Leg exercises.

The lower body needs squat patterns for quads and glutes, hinge patterns for hamstrings and glutes, single-leg work for balance and unilateral strength, and direct isolation for the smaller muscles. Here are fifteen exercises that cover the entire lower body.

• Back Squat. The compound lift. Loads the entire lower body, especially the quads and glutes.
• Front Squat. Bar on the front rack. More upright, more quad-dominant, demands core strength.
• Romanian Deadlift. Hinge with soft knees. The best hamstring builder for most lifters.
• Bulgarian Split Squat. Single-leg squat with the rear foot elevated. Brutal, productive, scalable.
• Leg Press. Machine squat pattern. Easy to load heavy and push close to failure safely.
• Walking Lunge. Dynamic single-leg work. Loads quads, glutes, and stabilizers in one movement.
• Goblet Squat. Dumbbell or kettlebell held at the chest. Great teaching movement, useful as a finisher.
• Hack Squat. Machine squat with a fixed path. Quad-dominant, easy to load.
• Leg Extension. Quad isolation. Necessary for direct quad work past what compounds provide.
• Leg Curl. Hamstring isolation. Lying, seated, or standing variants — pick whichever the gym has.
• Calf Raise. Standing or seated. Calves need direct work; compounds don't grow them.
• Hip Thrust. Barbell glute isolation. Heavy, loadable, the best direct glute builder available.
• Step-Up. Single-leg quad and glute work. Scales from bodyweight to heavily loaded.
• Sissy Squat. Knee-dominant quad isolation. Bodyweight or assisted, brutal stretch on the quad.
• Glute-Ham Raise. Hamstring movement at the hip and knee simultaneously. The hardest hamstring exercise in the gym.