge faux pas, says Knight, is smashing your back knee into the floor every rep. “Lowering your knee to gently touch the floor ensures you’re performing the exercise with a good range of motion, but if it’s hurtling into the ground I can guarantee you will not be engaging your muscles optimally,” he says. “Control the descent and slow down the eccentric element of the exercise.” 

Losing Your Balance

A slight wobble here and there is inevitable with any lunge variation, but if you’re pressing from an unstable base you won’t be able to complete many reps or add load safely. A simple fix is to focus on the connection between the floor and your front foot. 

“Your feet are the connection point between you and the ground,” says Knight. “To enhance that connectivity and become more stable in your lunge, think of your foot as a tripod gripping the floor at three points—your big toe, your little toe and your heel. Try it. I can guarantee you’ll feel greater engagement, more connectivity and, ultimately, much stronger all over.” 

What Are Lunges Good For?

The classic lunge exercise delivers a triple whammy of benefits that few bodyweight moves can match. 

First, it improves the stability and integrity of your ankles, knees and hips in unison. Second, it helps develop lower-body strength and size in the quadriceps, the powerhouse muscles on the front of your thighs, while simultaneously activating the glutes and hamstrings to control your descent. 

Third, it develops these physical attributes in a truly functional way that you’ll notice whenever you break into a run, in or out of the gym. 

“For me, a lunge of some description should form an essential part of any good strength routine,” says Knight. “You are strengthening multiple lower-body muscles in a unilateral fashion, meaning you can target both sides of your lower body more effectively, while also challenging and developing your balance, stability and hip mobility.” 

Lunge Variations And Progressions

Once you’ve mastered the standard lunge, take a moment to pat yourself on the back. Then move on to one of these variations to develop all-round lower body strength, stability and mobility. 

Beginner-Friendly Lunge Variations

Reverse lunge

A lot of lunge variations involve moving in different directions, but since you’ve mastered the standard lunge, let’s keep to the sagittal plane (that’s forward and backward). Take a big step backward and lower until both knees are bent at 90°, then push back up. Why go backward? Well, the same muscles are involved as in a standard lunge, but pushing back up and forward in the second half of the movement provides a closer approximation of the movements you’ll undertake while running, so it helps to build functional power.

Reverse lunge to knee drive

Adding in a knee drive at the end of the move makes it an even more effective exercise for building power and strength for running. Step back into your reverse lunge as normal, then when you push back up to standing, bring your trailing leg through and drive the knee up to chest height. Balancing on your standing leg also increases the movement’s challenge to your core.

Walking lunge

To combine the initial phase of the forward lunge and the second phase of the reverse lunge, try this walking progression. Lunge forward as normal, but instead of pushing back to the start, move your back leg forward so you go straight into another lunge, keeping your torso relatively upright throughout.

Intermediate-Level Lunge Variations

Side lunge

Another new direction to lunge in—two new directions in fact, because you have two sides to play with here. The side or lateral lunge is another move that mimics the movements of sports such as football and rugby, where moving only forward and backward would make you a liability to your team, and it also enlists some extra muscles in your inner and outer thighs. From a standing position, take a big step to the side and lower until the knee on your leading leg is bent at 90°, keeping your trailing leg straight. Then push back up.

Clock lunge

Once you’ve nailed the form for forward, reverse and side lunges, put them all together and complete a clock lunge. Lunge forward, to one side, backward, and to the other side sequentially to hit the 12, 3, 6, and 9 on a clock face. Progress to adding lunges at 1.30, 4.30, 7.30 and 10.30 on a clock face.

Curtsy lunge

Stand with your feet shoulder-width apart. Step backward with your right leg but bring your foot across to the left side of your body as you lower, finishing with the toes and ball of your right foot on the floor. Push through your left heel to return to standing. Complete all the reps on one side, then swap legs.

Pulse lunge

Maximize the time under tension to pump up your quads. Lunge forward as normal, then hold that position. Ensuring you remain balanced with both feet on the floor, slowly rise straight up a few inches, then lower again a few inches. Pulse for 20 to 30 seconds on one leg, then switch.

Weighted lunge

The easiest way to increase both the difficulty and the benefit of a standard lunge is to add weight. Hold a dumbbell in each hand by your sides or on your shoulders, or clutch a kettlebell or sandbag to your chest as you lunge. If you plan on using a barbell, make sure you’re confident with the move and can keep your knees in line with your toes throughout. No matter the weight, pay attention to where you position it—you want the weight centered so you’re balanced. 

Advanced Lunge Variations

Lunge with overhead press

One step harder than the weighted lunge is the lunge with a dumbbell shoulder press. Hold two dumbbells by your shoulders with your palms facing. Perform a forward lunge and once your knees are bent at 90°, press the dumbbells up. Reverse the movements to return to the start, alternating legs with each rep.

Jump lunge

The jump lunge is the most advanced variation here, but it’s not a big step up in technique (it does turn the lunge into a high-impact exercise though). Start by stepping forward into a lunge but instead of pushing back up, power into the air by driving off your front foot and switch the position of your legs in mid-air so you land ready to drop into another lunge on the opposite leg. This version of the lunge helps build explosive power in your legs and is a must-do move for runners looking to increase their speed.

Lunge to step-up

You will need a box for this exercise, but that’s the least of your worries. This lunge-to-step-up is going to get your legs working on all kinds of levels—literally. Stand in front of a box, then take a large step backward to find your starting position. Perform a forward lunge towards the box, then push through the heel on your front foot; as you rise, bring your back foot forward and use it to step onto the box. Drive up so you end standing on the box. Slowly step down and go straight into a reverse lunge to the starting position, one lunge’s distance from the box again.

Single-arm overhead lunge

This is also known as the Statue of Liberty lunge, which is a useful way of picturing the position. Stand holding a dumbbell (or flaming torch—dealer’s choice) in one arm above your head with your arm extended and your other arm by your side—unless you want to hold a tablet to complete the Lady Liberty look. Keep the dumbbell above your head as you perform a forward lunge. The position of the dumbbell will increase the challenge to your core by making you work to maintain your balance throughout the exercise, and the extra weight will increase the benefits of the move in general.

About Our Expert

Everybody squats – from fitness class newbies to bodybuilders, from parkrunners to Mo Farah – and part of the reason for that is there are dozens of ways to perform the exercise, with different variations better for different fitness levels.

But what unites all the variations is that they’re all terrific compound exercises. Squatting is a movement that works multiple muscle groups and joints at the same time. It’s incredibly efficient because it hits pretty much the whole lower body in one fell swoop. It works your glutes, quads, hamstrings and calves hard, while also strengthening the smaller stabiliser muscles and the ligaments that support your main leg muscles.

Squats also increase the mobility in your ankles and hips, which – in combination with the strength benefits – can help to reduce your risk of injury when playing sports. And it’s not just the lower body that benefits from the squat: the move works your core too, and with so many large muscles involved you’ll find that rattling through a set of squats also gets your heart pumping, helping you to burn calories and improve your cardiovascular fitness.

No doubt hearing about all those benefits has left you raring to start squatting right away, so let’s dive straight in with the basic, unweighted squat. Once you’ve mastered that, read on for our favourite variations of the exercise, including several challenging weighted squats.

How To Squat

Even if you plan on trying each and every one of the many weighted squat variations listed below, it’s wise to start by nailing your form with an unweighted squat – also known as a bodyweight or air squat.

Begin by standing with your feet hip-width apart. Hold your arms out in front of you, or fold them across your chest, or even stick them out to the sides. They can go anywhere but on your legs.

Brace your core and lower until your thighs are parallel to the ground. Imagine you’re sitting back into an invisible chair. If you want to and it feels comfortable, you can continue to lower past this point into a deeper squat. If you’re concerned that you’re not dropping low enough with your squats, put a box or chair behind you that’s at or just below knee height, then lower until you just touch it with your bum to ensure you’re reaching the required depth. Drive through the heels to stand up and complete the rep.

Squat Form Tips

1. Toes

“You want your toes to point the way that feels most natural, either straight forward or to the sides,” says Adam Hayley, PT at Ultimate Performance. “If squatting feels tight or restricted, try pointing your toes to ten and two to align your feet with your thighs and improve ankle mobility.”

2. Heels

“Your heels are your main point of contact with the ground when squatting, and you should drive through them hard when you start to move back up,” says Hayley. “If you have very poor ankle mobility you can elevate your heels on weight plates to squat deeper.”

3. Knees

“You never want your knees to roll inwards because it’s a fast route to problems,” says Hayley. “When you stand back up, focus on pushing your knees out to the sides to activate more stabilising muscles to keep your body stable for more power output.”

Squat Variations

Box squat

All you need for this variation is a box and your bodyweight. The lower the box, the harder the exercise will be. Stand just in front of your box and raise one leg in front of you. Lower onto the box until your glutes are resting on the surface. After 1-2sec, drive back up using your heels and hips.

Sumo squat

This variation shifts the focus of the squat to your inner thighs and glute muscles, and all you have to do is widen your stance a little. Stand with your feet wider than shoulder-width apart and your toes pointed at a 45° angle. Lower into a squat, then push back up.

Squat jump

One of the key performance benefits of the common-or-garden squat is explosive power. To get more of that benefit, and quicker, add squat jumps to your routine. Drop into a squat, then explode upwards by driving through the heels while contracting your hamstrings, glutes and quads. Keep your back straight and land softly with a slight bend in your legs to avoid injury.

Squat thrust

The squat thrust is basically a slightly less demanding burpee, and so it works muscles all over the body as well as ramping up your heart rate. From a standing position, drop into a squat and put your hands on the ground in front of you, kicking your feet out behind you so you finish in a press-up position. Then jump your feet back up to your hands and stand up.

Split squat

Putting extra focus on one leg with the split squat not only increases the benefits of squatting for that leg, but also challenges your core stability. From a standard squat position take one big step backwards, with your heel raised so your back foot is on its toes. Lower slowly until your back knee is almost touching the ground, then rise back up.

Bulgarian split squat

If you really want to challenge your core elevate the back leg in a split squat, which ups the load on your front leg and tests your balance all the more. The form is the same as the split squat, but you rest your back foot on a bench or step that’s around knee height.

Cossack squat

When is a squat not a squat? When it’s virtually indistinguishable from a type of lunge. The Cossack squat tests the definition of the exercise to its limit – and tests your flexibility to a similar extent. Even if you’re as strong as an ox and lifting big weights with your standard squats, the Cossack variation is a useful addition to your workout routine to ensure your mobility is just as impressive.

To perform the exercise, take a big step to the side as you would for a side lunge. Keep your weight in your heels as you start to sit back and down, with your trailing leg straight. Lower until the thigh on your bent leg is parallel to the ground or ideally lower, then push back up while maintaining your wide stance (unlike in the side lunge where you would step your feet back together).

It’s certainly best to start with a bodyweight version of the Cossack squat to check you have the mobility to go deep into the position and get back up. Add weight once you’re comfortable with the movement.

Single-leg squat

Squatting on one leg greatly increases the difficulty of the exercise and makes it more beneficial to sporty types, because it strengthens the muscles in a way that will add more power to your running and make you more resistant to injury. Stand on one leg with the raised leg held slightly behind you, and squat down as low as you can without toppling over. Hold both arms out in front of you to help with your balance when you first attempt the exercise.

Pistol squat

A particularly challenging version of the single-leg squat. With the pistol squat you hold the raised leg out straight in front of you and lower all the way down until the hamstring on your standing leg touches the calf. It’s a test of your mobility as well as your strength and it’s not an exercise for beginners – be sure to master the standard single-leg squat before reaching for the pistol.

Goblet squat

The goblet squat can be performed with a kettlebell or dumbbell, which should be held to your chest with your elbows tucked in. The goblet squat is a good way for beginners to add weight to their squats while ensuring they maintain correct form, and acts as a stepping stone from air squats to barbell back and front squats. Keeping the weight close to your chest is also beneficial for your back stability and core strength.

Back squat

The daddy of compound lifts, the back squat does it all when it comes to strengthening your lower body, boosting the benefits of the movement through the increased challenge of the weight. Start with the barbell resting on your rear shoulder muscles, then lower into a squat and power back up, keeping the weight on your heels as you do.

Front squat

A natural progression from the goblet squat, the front squat puts more focus on the quads than the back squat, and also challenges the core which is constantly working to keep the upper body balanced. The key in this lift is to create a “shelf” across the front of your shoulders where you can safely hold the barbell. Focus on keeping your elbows up and pointing forwards – this ensures the bar won’t pull you forwards.

Landmine squat

Fed up with holding the barbell in the middle? Then try the landmine squat. Load up one end of a bar and hold it in both hands in front of your chest, with the other end on the floor. Then lower into a squat. The landmine squat allows you to lift a lot of weight without putting so much pressure on your joints.

Overhead squat

When you’ve mastered every other squat going, give the very tricky overhead squat a go to increase the challenge to your legs and core. Stand holding a barbell overhead with your hands shoulder-width apart and your arms straight. Then squat. Good luck.

The unweighted squat, or air squat, is pretty much as good as bodyweight exercises get, and it’s undoubtedly one of the best leg exercises you can do. However, it’s worth mixing up your approach to the move frequently, not only to keep your workout interesting but also to vary the muscles you’re targeting with your squats or increase the challenge involved, which you can do with the goblet squat or Bulgarian split squat.

Another great variation to try is the sumo squat, which you can do with or without weights and which changes the target muscles.

Sumo Squat Benefits

When was the last time you considered your inner thighs and whether they are getting enough attention during your workouts? It probably wasn’t all that recently, if ever, but the sumo squat will change that for you because it’s a great inner thigh exercise that also works your glutes.

All the lower-body muscles you target with the classic squat still get some attention too, so don’t worry that the quads are going unchallenged. The sumo squat also works the core, which you should be keeping engaged to ensure your upper body is in the right position throughout the move.

How To Do The Sumo Squat

Start in a standing position with your feet wide apart and your toes pointing at 45° angles. By wide we mean wider than shoulder-width apart – around a foot (30cm) beyond your shoulder on each side.

Drop into a squat, bending at the hips and knees and sitting back. Keep your chest up and knees out. Keep lowering until your thighs are parallel to the ground, or even slightly below parallel if you have it in you. Then stand back up to the starting position. Make sure you don’t lift your feet off the ground or round out your lower back as you perform the sumo squat.

Sumo Squat Variations

Weighted sumo squat

Once the unweighted version of the sumo squat fails to thoroughly exhaust your thighs and glutes, it’s time to add some weight. You can do this in any manner you like, but we recommend holding a kettlebell or dumbbell with both hands in front of you so it hangs down towards the floor. This means you’ll also know if you’re going deep enough with your squats – the weight should almost touch the ground.

Sumo squat to kettlebell swing

If you’re using a kettlebell for your sumo squats you can easily combine the exercise with a kettlebell swing. Your stance for the latter will be a little wider than normal, which places more emphasis on the inner thighs, just as the sumo squat does compared with the standard squat. Holding the kettlebell in both hands in front of you, drop into a shallow sumo squat and swing the weight back between your legs. Thrust your hips forwards and swing the kettlebell up to shoulder height as you stand back up, then swing it back down under control.

Sumo jump squat

If you don’t have weights to hand but want to increase the difficulty of the sumo squat while also ramping up your heart rate, opt for the jumping version of the move. Instead of coming back up to standing from your squat, drive back up explosively and jump straight up. Land softly and go straight into another squat

The back squat is the classic lower-body lift. It packs muscle on your glutes, quads and hamstrings, as well as recruiting your abs and lower back which must work hard to stabilise your torso as you lift and lower the bar. It’s also an effective strength-building move, which is why it’s so popular with elite athletes from 100m sprinters to UFC fighters to American footballers to swimmers.

But there’s another move you should add to your leg-building workouts if you’re serious about adding muscular size and strength to your lower body: the front squat.

It’s an often-neglected lift but one that deserves your attention. While similar the back squat, it has one key difference: you hold the bar across the front of your shoulders, at the top of your chest, rather than behind your neck.

This significant adjustment forces your quads, the muscle group on the front of your thighs, to manage and move more of the load, as well as making your core muscles work even harder to keep your torso upright and your upper body balanced.

And there’s a bonus, too. Unlike the back squat, where it’s common for your form to suffer towards the end of each set, the position you’re in for the front squat forces you to stay upright and maintain the correct form, which means you can squat far more safely. Here’s everything you need to know.

How To Do The Front Squat

The Set-up

Start with the bar secure in the squat rack, level with the middle of your chest. Hold the bar with hands just wider than shoulder-width apart. Step in close to the bar and lower into a quarter squat so the bar is level and touching the top of your chest and front of your shoulders. Without letting go of the bar, bring your elbows forwards and up as high as you can manage. Focus on keeping your elbows as high as possible throughout the squat – this will keep your body upright and the bar secure in the crook of your hands and resting against your chest and shoulders. Drive up to take the bar out of the rack.

The Move

Take one step backwards. Position your feet shoulder-width apart, with your toes pointing very slightly diagonally away from each other. Brace yourself, take a deep breath in to fill your chest and keep your torso strong, then bend your legs to lower into a squat. Keep your knees wide apart and heels down. Lower until your legs are at least parallel with the floor, then drive back up to stand. That’s perfect form. If you’re struggling, here are some ways to improve.

Front Squat Form Tips

Hand Position

The perfect form for the front squat can be difficult due to limited flexibility of the wrists and forearms if you're not used to it. If that’s you, start by warming your wrists up. Interlock your fingers and rotate your wrists in both directions for a couple of minutes. Still an issue? A solution is to get into the position where you're about to lift the bar out of the rack, but cross your arms and hold the bar against your shoulders. Keeping your shoulders high is still a priority here. You’ll probably not be able to lift as much weight so knock the weight plates down until you're comfortable.

Elbows

As soon as you let your elbows drop, the weight will tip forwards, pushing you off-balance and signalling the end of your set. Fix this by focusing on pushing your elbows towards the ceiling throughout the move. Also, try bringing your hands closer together or further apart to find a position that lets you keep your elbows high.

Front Squat Variations

Elevated heels front squat

In all squats, ankle mobility and calf flexibility can be an issue. While you work on improving those departments, you can still front squat by elevating your heels on small weight plates for this move. This can also allow you to go deeper and put more emphasis on your quads for greater development.

Goblet squat

If you’re not sure about taking on a loaded barbell in a front squat, you can build up to it by using a kettlebell or dumbbell first. Hold the weight against your chest with your arms bent so your hands are above your elbows (as if holding a goblet in two hands). Drop into a squat until your elbows touch the inside of your knees, then drive back up to a standing position. This exercise will get you used to holding a weight in front of your body while squatting, and is a great leg-strengthener in its own right.

Offset kettlebell front squat

This exercise acts as a progression from the goblet squat as you build up to the full front squat, and is a great way to work out your core in general. The idea is to place more load on one side of the body, so your core has to resist the urge to turn to that side as you squat, which enlists different muscles that those involved in a straight up-and-down squat. You can do the offset squat with either a kettlebell on one shoulder or two kettlebells of different weights. Hold the kettlebell in the rack position against your shoulder and drop into a squat until your elbow passes the inside of your thigh, then push back up, all the while ensuring you resist any rotation in your torso.

Band-resisted front squat

If you decide lifting the weight on the bar isn’t enough for you, you can add a resistance band. This doesn’t just increase the overall resistance involved in the lift, but loads that resistance towards the top of the move, since that’s where the tension in the band will be at its greatest. This means there’s no extra load on the bottom part of the exercise, which could be risky given the mobility challenge of the squat, but it does increase your power and force you to drive all the way up as you stand to counter the band’s growing resistance.

To perform this variation, attach the resistance band to a racked bar, keeping the two loops on the bar slightly wider than shoulder-width apart, then stand on the resistance band so it’s taut. Then perform your front squat as normal, being careful not to let the extra resistance in the second half of the exercise throw off your form.

It takes a variety of exercises to build up the powerhouse muscles that make up the front of your thigh, and it’s worth incorporating a mix of compound and isolation moves into your routine if stronger quads are among your key goals.

The leg extension is a stalwart isolation exercise that puts all the focus on your quads and it acts as the perfect complement to the leg curl, which isolates the hamstrings. Together the duo will go a long way towards bulking up your thigh muscles, front and back.

However, before we get to how you do leg extensions it’s important to address the risks of the exercise, because it’s one that many people with knee issues steer clear of. For info on the potential risks and how to avoid them, we spoke to Barry’s Bootcamp master trainer Sandy Macaskill.

What are the risks of doing leg extensions?

Leg extensions are a pretty straightforward exercise in terms of technique, which is always a positive, but they do keep your anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) under tension. If you have weak knees, or regularly play sports that involve repeated changes of direction or jumping, it’s important to perform leg extensions carefully and with manageable weight. To be honest, though, the same applies for any resistance exercise.

Can you give some technique pointers for reducing these risks?

Lift light, first of all. Start with a light load and go from there. You can always build up, unless you wreck your knees out of the gate. The technique is pretty straightforward but even so, perform the exercise slowly and concentrate on contracting your quads to move the weight rather than yanking your feet up. Engaging the correct muscles requires you to really focus.

What other exercises could people do to target the same muscles without similar risks?

We work with free weights at Barry’s, so I would prefer the good old squat which recruits more muscles, allows a greater increase in the load and is a more functional exercise. Also it offers more variety, in terms of changing angles. Again, like any exercise, squats come with their own issues. Start with an unweighted squat, focusing on correct form, and progress from there.

How To Do The Leg Extension

Sit up straight on the leg extension machine – imagine you have a seat belt pulling your waist into the seat. Adjust the pad so it sits on top of your shins just above your feet, which should be pointing forward. Hold the side bars. Ensuring that you are using your quads to power the movement, rather than kicking up with your feet, extend your legs straight out in front of you. Then slowly lower them back to the starting position.

See related 

• The Best Quad Exercises
• The Best Quad Workout To Build Up The Front Of Your Legs
• What The Weights Machines In Your Gym Do
• The Best Leg Exercises For All Levels Of Gym-Goer

Leg Extension Variations

Resistance band leg extension

As a general rule the leg extension is not easy to do anywhere other than in a gym thanks to its reliance on the leg extension machine, but if you are craving some quad-focused action on the move you can perform the move with a resistance band instead.

Sit on a chair with a resistance band looped around your ankle and the rear leg of the chair on the same side. Raise your leg straight out in front of your body, pause for a beat, then slowly lower, keeping tension in the band throughout.

For a standing version of the move, anchor a resistance band behind you, loop it around your right ankle and stand facing away from the anchor point so there’s tension in the band. Ideally you’ll have a chair or similar to hold for balance during the exercise. Lift your right foot and, keeping the movement controlled, bend at the knee to allow your foot to move back and up. Use your quad to reverse the moment, keeping the foot elevated throughout.

Coach spends a lot of time praising functional exercises, and for good reason: functional training hits multiple muscle groups and joints, and strengthens your body in a way that will benefit you when playing sports and going about your everyday life. But don’t take our praise of functional fitness as condemnation of isolation exercises like the leg curl, which do a stand-up job of targeting individual muscles in a way that functional moves cannot.

You can do the standard leg curl in a prone or seated position, with both requiring the use of a machine (although we also have some variations that use sliders instead of a machine if you don’t want to splash the cash on a home leg curl machine or gym membership). Whether you do it lying or sitting down, the benefits are broadly the same – the leg curl is one of the best ways to strengthen and bulk up your hamstrings.

How To Do The Lying Leg Curl

Start by adjusting the machine so your thighs and torso sit comfortably on the pads when you’re lying face down. The lever on the back of the machine should sit just below your calf muscles when your legs are straight. Grasp the handles on the front of the machine and brace yourself – it’s time to curl.

Curl your lower legs up as far as possible without lifting your thighs off the pad. Hold for a second at the top of the movement, then lower slowly back to the start. Keep your movements smooth throughout – if you’re having to resort to jerky movements to shift the weight, you’re using too much.

How To Do The Seated Leg Curl

Set up the machine so that the pads sit comfortably against your lower back when you sit on it. Put your legs on the padded lever so it sits just below your calf muscles, and set up the lap pad so it sits on your thighs just above the knees. Lift your legs so they are straight out in front of you and grasp the side handles on the machine. Pull the padded lever down and back towards you as far as you can with your legs, hold for a second, then slowly bring it back to the starting position.

See related 

• The Best Workout To Strengthen Your Hamstrings
• The Best Leg Exercises For All Levels Of Gym-Goer
• How To Do The Leg Extension
• The Pros And Cons Of The Leg Press
• What The Weights Machines In Your Gym Do

Leg Curl Variations

Gym ball leg curl

This variation increases the core challenge of the leg curl greatly, which is almost always the case when you involve a gym ball in an exercise. Lie on your back with your calves resting on a gym ball. Raise your hips and roll the ball towards you so your feet end up resting on top of the ball, then roll the ball away from you again.

TRX hamstring curl

Another variation that ramps ups the demands on your core. Set up a suspension trainer so the handles hang close to the ground, then lie on your back and put your feet in them so your heels are resting on the handles. Raise your hips into a bridge position, forming a straight line between your shoulders and your knees, and then draw the handles towards you with your legs. Move your feet back out again slowly, and resist the temptation to drop your hips to the ground even as your core muscles start to burn.

Slider leg curl

A set of sliders is a great addition to your home gym set-up, because you can use them for a variety of core-crunching moves as well as machine-free leg curls. They will have a coarse side to use on hard floors and a smooth side for carpets (note that neither works well on rubber, if you happen to have rubber floors).

Lie on your back with your heels on the sliders. Raise your hips into a bridge position where your body forms a straight line from knees to neck. Slowly slide your feet away from you until your legs are extended, keeping your hips off the floor and your core engaged throughout, then bring your feet back and return to the bridge position.

Weighted slider leg curl

Once you’ve got a handle on the standard slider leg curl it’s time to add some resistance to increase the difficulty and the benefits for your hamstrings. You can do this by looping a resistance band around your legs and a pole so you pull against the band as you curl your feet towards you, but an even simpler way is to put a weight plate on top of the sliders and rest your feet on that as you move them back and forth.

When House Of Pain exhorted the world to jump around, jump around, jump around, jump up, jump up, and indeed get down, they were almost certainly not lauding the benefits of adding plyometric exercises to your training regime. But that doesn’t stop the song being great workout advice.

Throwing a few jumps into your workout builds speed and strength, and is especially useful for people hitting the gym to improve their performance in sports. Plus, jumping as high or as far as you can is also fun and a great way to break any monotony that has crept into your workouts.

The box jump is a plyometric move that strengthens your main lower-body muscles – glutes, quads, calves and hamstrings. Box jumps will help make you faster, more powerful and springier than ever, and if you do them for more than a few seconds, they’ll raise your heart rate and burn calories like nobody’s business.

It’s a versatile move, too. “The beauty of box jumps is that you can adjust the height of the box so you can use it for a wide variety of fitness goals,”says personal trainer Joe Spraggan. “ So you can build explosive power and speed using a high box for low reps, or use a lower height to work on foot speed and improve cardio endurance with higher-rep sets. They can also be used, after a proper warm-up, as a great way to fire up your central nervous system ahead of a big legs session.”

“To build explosive power use a higher box and focus on quality reps over quantity. Do up to five sets of five reps – resting for three to five minutes between them – but stop as soon as your form fails,” says Spraggan. “To burn fat and build cardio endurance, use a lower box and do three to four sets of up to 20 reps, resting for up to 60 seconds.”

How To Do Box Jumps

First things first: find yourself a box. Start with a height of around 50cm while you work on getting the form right. Smashing your shins into the top of the box because you’ve aimed too high is no-one’s idea of fun.

Stand in front of the box with your feet shoulder-width apart. Bend into a quarter squat and swing your arms back, then swing them forward and explode up off the ground. Land on the box as softly as possible. You’re aiming to mimic your take-off position on landing – feet flat and knees slightly bent (don’t let them collapse inwards). If you land in a deep squat rather than a quarter squat, it’s a sign that you’ve picked too high a box.

Then jump back down. Again, you’re aiming to land as softly as possible. You can also opt to step down slowly one leg at a time, which will work the glutes even more and safeguard your joints.

To build power with box jumps aim for one to three sets of three to five reps, using as high a box as you can jump on without sacrificing good form.

To use box jumps for conditioning lower the height of the box. Try jumping up and down continuously for five minutes, maintaining good form throughout. You can also build them into a HIIT workout, as your heart rate will rocket if you keep jumping. For the ultimate challenge try doing box jumps until you can remember the name of another House Of Pain song.

If you’re going to use box jumps to improve your power output, make sure you limit the number of reps you perform each set. Study subjects who did ten sets of two reps with a ten-second rest between sets demonstrated greater power production, take-off velocity and jump height than those who did two sets of ten reps with 90 seconds’ rest between efforts. If your aim is to develop power endurance then higher-rep sets may still be useful – but if it’s all-out power you want, keep it short and explosive.

See related 

• The Basics Of Plyometric Training
• Squat Jumps: How To Build Power With The Jumping Squat
• Get A Natural High With The Tuck Jump

Box Jump Variations

One-leg box jump

Halve the number of legs involved in the exercise and the box jump becomes a whole lot tougher. You can take off and land on one leg, or just land on both if it’s proving too tough. The one-legged version is especially good when training for sports involving running, or indeed just running – because unless you’re doing it wrong, you don’t land on two legs when running.

Rotational box jump

Box jumps with a twist, literally. Stand with the box by your side. Leap up and turn to face the box as you go, landing on both feet. Then step down from the box and repeat. Do all your reps facing one way, then turn to face the opposite direction and do your turning box jumps from that side. The rotation movement makes this an excellent exercise for anyone who does sports involving twists and turns of the torso, and it’s especially good for golfers looking for extra power in their swing.

Two-step box jump

Stand about a metre away from the box. Jump forwards once to get closer to the box and then go immediately into another jump up onto the box. This is a more challenging version of the box jump and it can be made even harder by starting further away from the box so you have to take a longer first jump. Don’t get too cocky with the size of your box when doing this variation, especially when you first try it, because it’s easy to go too far forwards with the second jump and rattle your shins on the way up.

Box jump burpee

For those who really want to turn this plyo move – or any exercise – into something that belongs in a house of pain, add a burpee. Because you’re dramatically upping the demands of the move, choose a lower box than usual – your legs are going to tire out quickly.

Once you’ve stepped off the box, drop into a squat, placing your hands on the floor outside of your feet. Jump your feet back and drop your chest to the floor. Reverse the move to standing and prepare for another box jump. If your pulse wasn’t going like a jackhammer before, it definitely will be after this.

Seated box jump

If you’re doing box jumps to build your explosiveness, consider adding this variation to your schedule, because starting from a seated position removes the benefit of the momentum and power generated by squatting before the leap. Set up a bench next to your box – we recommend starting with a box that’s the same height as the bench until you get used to the exercise. Sit down on the bench and swing your arms back behind you, then bring them through and jump onto the box. When you’re sitting facing the box for the first time this will feel like a very bizarre thing to attempt, but once you’re over the mental hurdle of your first jump you’ll quickly get a feel for it.

Weighted box jump

Don’t use a lot of weight. That’s the first thing to say, because you don’t want your body shape to be pulled out of position mid-jump. Use a weighted vest if you can, or hold a light dumbbell in each hand, then perform the exercise as normal. This is a good way to increase the difficulty of the exercise if you don’t have higher boxes.

One way to ensure you never leave a workout feeling that you haven’t put enough effort in is to use the sled push as a finisher. No matter what you’ve done beforehand, rattling off a few 25m pushes at the end or your training session will leave you absolutely wrecked – it’s a move that takes no prisoners.

We hope that hasn’t put you off, because it’s a move that’s undoubtedly worth doing to strengthen your lower body. All the major leg muscles work overtime, along with your glutes and core, as your drive the sled along, and they’re doing so in a functional manner that will benefit your performance in sports and make everyday movements easier.

The sled push also works well as a relatively low-impact cardio exercise, which is especially useful for runners. Pushing the sled along mimics the movement of running and challenges the same muscles without stressing the joints so much. It makes a great addition to a HIIT workout or your leg day strength session, and as mentioned above, as an all-out finisher it will floor you.

See related 

• A Strongman Champion Reveals How To Beast Tyre Flips
• What Is Functional Fitness?

How To Do The Sled Push

Load up the sled with weight. It’s not easy to judge how much when you first try it, but you’ll soon know if you’ve loaded too much on, because you won’t be able to move it an inch. Remember, those first few inches from stationary are the hardest part. Once the sled gets going it’ll feel easier to move the weight.

Adopt a low position against the sled pushing either with straight or bent arms. The lower you get your body to the ground, the easier the pushing will be – unless you go all the way and lie down. As you move forwards make sure your core is braced and that you’re driving through your forefoot with each step and keeping your feet around hip-width apart.

If you’re looking to improve your power and get a good cardio workout, push the sled faster for longer; if strength gains are your primary aim, march along short distances using more weight. The distance you can push will depend a fair bit on the gym you’re in, especially in city centres where hopes of a 50m stretch to push along are thin, but you should be able to push 25m most of the time.

Sled Push Finisher

Grab a sled and stack up a pile of weight plates to the side of the track. If you can, get as many of the same weight as possible.

Set a four-minute timer and push the sled to the end of the track and back. Once you’re back to the start, add one plate to the sled as quickly as possible and then go up and down the track again. Keep adding weight before each lap until the time’s up.

By starting at a low weight and gradually increasing, you will tick off endurance, hypertrophy and building strength – if you stick with it for the full four minutes, that is. The result will be bigger muscles that will last longer.

And as well as being a great finisher for your leg muscles, this drill gets you working more or less non-stop and at a high energy demand, which means it should increase your heart rate to a fat-burning threshold.

The name might evoke expectations of a particularly punishing progression of the unweighted squat, but the prisoner squat isn’t all that demanding a variation on the classic move. It’s simply a squat where you keep your hands on your head throughout, as if responding to law enforcement demands during your workout.

It’s not all that different from an unweighted squat then, but that still means the prisoner squat is one of the best bodyweight exercises, and it is a little more challenging than the standard move because you can’t use your arms for balance. It’s a good variation to try before moving on to more challenging weighted versions of the move like the barbell back squat or goblet squat, because you can’t use your arms for balance when they’re holding something heavy either.

Prisoner Squat Benefits

Because you can’t stick your arms out in front of you for balance, you’ll increase the demands on your legs and core. As with all squats the exercise works most of the lower body, with the quads and glutes doing the bulk of the work, and your core should be engaged throughout to keep your upper body in the right position.

How To Do The Prisoner Squat

Start with your feet hip-width apart, toes pointing out slightly. Keep your chest up and place both hands on the back of your head, with your elbows pointing out to the sides. Lower slowly by moving your hips down and back, keeping your back straight and looking forwards, until your thighs are parallel to the ground, then drive back up, pushing through your heels. Aim to take three seconds to lower, pause at the bottom of the move, then take one or two seconds to return to standing. Aim for three sets of 12 reps.

The standard deadlift and Romanian deadlift are superb leg exercises that build strength along the full length of your posterior chain, from your hamstrings and glutes to your lower back. But once these moves are perfected, it’s worth layering on a single-leg variation to develop your lower-body strength in a more functional, sports-specific way. 

Step forward the single-leg Romanian deadlift (or single-leg RDL for short). Whether performed with just your bodyweight or loaded with a dumbbell, kettlebell or barbell, it’s a challenging, technical exercise that will boost your coordination and balance, while evening out any imbalances of strength between your left and right side.

To drill down into all the dos and don’ts of this tricky exercise, and provide regressions and progressions to suit all levels, we spoke to Waz Ashayer, trainer at fitness app Fiit and group fitness manager at Equinox, NYC. 

How To Do The Single-Leg Romanian Deadlift

Here we will describe how to do the exercise with a barbell, but it can also be done with a dumbbell or kettlebell in each hand or just one, or without any weight at all. It’s certainly worth trying the bodyweight version first to get used to the movement and improve your balance. Doing the move with just your bodyweight is also ideal as a warm-up to prime the muscles before adding weight. Of course, whichever type of free weight you end up using, you’ll want to use far less weight than you would lift in the standard deadlift or Romanian deadlift when you have both legs planted on the ground.

Common Single-Leg Romanian Deadlift Mistakes

Due to its complexity, the single-leg RDL can be a tricky move to get right. Here are some of the most common mistakes Ashayer sees creeping in for both novices and experienced gym-goers. 

Rotating Your Hips

Losing your balance is a telltale sign that the hips have shifted out of position and your bodyweight is lopsided. Ashayer has three easy fixes. 

First, practice this exercise in a B-stance stance, with the toe of your back foot in contact with the floor throughout—also known as a kickstand RDL, a variation that’s detailed below. 

Second, perform as in the form guide above but hold onto a support, like a low bench. 

Third, lower or ditch the weight and focus on keeping your core rigid to solidify your stability.  

Holding Your Neck In An Unnatural Position 

Craning your neck to look forward is another common error that can afflict all deadlift practitioners, likely to keep an eye on their form in the weights room mirror. Rather than looking forward throughout, keep your neck neutral, allowing your gaze to track with your movement. If you must check your form, record a few reps with your phone and watch it back to see where you can improve.

Rounding Your Back 

“If you’re unfamiliar with the technique required to load a deadlift through the hips and posterior chain, a common side effect is a rounding of the spine,” says Ashayer. This puts undue pressure on the lower back and negates the focus of the move. To fix this, he says, remember to keep your back locked in position from your hips to your shoulders, pivoting only from the hips. 

Single-Leg Romanian Deadlift Variations, Progressions And Regressions

Few exercises will mimic the unilateral demands of the single-leg RDL, but if you find this version altogether too challenging, even when using just your bodyweight, Ashayer recommends two things. 

Work on your bilateral posterior chain strength with the regular Romanian deadlift, and unilateral glute and hamstring strength with the kickstand RDL, single-leg glute bridge or single-leg gym ball hamstring curl. Once you’re ready to step it up a notch, a staggered stance kettlebell swing or snatch are his go-to progressions to train power and speed in the same movement. 

Romanian deadlift  

Stand with your feet hip-width apart, holding a barbell in front of you with your hands shoulder-width apart. Keeping your back straight throughout, move your shoulder blades back and down, take a deep breath to brace your core, then sit your hips back to lower the bar down your thighs to just above or below your knees, depending on your flexibility. You should feel a deep stretch in your hamstrings at this point. Pause, then press the floor away and drive your hips forward as you exhale to stand tall. Pause, squeeze your glutes hard, then repeat. 

Kickstand Romanian deadlift 

Adopt an off-set stance by stepping one foot slightly behind the other, keeping your front foot flat on the floor and your rear foot on its toes. Your weight should be in your front leg. Maintain a slight bend in your front knee, holding a dumbbell or kettlebell in the hand on the opposite side to your leading leg, then push your hips back to lower the weight. Perform all the reps on one side, then switch sides. 

Single-leg glute bridge

Lie on your back with one knee bent and foot flat on the floor, and the other leg straight, raised off the floor, with your knees aligned. Press your lower back into the floor, then drive your hips up as high as you can, squeezing your glutes hard. Pause, then lower to tap the floor and repeat. Perform all the reps on one side, then switch sides. This move can also be performed with your feet elevated on a low box or bench for a greater challenge. 

Single-leg gym ball hamstring curl

Lie on your back with your arms resting on the floor at the sides and your knees bent and heels resting on top of a gym ball. Lift your hips off the floor so your weight is supported by the ball and your upper back. Extend your legs to roll the ball away from you, then lift one heel off the ball, keeping that leg extended while you bend the knee of your other leg to roll the gym ball towards you. You should feel this targeting the hamstring of your bent leg. Extend your leg fully, rolling the gym ball away while keeping the other leg elevated, and repeat.Perform all the reps on one side, then switch sides.

Staggered stance snatch 

Adopt an off-set stance by stepping one foot slightly behind the other, keeping your front foot flat on the floor and your rear foot on its toes. Your weight should be in your front leg. Maintain a slight bend in your front knee, holding a dumbbell or kettlebell in the hand on the opposite side to your leading leg. Push your hips back to lower the weight, then drive your hips forward with power to generate momentum to begin lift the weight. As the weight passes your hips shrug the weight up and as it passes your shoulder punch the weight straight up and extend your arm overhead. Carefully return the weight to the start and repeat. Perform all reps on one side, then switch. 

About Our Expert

In This Series

• Unweighted squat
• 30-day squat challenge
• Box squat
• Prisoner squat
• Sumo squat
• Squat jump
• Squat thrust
• Split squat
• Bulgarian split squat
• Cossack squat
• Single-leg squat
• Pistol squat
• Goblet squat
• Barbell back squat
• Front squat
• Landmine squat
• Overhead squat

The barbell squat is the daddy of all leg builders. That’s a belief held by even the most infrequent visitors to the weights room. It works your entire posterior chain hard, while also prompting serious growth in the quads, glutes and hamstrings. It is a compound lift that should feature prominently in any weight training programme, even if properly mastering the barbell squat is a feat that’s rarely achieved.

Even then, there are still ways to progress. Step forward the overhead squat. This is an extremely difficult lift that taxes your body’s strength, stability and technique. The quads, hamstrings and glutes are all placed under the same stress as in the standard back squat but this move also calls upon the core to lower into the squat position and to keep the bar held steadily overhead.

Technique is hugely important here. You should keep a neutral spine at all times, you should go just below parallel and you should avoid your knees coming too far over your toes. Here’s how to do it.

How To Do The Overhead Squat

Stand with your feet shoulder-width apart, toes pointing slightly outwards. Select a barbell that you can comfortably raise overhead and grasp the bar with your hands shoulder-width apart and press the bar up, ensuring your arms are straight. Keeping your head and spine neutrally aligned and your core engaged, squat down as far as you can without letting your back arch. Keep your chest elevated and drive back up through your heels.

Overhead Squat Variations

Thruster

The thruster is a terrific full-body exercise in its own right, but also works well as a stepping stone to the overhead squat. That’s because it involves the same muscles in similar positions, just without you having to keep the barbell raised throughout the entire movement.

Stand with the barbell racked in front of your chest and your hands a little wider than shoulder-width apart. Drop into a squat, then push back up and press the bar overhead. Lower it back to your chest, then drop into another squat.

Overhead lunge

This is a great exercise for building strength in your lower body and core, with the challenge of staying balanced and upright even greater at the bottom of a lunge position than in a squat. You can use any type of weight you want: a medicine ball is a great option for beginners, a set of dumbbells is ideal for intermediates, and a barbell is only to be used by advanced gym-goers.

Hold the weight overheard and step forwards into a lunge, lowering until both knees are bent at 90°. Push back up to the starting position. Make sure you keep your chest up as you lunge and hold the weight directly overhead so you’re not dragged out of position by the weight drifting to the front, back or side.

If you’re a regular runner or cyclist, or indeed someone who does any sport involving running, hamstring stretches should be part of your weekly routine. If you’re an active person who ignores this kind of mobility work you raise your risk of injury, and judging by the pain on the faces of footballers on TV who twang their hammies during a match, you really don’t want a hamstring injury.

To help you avoid that unpleasant fate, or just to stretch out your legs after a long day sitting at a desk, try these five hamstring stretches from Josh Cooper, head coach at fitness studio UN1T.

Split reach

Sit on the floor with your legs forming a V-shape in front of you. Reach and lean towards one side at a time to feel a stretch in the hamstring in that side. You can turn this into a great mobility drill by reaching to one side and then moving your hands from foot to foot by walking your fingers along the floor in an arc.

Dynamic hamstring reach

Stand tall with one foot slightly further forwards than the other. Keep your front leg straight while flexing your ankle to point your toes towards to the ceiling. Hinge at your hips and reach down with both hands, sweeping them forwards along the floor, then return to standing.

Box stretch

Lift one leg up onto a bench (or bed, or chair) with your foot turned out and a slight bend in your knee. Bend forwards from the hips, keeping your back straight, then slowly straighten your knee. You will feel this stretch towards the outside of the back of your thigh. Continue to bend and straighten the knee.

See related 

• The Best Workout To Strengthen Your Hamstrings
• Loosen Up With These Beginner, Intermediate And Advanced Mobility Exercises
• Speed Up Your Recovery With These Stretches For Runners

Block dorsiflexion

Place your toes on a block or weight plate with your heels on the floor. Keep your legs straight and hinge at the hips until you feel a stretch through your hamstring, and hold.

Banded hamstring stretch

Lie on your back with one leg extended and raised slightly. Place a resistance band around your foot and pull the band tight, then raise your leg, keeping it straight, until you feel the stretch, then stop and hold. Once you feel the stretch start to subside you can carefully challenge your range by bringing your foot closer to you.

When was the last time you jumped as high as possible? For most people, the answer is probably “long ago,” or “what an odd question.” Neither are good enough, so it’s time to cast aside all worries and head for the skies with the tuck jump.

Tuck jumps will increase the power of your lower body, as well as your agility, meaning you’ll definitely get better at jumping. They’re also an effective way to raise your heart rate, and you’ll be burning calories in record time, all without having to leave your front room.

How To Do A Tuck Jump

Start by standing with your feet a little less than shoulder-width apart. Drop down a little into a quarter squat then explode into the air. Keep your back straight throughout, and tuck your knees up towards your chest as much as possible, before landing as softly as you can.

On landing you can either pause before jumping again or, once you’ve become more adept at the movement, go straight into another tuck jump. The latter is tough, and it’s important to ensure you’re not leaning in towards your knees rather than bringing them up to your chest.

You can swing your arms to increase your momentum. Aim to both jump higher and get your knees closer to your chest as you become more experienced with the exercise.

Tuck jumps are an excellent addition to an HIIT circuit, as they will certainly keep the heart pumping for whatever time period you have assigned to your intervals. It’s important to be warmed up before tuck jumping though, as a cold body won’t appreciate the explosive movements.

Aiming to jump as high as possible means care is required upon landing to avoid placing your joints under too much stress. Don’t do tuck jumps on rock-hard or uneven surfaces, and stop if you feel pain in your knees or ankles.

Tuck Jump Variations

Jump squat

The simplest way to make tuck jumps more challenging is to perform a squat before you explode off the ground. From standing, lower into a squat until your thighs are parallel to the ground, or even lower if you have it in you, then power up into the air. Land softly and go straight into another squat.

See related :

• Use Plyometric Exercises To Make Explosive Gains
• Get Faster And Fitter With This Agility Workout
• Mix Up Your Next Run With This Cardio Session From Another_Space

Jump lunge with tuck

The straight jump lunge is another great plyometric exercise to consider, and combining it with the tuck jump makes it a truly testing experience. The jump lunge with tuck is a great way to strengthen all the muscles in your legs along with your core – and to show off, because it is not easy. If you’re struggling to make the switch before landing, go back and master the jump lunge without a tuck.

From standing, step forwards into a lunge, lowering your body until both knees are bent at 90°. Then drive back up and jump, bringing your knees up towards your chest. Swap the position of your legs on the way down to land in a lunge position with the opposite leg forwards.