One of the biggest reasons why people join a gym is access to more equipment, and is something that most people are aware of. A gym is going to give you a larger variety of tools to work with, and is definitely a great option when it comes to building mass.
Most of us are going to choose a gym when we have the option, however with that said it is not always the case. Some of us just don’t have the money to invest in a gym membership or just don’t live close enough to one to make the trip worth our while.
For these reasons many people choose to exercise from home, which in most cases can be a sufficient alternative to going to the gym. Finding the equipment on a budget can be easy when it comes to training most muscle groups in the body, but ultimately the legs fall short.
Most people who are working out at home due to budget constrictions aren’t going to have a squat rack either, and may be limited to just using dumbbells. This causes many people in this situation to just neglect legs altogether, which is going to make you very top heavy. You can get a good leg work out from just using dumbbells alone, and here is how to do so.
The Best Leg Exercises That Require Only Dumbbells
Single Leg Romanian Deadlifts
This exercise sounds complicated just by looking at its name, but is one of the easier ones to do on this list. You perform this exercise by holding one dumbbell in one hand, and planting your foot in the ground with the leg opposite that hand. You then pivot your body at the hips, to where your back should be almost parallel to the floor.
When doing this exercise make sure to keep your back straight, and arms tight as well. You want as little assistance from these muscle groups here. The primary muscle groups you want to work here are your glutes and hamstrings, so make sure to maintain proper posture throughout the exercise.
Farmer Squats
Farmer squats are an awesome exercise for people looking to do so at home, with little equipment. This exercise is very similar to your traditional deadlift. The motion is all the same, with the exception here being that you hold the weights at your sides as opposed of in front of you.
This exercise targets all of the muscle groups in the legs, which is slightly different than your traditional deadlift which targets the lower back, glutes and hamstrings primarily.
To do this exercise, hold one dumbbell in each hand on the side of your body. Bend down at the knee, keeping your chest out and back straight while doing so. You should be doing there to where the weight is being concentrated on the heels of your feet.
Dumbbell Lunges
Lunges are an exercise that you should already be familiar with-if not this is a great opportunity to add them to your routine. This exercise is great because you can modify it is many different ways to target different parts of the legs, and can use the same equipment to do so.
Dumbbell lunges are also a great way to target your legs individually, which is extremely important for those of us with a power imbalance here. If so you can use this exercise to strengthen up your weaker leg.
To do this, you want to separate your feet far enough so that you can lunge down wards, to where your knee on the back leg is hitting the floor. Make sure that your front knee is not extending passed the point of your toes on your front foot to reduce knee strain.
This exercise is a great way to not only target your quads and hamstrings, but to help develop your stabilizing muscles as well. This is because you have to balance and support your body while doing these lunges which requires additional recruitment of these muscles.
Calf Raises
Another great exercise you can do at home with dumbbells or no equipment at all are calf raises. Calf raises are an exercise that people neglect to do because they are so easy for many of us. This is another exercise that is extremely easy to modify, and is one you shouldn’t forget about when it comes to your leg routine.
If doing your traditional calf raises are too easy for you, you can just add weight to the exercise. You can do this by grabbing some dumbbells, or an ever easier way is just to do them on one leg. Don’t neglect to target your calves just because they are one of the smaller muscle groups on the leg.
