Here’s Exactly What to Do on Leg Day, According to Top Trainers

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Full-body routines are great and all, but there’s just something special about leg day. A solid leg workout plan gives you a chance to challenge some of your biggest and strongest muscles. After all, the very nature of most leg exercises means you’re bound to hit your glutes—the largest muscles of them all—in addition to your lower parts, making for a perfect chance to show your entire lower body (and even your core) the love it deserves.

So what’s the best program to get it done? This isn’t a case where more equals better. But with smart exercise selection and evidence-backed training, you can build an amazing leg workout plan that will help you reach your goals in the gym and feel better outside of it.

Below, your guide to building a leg workout routine that’s smart, effective, and doesn’t require you to waste a ton of extra time.

What muscles should you work during leg day?

“On leg day, it’s important to hit all of the major muscle groups of your lower body—the glutes, quadriceps, and hamstrings—in some capacity, while also making sure to hit the smaller muscle groups that may not receive as much outright love or acknowledgement, like the hip flexors, abductors, adductors, and calves,” Jowan Ortega, MS, CSCS, partner at Form Fitness Brooklyn, tells SELF. Those muscles all play a role in the function and strength of your legs, and ultimately your entire body.

According to Or Artzi, CPT, founder of the Orriors App and Equinox group fitness instructor, here’s a quick breakdown on what each does:

Quadriceps (front of the thighs): Responsible for knee extension, or straightening your knee
Hamstrings (back of the thighs): Control knee flexion (bending it) and assist with hip extension (like if you were to bring your leg back behind you before kicking a soccer ball)
Glutes (butt): Crucial for hip stability, strength, and power
Calves (lower legs): Support ankle stability and movement
Adductors and abductors (inner and outer thighs): Aid hip stability and control movement in multiple planes of motion

As a bonus, most exercises that hit the leg muscles will also involve some sneaky core work. “The core stabilizes and supports all lower-body movements,” Artzi tells SELF.

What kind of exercises should you include in a leg workout?

On leg day, you want to hit all of the major movement patterns that your lower body can do, Christine Torde, CPT, strength coach at Bodyspace Fitness in New York City, tells SELF. That includes the squat, hinge, and both bilateral (engaging body sides of the body at once) and unilateral (single-side) exercises. Basically, a squat involves bending the knees and moving the hips downward, while a hinge keeps the bending movement at the hips and focuses on pushing them back.

Some of the best leg exercises in these categories include:

Bilateral squat: front squat, air squat, goblet squat, sumo squat
Unilateral squat: split squat, reverse lunge, walking lunge, Bulgarian split squat, lateral lunge, curtsy lunge
Bilateral hinge: deadlift, hip thrust, kettlebell swing
Unilateral hinge: kickstand deadlift, single-leg deadlift, single-leg glute bridge

These are all known as compound exercises, which work multiple muscle groups in one fell swoop—and, according to Ortega, should make up the lion’s share of your lower-body workouts. She suggests building them around a few compound exercises that work your leg muscles using the squat and hinge movement patterns, and then adding in some accessory or isolation movements (like a leg curl, leg extension, or calf raise) to complement them (if you want) and zero in more closely on the smaller related muscles.

The direction in which you move matters too. “If you are someone who likes to participate in sports like running, tennis, golf, soccer, or basketball, I also recommend training in different planes of motion,” Torde tells SELF. A plane of motion essentially refers to the direction your body moves in. In everyday life, we primarily move forward and backward, but sometimes we move side-to-side or in a twisting motion (say, when you’re getting into a car or swinging a tennis racket). “We live in a world that requires us to move in all three planes,” Ortega explains. “Having a balance of movements that challenge you within these planes is a way to reduce your risk for injury, improve your ability to function day-to-day, and make you more likely to achieve your fitness goals.”

Here, Ortega suggests some good leg-day exercises that fall under each of the body’s planes of motion:

Forward and backward (sagittal plane): back squats, forward lunges, vertical jumping, step-up
Side-to-side (frontal plane): lateral lunges, side-lying leg raises, lateral shuffles
Twisting (transverse plane): seated hip abduction and adduction machines, clam shell, banded fire hydrant

Torde suggests using a mix of free-weight exercises—those that use equipment like dumbbells, barbells, and kettlebells—and machine exercises (like the leg press machine) and to hit on all of these movement patterns and train your body in every direction. If you’re just starting out, you can stick with bodyweight for most of these exercises until you feel comfortable adding weight.

How many exercises, sets, and reps should you do in your leg workout?

“If you are intentional about your movement choices, you don’t have to do 15 different movements or spend two-plus hours working out to achieve your goals,” Ortega says. An effective leg-day workout routine can have just four or five exercises, Artzi says. “One exercise per movement pattern can be enough if you focus on consistent, progressive overload,” she adds, meaning that you increase the resistance as you get stronger to keep challenging your muscles. “You don’t need a long list of exercises—just work on form, intensity, and progression.”

The exact number of exercises, sets, and reps that you do on leg day comes down to your goals, Artzi adds. To figure out the magic numbers for you, consider the following:

What is your goal? (e.g., building muscle mass, increasing strength for running or another sport, maintaining strength as you age)
How much time do you have? How many leg workouts can you fit into your week?
What is your level of experience?

Some general suggestions: If you’re more of a beginner or it has been quite a while since you have worked out and are looking for a general place to start, Ortega recommends staying in the 8–12 rep range, performing two to three sets of each movement. “This is a nice way to set yourself up to work until fatigue as opposed to failure.” Meaning, you don’t need to be totally spent, unable to do one more rep, by the end. But you should be lifting something heavy enough that you feel tired and ready for a recovery period when you’re done. In between sets, rest around 60 seconds.

For hypertrophy, or building muscle mass, aim for three sets of 12 reps with moderately heavy weights. You’ll want to choose a weight for both of these that leaves you feeling pretty spent—like you can barely eke out one more rep with good form. Between sets, you’ll want to rest for 60 to 90 seconds, so that your muscles can recover enough for the next round.

If you are looking to really max out on absolute strength gains, Torde recommends lifting heavy weights in four sets of about six reps. (if you’re comfortable with the moves, you can go even lower, to five or fewer). When you’re lifting this heavy, rest between sets should be in the three to five minute range.

What’s a good leg day schedule?

Again, this depends on your goals and experience. In general, you don’t want to work the same muscle groups too often, since it’s “important to give your muscles time to recover and rebuild between workouts,” Ortega says. “Traditional rule of thumb is to train each muscle group two to three times a week with at least one day of rest in between.” Torde and Artzi agree that two days per week is a good leg-day schedule for many people.

And once you’re at the gym, should you only do your lifting or can you use that time to get in some cardio too? “There have been some questions whether or not to perform cardio on leg day but, again, that can be quite subjective,” Ortega says. The controversy comes from old research that found folks who did cardio in the same session as strength training didn’t gain as much leg strength over the course of 10 weeks as those who focused solely on resistance training. However, newer research has found that combining aerobic and strength training does not mess with gains in muscle mass and strength.

Ortega says that, ultimately, there’s no perfect one-size-fits-all answer, and for most people, it’s absolutely fine to do cardio on leg day. “I sometimes suggest doing cardio as the warm-up so you can get it over with and out of the way. Others prefer to do it at the end of their workout routine, because it ensures that they won’t overdo it.” (There’s something to be said for going into the strength portion of your session with fresh legs.) For more detailed info on how to structure your leg day and cardio work, check out our recs here.

Even if you decide to go with just your leg day, there can be a nice benefit to ending with a little sweat: A quick high-intensity finisher—say, kettlebell swings, burpees, or squat jumps—at the end of your workout can also be a nice way to get your heart in on the action before wrapping up, Torde adds.

What’s an example of a good leg day workout?

Using the experts’ advice, we put together a couple sample leg-day workouts to help you get started. Before jumping into it, make sure to do a dynamic warm-up (like these two that feature bodyweight versions of the key movement patterns) to get your muscles primed and ready for the work ahead.

Leg-Day Workout #1

Do 8-12 reps of each exercise below. Rest for 60 to 90 seconds after each set. Repeat for a total of 3 sets, then go onto the next exercise.

Goblet Squat

Katie Thompson

Stand with your feet slightly wider than hip-width apart, toes slightly turned out, holding a dumbbell with both hands in front of your chest so it hangs vertically. (You can also do this with a kettlebell if you prefer.)
Engage your core and keep your chest lifted and back flat as you shift your weight into your heels, push your hips back, and bend your knees to lower into a squat.
Drive through your heels to stand and squeeze your glutes at the top. This is 1 rep.

Single-Leg Deadlift

Katie Thompson

Stand with your feet together, holding a dumbbell in your left hand in front of your legs. This is the starting position.
Shift your weight to your right leg, and while keeping a slight bend in your right knee, raise your left leg straight behind your body, hinging at the hips to bring your torso parallel to the floor, and lower the weight toward the floor.
Keep your back flat. At the bottom of the movement, your torso and left leg should be almost parallel to the floor, with the weight a few inches off the ground. (If your hamstrings are tight, you may not be able to lift your leg as high.)
Keeping your core tight, push through your right heel to stand up straight and pull the weight back up to the starting position. Bring your left leg back down to meet your right, but try to keep the majority of the weight on your right foot.
Pause there and squeeze your butt. That’s 1 rep.
After completing all your reps on one side, repeat on the other side.

Hamstring Curl

Katie Thompson

Lie face down on a mat with your legs extended and arms supporting your chest. Grasp a dumbbell securely between your feet. (You can have a friend place it there, or you can stand up your dumbbell and grab it with your feet). This is starting position.
Engage your glutes and curl your legs up toward your butt.
Slowly lower back to the starting position. This is 1 rep.

Lateral Lunge

Katie Thompson

Stand with your feet hip-width apart. Hold your hands together at your chest. (You can also do this weighted if you’d prefer; hold a dumbbell in both hands at your chest as pictured.) This is the starting position.
Take a big step out to the left. Bend your left knee, hinge forward at the hips, and sit your butt back to lower into a lateral lunge. Keep your chest lifted and core engaged, and make sure your knee doesn’t move forward beyond your toes.
Push through your left heel to return to the starting position. That’s 1 rep. Do all your reps on one leg and then repeat on the other side.

Leg-Day Workout #2

Do 8-12 reps of each exercise below. Rest for 60 to 90 seconds after each set. Repeat for a total of 3 sets, then go onto the next exercise. Repeat for a total of 3 sets.

Romanian Deadlift

Katie Thompson

Stand with your feet hip-width apart, knees slightly bent, and your arms relaxed by the front of your quads, with a dumbbell in each hand. This is the starting position.
Hinge forward at your hips and bend your knees slightly as you push your butt way back. Keeping your back flat, slowly lower the weight along your shins. Your torso should be almost parallel to the floor.
Keeping your core engaged, push through your heels to stand up straight and return to the starting position. Keep the weight close to your shins as you pull.
Pause at the top and squeeze your butt. That’s 1 rep.

Curtsy Lunge

Katie Thompson

Stand with your feet shoulder-width apart and hold a pair of dumbbells at your side. This is the starting position.
Step your right foot diagonally behind you and lower your right knee until it almost touches the floor. Your front knee should bend to about 90 degrees.
Drive through your left heel to stand back up and return to the starting position. This is 1 rep. Do all your reps on one side, then switch sides.

Sumo Squat

Katie Thompson

Stand with your feet wider than shoulder-width apart, toes turned out. Hold a dumbbell with both hands in front of your chest so it hangs vertically.
Engage your core and keep your chest lifted and back flat as you shift your weight into your heels. Push your hips back and bend your knees to lower into a squat.
Drive through your heels to stand and squeeze your glutes at the top for 1 rep.

Kneeling Leg Extension

Katie Thompson

Get into a kneeling position with your knees hip-distance apart, torso tall, core and legs engaged, and hands on your hips. This is the starting position.
Keeping a flat back and hips extended, slowly tip your torso backward until your butt is a few inches away from your heels. Pause, then slowly reverse the movement to return to the starting position. This is 1 rep.

Demoing the moves above are Lauren Leavell (GIF 1), a NASM-certified personal trainer and founder of Leavell Up Fitness; Winnie Yu (GIF 2), a doctor of physical therapy, certified strength and conditioning specialist, and running specialist; Morit Summers (GIF 3), a Brooklyn-based trainer and the owner of body-positive gym, Form Fitness Brooklyn; Francine Delgado-Lugo (GIF 4 and 6); a strength coach and co-founder of Form Fitness Brooklyn; Anise Armario (GIF 5), creator and teacher of The Movement at Dancewave in Brooklyn; Gail Barranda Rivas (GIF 7), a certified group fitness instructor, functional strength coach, Pilates and yoga instructor, and domestic and international fitness presenter; and Nikki Pebbles (GIF 8), a special populations personal trainer in New York City.