5 Best Bodyweight Leg Exercises for Women

Are you looking to seriously work on your leg muscles without leaving the comfort of your home? How about including bodyweight leg exercises into your routine?

Whether you're a beginner or an advanced gym-goer, bodyweight leg exercises are an ideal choice for strengthening and toning your leg muscles. As a beginner, bodyweight moves can help you get adjusted to working with your own body. If you're experienced, these exercises can be great for your recovery.

The exercises mentioned below aren’t complicated and also don’t require any equipment. You can perform them in the comfort of your living room or while travelling.

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Effective Bodyweight Leg Exercises for Women

There are numerous bodyweight exercises you can incorporate into your at-home exercise routine to improve your muscles and strength in daily life. Here's a look at five of them:

1) Split Squat

The split squat is a variation of the traditional squat exercise and is one of the most effective bodyweight leg exercises you can do. This exercise uses the same leg muscles as the standard squat. However, the single-leg motion involved puts more tension on your abs and improves your overall functional strength.

Here’s how to do a split squat:

• Stand straight with your back facing a bench or chair. Place your hands on your hips, or simply clasp them in front of your chest.
• Bend your left leg reaching behind to put the top of your foot on the chair.
• Once you're in this position, squat down, and bend your leg at a 90-degree angle with your knee over your ankle.
• Press through your foot to stand back up.
• Do 10-15 reps per leg, and switch sides.

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2) Jump Lunge

If you want to increase the intensity of your bodyweight leg exercises, try adding the jump lunge to your routine. It's an advanced variation of the standard walking lunge and bumps up the intensity of the exercise by adding a jump.

Here’s how to do a jump lunge:

• Position your feet at a shoulder-width distance.
• Engage your core muscles, and jump your right foot forward with your left foot back. Bend both your knees as you drop into a lunge position.
• Hop your feet back to the start, and jump your left foot forward and right foot back, and again drop into a lunge.
• Continue alternating sides each time you jump and land.

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3) Glute Bridge March

The glute bridge march is among one of the best bodyweight leg exercises. It helps stabilise your pelvis and prevent lower back pain. This workout targets the entire leg muscle and also works on your spinal muscles in the lower back.

Here’s how to do a glute bridge march:

• Lie down with your face up and knees bent. Position both your feet at a hip distance.
• Engaging your core, raise your hips, and squeeze your glutes at the top position.
• Hold this position for a few seconds, and lift your left foot off the floor, bringing your knee to your chest.
• Lower your foot back to the floor and immediately raise your right foot, and repeat.
• Continue to march, and keep alternating your legs.

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4) Reverse Lunge with Knee Lifts

Reverse lunge with knee lifts target your hamstrings, glutes and quads. It's one of the best unilateral bodyweight leg exercises that target each leg separately and activate the stabilising muscles. This exercise also helps improve your overall coordination and balance.

Here’s how to do a reverse lunge with knee lifts:

• Stand with both your feet positioned at a shoulder distance.
• Take a step back with your right foot, and bend both knees to create two separate 90-degree angles with your legs.
• Push through your left heel to return to the starting position.
• Once you stand back up, thrust your right knee towards your chest, and lower it down.
• Repeat on the other side.

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5) T-spine rotation Lunge

The T-spine rotation lunge is one of the best bodyweight leg exercises. It offers a deep stretch in your hamstrings and glutes while also rotating your thoracic spine region. You can include this exercise in your warm-up session or as a mobility exercise in your full-body routine.

Here’s how to do a T-spine rotation lunge:

• Take a high plank position, and keep your hands shoulder-width apart with your palms flat on the ground. Position your feet a hip distance.
• Step your right foot forward near your right hand, and get into a lunge position.
• Simultaneously, lift your right hand off the floor. and move it towards the ceiling. Also, rotate your torso to your right.
• Bring your hand back down, and lower your foot to the initial plank position.
• Continue alternating sides, and repeat the exercise.

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Takeaway

Bodyweight leg exercises like the ones mentioned above are an ideal way to train important movement patterns and add great functional fitness to your daily routine. However, best of all, the above-discussed exercises can be done anywhere and any time without the use of any equipment.