The Best Leg Day Workout Plan

Full-body routines are great, 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.

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,” says Joan Ortega, MS, CSCS, partner at Form Fitness Brooklyn.

Those muscles all play a role in the function and strength of your legs, and ultimately your entire body.

A breakdown of what each muscle group 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

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, says Christine Torde, CPT, strength coach at Bodyspace Fitness in New York City. 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.

Conclusion

By incorporating a mix of exercises that target your glutes, quadriceps, hamstrings, and other muscles, you can create a leg workout plan that challenges your strongest muscles and supports your overall lower-body strength. Remember to vary your exercises, keep your movements controlled, and listen to your body to ensure you’re targeting the right muscles and avoiding injury.

Frequently Asked Questions

Q: Can I do too much on leg day?

A: Yes, it’s easy to overdo it on leg day. Prioritize exercises that target multiple muscle groups at once, and consider breaking up your workout into different days or doing unilateral exercises to avoid overexertion.

Q: How often should I do leg day?

A: Aim to do leg day 2-3 times per week, allowing for at least a day of rest in between to allow your muscles to recover and rebuild.

Q: What if I’m new to working out? Should I start with lighter weights or higher reps?

A: If you’re new to working out, start with lighter weights and higher reps to focus on building strength and control. As you get stronger, you can gradually increase the weight and lower the reps to continue challenging your muscles.