After hearing the word leg workout, the exercises that pop to your mind will be the conventional barbell squats, leg press, or the lying leg curl machine.
Table of Contents
- 1. Are dumbbells enough for leg workouts?
- 2. Safety Tips for Dumbbell Leg Workout
- 3. Which Muscles You Can Work with Dumbbell Leg Workout
- 4. Best Dumbbell Leg Workout
- 4.1 Goblet Squats: Best Dumbbell Leg Exercises
- 4.2 Forward Lunges: Dumbbell Leg Workout for Mass
- 4.3 Dumbbell Step Up: Smoke Your Legs with Dumbbells
- 4.4 Bulgarian Split Squats Superset
- 4.5 Dumbbell Leg Curl: Effective Dumbbell Leg Workout
- 4.6 Calf Raises: Good Leg Workout with Dumbbells
- 5. Takeaway
No doubt, they are some incredible exercises to train your legs. But, what about the days when your gym is busier than usual and you have to wait for your turn to use the leg press machine?
Or what if you want to perform an effective leg workout at your home? Then don’t worry because the dumbbell leg workout for mass has got your back.
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Read More: Kill Your Leg Workout With These 15 Best Leg Exercises |
Are dumbbells enough for leg workouts?
Most probably you would be using dumbbells for training your arms or chest and would have never thought about training your legs using dumbbells.
Dumbbell leg workouts can be as effective as conventional leg exercises if not more.
Through dumbbell leg exercises, you can target all the muscle groups of your legs through a variety of movements using different positions.
If you have a pair of dumbbells at your home then you can get the legs of your dreams at the co
Safety Tips for Dumbbell Leg Workout
For doing dumbbell leg exercises, you should keep the following safety precautions in mind if you don’t want to fall prey to injuries.
- You should have sufficient strength in your hands to control the dumbbells during an exercise.
- Don’t perform these exercises if you are suffering from a lower back injury.
- Only use dumbbells once you have proper balance in doing bodyweight exercises.
- Use the proper form while lifting a weight off the rack, you should bend your knees and keep your back straight.
- After completing the exercise, don’t drop the dumbbells on the floor. Gently lower your body and place them on the floor.
- Don’t let your fingers get squeezed between the dumbbells. Trust us, that’s a very painful feeling.
Which Muscles You Can Work with Dumbbell Leg Workout
When you train your lower body, you primarily follow three types of movements which are squats, lunges, and hip hinges.
These movements can effectively train all the muscles of your leg. In addition, you will also engage the muscles of your core and lower back.
Through squats and lunges, you can hit your quads, glutes, and hamstrings. To engage your hip hinge, you can perform a dumbbell deadlift.
You can easily increase or decrease the intensity of your workout by using heavier or lighter dumbbells.
Best Dumbbell Leg Workout
Ok, so we won’t make you wait anymore. Let’s step into the best dumbbell leg workout for achieving those dream legs you always wanted.
1. Goblet Squats: Best Dumbbell Leg Exercises
Why Should You Do It?
The goblet squats are a simple yet effective dumbbell leg exercise for mass. It’s usually done with a kettlebell but you can get the same results using a dumbbell.
It increases the benefits that you get through bodyweight squats and allows your muscles to achieve hypertrophy easily.
The goblet squats are easier to perform than barbell squats. You can easily maintain a proper posture while doing goblet squats as compared to barbell squats.
How To Do It
- Stand with your feet hip-width apart.
- Hold a dumbbell from the rounded side using both hands.
- Stick out your hip, and lower your body by bending your knees.
- Make sure to maintain an upright torso while bending your lower body.
- Pause for a second at the bottom of the movement and then return to the starting position.
Sets: 4
Reps: 12 RM-12 RM-10 RM- 10RM (Increase weight on each set)
2. Forward Lunges: Dumbbell Leg Workout for Mass
Why Should You Do It?
Lunges are one of the best exercises that you can add to your dumbbell leg workout to increase your balance and stability.
In addition, they can be highly effective to increase leg mass in less time. They also help you in burning fat and replacing it with muscle mass.
Intending to develop muscle mass, we often ignore the flexibility of muscles although they are equally important. Lunges can help your lower body muscles be more flexible.
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Read More: Best Leg Workout Exercises For Building Mass |
How To Do It
- Stand hip-width apart.
- Hold a dumbbell in each hand.
- Step out one foot a little further than your standard step.
- Lower your back knee and shin towards the floor.
- Using the force from your front foot return to the starting position.
- You can either do the desired reps on one side or alternate sides.
Sets: 3
Reps: 12 RM-12 RM-12 RM- 12RM
3. Dumbbell Step Up: Smoke Your Legs with Dumbbells
Why Should You Do It?
The dumbbell step-up is a beneficial exercise for seriously toning your legs. It primarily works on your quads and you know the importance of shredded quads in the overall shape of your leg.
For adding an isolating movement to your dumbbell leg workout, step up is one of the most effective exercises for you.
You can easily intensify your exercise by adding more weight or increasing the height of the elevated surface.
How To Do It
- Stand in front of a bench with dumbbells in each hand.
- To increase the efficiency of exercise, you can use a plyometric box instead of a bench.
- Step your one foot on the bench, the other one will stay on the floor.
- Push your foot into the box to stand on it.
- Now, gently step down from the box.
- Repeat the movement with your other side.
Sets: 4
Reps: 12 RM-12 RM-10 RM- 10 RM (Increase weight on each set)
3.1. Bulgarian Split Squats Superset
For maximizing the impact on your quads, we will be doing Bulgarian split squats as a superset with the dumbbell step-up exercise.
By adding superset in your dumbbell leg workout, you can boost your gains as your muscles don’t get rest as a result they are forced to grow.
How To Superset
After completing one set of dumbbells step up, move onto the Bulgarian split squat exercise without taking any rest.
And, after the completion of one set of Bulgarian split squats, take a rest for some time. Then move back again to the dumbbell step-up exercise.
How To Do Bulgarian Split Squats
- Hold one dumbbell using both hands
- Stretch out your right leg behind your body and rest your toes on the bench.
- Slowly lower your right leg and keep your upper torso straight.
- Liftback to starting position
- Complete the required number of reps and then repeat the same movement with the other leg.
Sets: 3
Reps: 12 RM-12 RM-10 RM- 10 RM (Increase weight on each set)
4. Dumbbell Leg Curl: Effective Dumbbell Leg Workout
Why Should You Do It?
If you want to target your hamstrings using dumbbells then there is no better exercise than the famous dumbbell leg curls.
This exercise can help you in seriously promoting muscle growth in your hamstrings. And, it also helps in maintaining the mobility of the knee joint.
Strong hamstrings will help you in maintaining a good posture and preventing leg injuries during workouts or routine activities.
How To Do IT
- Lie down with your stomach towards the bench
- Place a dumbbell between your feet
- Lift the dumbbell and curl it towards your hips
- Extend your knees and lower your legs until you feel a stretch in your hamstrings.
- Repeat this movement.
Sets: 3
Reps: 12 RM-12 RM-10 RM- 10 RM (Increase weight on each set)
5. Calf Raises: Good Leg Workout with Dumbbells
Why Should You Do It?
Calves are a small muscle group of your legs but they have a great significance in developing the strength and mass of legs.
Other than looking great, they have a major role to help in bending and lifting your heel. Strong calves can also increase your running performance.
How To Do IT
- Stand on an elevated surface with your toes on the edge of it.
- Hold dumbbells in both hands
- Now, lift your body using force from your toes.
- Squeeze your calves when you reach the top position
- Lower your heels and return back to the starting position.
Sets: 3
Reps: 15 RM-15 RM-15 RM- 15 RM (Increase weight on each set)
Takeaway
If you can’t go to the gym and wish to execute a leg day at home or you don’t feel like using those leg machines at the gym, then a dumbbell leg workout is there for you.
Try these dumbbell legs exercises in your next workout to feel that crazy pump. Make sure to train your legs in compression bottoms for better performance and results.
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