There are a tendency among beginner and aspiring calisthenics trainees to skip bodyweight leg exercises completely and focus exclusively on achieving upper body strength feats.
I used to be like that in the beginning too.
When I started training with calisthenics my biggest aspiration was to achieve the unbelievable calisthenics skills that I saw on Youtube.
Almost all of these skills were related to upper body strength.
The few skills that were related to lower body strength (like pistol squats) didn’t seem as exciting.
And, for this reason, I pushed leg calisthenics training aside.
One day, I decided to crank out some pistol squats and was shocked to realize I could only get a few.
I actually needed to support myself on my left leg when I was trying to go back up. It sucked.
That was a complete eye-opener for me.
After that day, I never missed a calisthenics leg workout again.
“But Todd is it really possible to develop strong and muscular legs with bodyweight exercises?”
Can Calisthenics Build Your Leg Muscles?
The quick answer is yes, you can definitely build your leg muscles without using weights and simply following bodyweight leg workouts.
You just have to adhere to progressive overload principles such as increasing repetitions while reducing rest time, changing exercises and variations, and employing various workout protocols like drop sets.
The aim of this post is to show you all the variations of bodyweight leg exercises that you can add to your training regimen.
Before moving on, I would like to mention that this post is very similar to the “45 Bodyweight Exercises To Help You Build Strength And Definition”.
I recommend you to take a look at that post because it has lots of helpful info that applies to leg exercises as well.
Also, if you’re looking to use these exercises in the context of a whole body program, make sure to check out my Bodyweight Physique Academy.
Bodyweight Leg Exercises: Weightlifting VS Leg Calisthenics
If you have been following SOA for a while, you are probably going to know a dozen reasons why calisthenics is an awesome form of training and the many benefits it has over weight lifting.
So, in this section, I would like to focus just on the differences between calisthenics and weight lifting in regards to training legs.
A calisthenics leg workout is very effective for endurance and conditioning.
It can increase your explosive power and muscle mass in a similar way to upper body calisthenics.
The big difference comes in maximal strength training.
Maximal Leg Strength And Calisthenics
This is one of the areas where weight lifting can be considered superior to calisthenics.
When training with heavy squats, all you have to do is to master the technique, and then you just increase the weight on the bar “infinitely”.
On the contrary, to move from a simple squat to a pistol you have to master a completely new movement and after that, you have limited options on how to make a pistol more difficult.
But don’t let this scare you away because a calisthenics leg workout comes with another advantage.
Building Resilient Legs
If you train seriously with calisthenics, you are going to build a pair of very resilient legs.
Just take a look at parkouristas.
These guys jump from roof to roof and from big heights and absorb a lot of impact with their legs.
Yet, most of them don’t ever work out with weights.
This happens because as you are advancing with bodyweight leg exercises, you are moving through extreme ranges of motion and, as a result, your joints and ligaments become more supple and stronger.
What Are The Muscles In The Leg?
Before we dive into the exercises, let’s take a look at the basics of leg anatomy to get a sense of how the legs work.
The leg consists roughly of these main muscles:
- Hip Flexors – Lift your leg up
- Glutes (gluteus maximus) – Pull your leg back
- Quads – Extend your leg
- Hamstrings – Bend your leg
- Calves & shin muscles – Flex and extend your ankle, respectively
- Adductors & Abductors – Bring the legs to close and away from each other, respectively
Rotational movements use a combination of these muscle groups.
Of course, this is a very simplistic overview, but it’s enough to get you started.
If you are more interested in the anatomy of your leg, you can take a quick look at this site.
How To Warm Up For Bodyweight Leg Exercises
Warming up for your bodyweight leg workout is pretty straightforward.
In the beginning, do some light mobility work for 2-5 minutes.
You should perform exercises for all joints:
This is really important if you are going to train for leg exercises like the shrimp squat, where you are going to move through an extreme range of motion.
After the mobility work, I sometimes like to include 5 minutes of jump rope to get my heart rate up, but it’s not necessary.
The rest of your warm-up is going to depend largely on which bodyweight leg exercise you want to add to your lower body workout for the day.
If your focus is on strength exercises or building muscle mass, then practice some low rep sets (3-5) of easier progressions leading to the move you are going to practice with.
For example, if you are going to train with pistol squats, you can do 3 sets of 5 reps of partial pistols increasing gradually the range of motion with every set.
If your goal is explosiveness or conditioning, practice with a moderate rep (6-12) and sets at a fast pace.
For example, you can do 2 sets of 8 reps of bodyweight squats at a fast pace.
55 Bodyweight Leg Exercises To Help You Build Strength & Muscle
Below is a complete guide of bodyweight exercises for legs.
I divided the exercises based on which muscles they target more.
This was very difficult for certain exercises since most of them target a lot of muscles simultaneously.
To help you choose which exercises are more appropriate for your current level, I divided the exercises based on their difficulty as well.
Lastly, there is a category for leg isometrics that is appropriate for every level.
Bodyweight Leg Exercises For The Quads
In this section, you are going to find the exercises that are quad dominant.
In this category belong some of the most difficult bodyweight leg exercises.
Beginner
Forward Lunge
Start in the standing position with feet hip-width apart and hands by sides.
Take a big step forward with your right foot and bend your left knee until both knees form 90-degree angles.
Press down into the right heel to push back to starting position.
Side Lunge
Start with your feet shoulder-width apart, toes pointed straight forward.
Step out with your right foot as wide as possible.
Push through your right heel as you drop your hips down and back while keeping the left leg straight.
Stretch your groin on the left leg and keep both soles of the feet on the ground while your toes are pointed straight forward.
Make sure your right knee is tracking over your right foot the whole motion.
Powerfully “push” your right heel into the floor to get yourself back to your starting position.
Traditional Squat
Sumo Squat (Bodyweight)
Cossack Squat
Bear Squat
Hindu Squat
You can find more info on the Hindu Squat here.
Intermediate
Falling Tower
Bulgarian Split-Squat
Close Squats
I actually prefer to have my knees touching during the exercise, but either way, it is a good exercise.
Reverse Lunge
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nwi_JkLOAyw
Advanced
Pistol Squat
Pistol squats are performed on a single leg. What adds to the degree of difficulty is having to extend your leg forward while squatting with the opposite leg.
It is a tough one to master but can really work your legs effectively.
Walking Pistol Squat
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JxbzLgmnuq0
Shrimp Squat
Tuck Squat
Bodyweight Leg Exercises For The Hips
Here are bodyweight leg exercises for your hip flexors.
Most of the exercises for the hips are also core exercises, so you may want to train your hips at your core training sessions.
I recommend that you practice bridging after you’ve trained your hips because tight hips might “ruin” your posture because the hips flexors can pull your pelvis forward.
This gives you an anterior rotation in the pelvis which can cause problems in your low back.
Lastly, if you stretch your antagonist muscles (the hamstrings) prior to your workout, you are going to perform better.
Beginner
Lying Leg Raises
These exercises can be easily modified by bending your legs.
High Knees
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=27zLSRdQzZA
Plank
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kiA9j-dR0oM
Intermediate
Hanging Knee Raises
Jack Knife Exercise
One-leg Plank
Advanced
Hanging Leg Raises
Some great variations from Al in this video.
L-sit
Bodyweight Leg Exercises For The Hamstrings
In this category belong the hamstring dominant movements.
Since most of the advanced bodyweight exercises are quad dominant, I recommend that you focus a lot of your attention on this muscle group.
Beginner
One Leg Deadlifts
Hamstring Curl
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oimeUrwxEo0
Intermediate
One Leg Hamstring Curl
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PDy_bnL1v04
Harop Curl Progression (Easier variations)
Advanced
Harop Curl
Bodyweight Leg Exercises For The Glutes
Almost all the leg exercises mentioned so far train the glutes pretty well.
For this reason, in this section, there are not going to be too many leg exercises for that specific muscle group.
Beginner
Bird Dog Exercise
Backward Reach
Hip Bridge
Elevated Hip Bridges
Intermediate
Single-Leg Hip Bridge
Elevated Single Leg Hip Bridge
Miscellaneous Bodyweight Leg Exercises
In the section, you are going to find various lower body exercises that weren’t put in any of the above categories.
Beginner
Calf Raises
Adductor Leg Lift
Side Leg Raise
Intermediate
Single-Leg Calf Raise
Adductor Plank
Side Plank With Leg Raise
Isometric Bodyweight Exercises For Legs
Isometrics for legs can be a great addition to your workout.
There are 2 ways to implement leg isometrics into your routine.
You can practice static hold as a finisher to your strength workouts and you can practice short isometric sessions for strength training.
The exercises in this section aren’t going to be divided into difficulty levels.
This is just a list to help you get introduced to isometrics.
Static Wall Squat
Warrior Pose
Horse Stance
One Leg Wall Sit
Plyometric Bodyweight Exercises For Legs
In this category, you are going to find exercises that help you develop explosiveness and speed in your lower body.
The difficulty levels start from intermediate because plyometric exercises require a solid foundation for safe practice.
Intermediate
Squat Jumps
The 180 Degree Spiderman Jump
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=b4vANNw8XKA
Crazy Lunge
You can find more info about the crazy lunge here.
Tornado Jump Lunge
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=egq3_ihhZWg
Sprinting
Advanced
Hill Sprinting
Box Jumps
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aplgwkTkASU width=
Knee Jumps
You can progress even if you don’t have weights by increasing the height of the landing surface like in the last progressions of the video.
Depth Jumps
Explosive Pistol Squats
How To Train Your Legs
Since it is very difficult to isolate muscle groups with the advanced leg exercises, I recommend that you choose one advanced movement as your main goal and then train the rest muscle groups with easier exercises.
For example, if you choose pistol as your main goal, you should train for it following strength training parameters (low rep sets with big breaks), and afterward or in the next day you can train the rest muscle groups with beginner and intermediate variations.
If your goal is to build muscle, you can follow the same approach but instead of following strength training parameters, you are going to focus on building more volume with the progressions.
Of course, with this way of training achieving skills is going to take a little longer. For leg endurance and conditioning, I consider AMRAP type workouts to be the best option.
For explosiveness, you should choose 2 exercises to perform in every training session. I recommend you to stick to these 2 exercises for 2-3 months so that you can track your progress.
You can train with 3-4 for sets of 8-12 reps.
Speaking from experience, alternating between explosive and strength training workouts is really helpful.
How To Recover Faster From Bodyweight Leg Exercises
I really enjoy training hard.
I also enjoy training a lot.
However, there is a limit to this…
Namely overtraining.
During all the years that I have been training, I have searched for ways on how to train more frequently and with greater intensity.
The subject of recovery is very large, so here I am going to share with you some exercises and ways how to recover faster from your leg training.
Cooling Down
This is the simplest thing you can do.
After your workout just performs a short mobility session for 5-10 minutes similar to the warm-up.
Also, you can perform various static stretches and target the muscle areas that feel sore.
Using foam rolling is great as well. Some of the stretches that I like to perform are these:
Your cool-down shouldn’t take more than 20 minutes (I usually spend about 5 minutes).
This is going to help release tension.
If you are doing it right, you should feel really relaxed afterward.
Active Recovery Sessions
Because it is very hard to get a full stretching and foam rolling session after your workout (except if you have a lot of available time), I recommend that you have a planned active recovery day where you dedicate 30-60 minutes (or more) to stretching and foam rolling.
If you don’t have big chunks of time for something like that, you can split the recovery days into upper and lower body days.
This practice is really valuable. You are going to be amazed at how much faster you are going to recover by using something like this.
This is the closest thing you can get to getting a professional massage.
Note: In the beginning, stretching and foam rolling might make you sore as well.
Don’t be afraid of this, it’s normal.
After a while, you are going to feel a lot better.
Here are some great articles on active recovery and stretching in general:
And Finally… The Training Plans
There are multiple training plans in regards to developing strong legs using bodyweight exercises.
All of these plans are different depending on your goals.
In this section, I am going to make a summary of some of the best articles that I have found on the web and some of my own on how to develop stronger legs.
Bodyweight Workout Plans & Resources For Strength Gains
Bodyweight Workout Plans For Muscle And Definition
Bodyweight Workouts For Explosiveness
Bodyweight Workouts For Endurance And Conditioning
Most of the workouts, in this section, are bodyweight circuits that contain upper body exercises as well.
Other Helpful Resources For Calisthenics Leg Training
Some of the resources below are not exclusively dedicated to calisthenics leg training but you can find a lot of info that applies to leg training as well.
Conclusion
To return to the beginning question of this post: “But Todd is it really possible to develop strong and muscular legs with calisthenics?”
I hope I answered this question fully and that you can now see the true value and potential of bodyweight exercises for leg training.
If you still have more questions that were left unanswered with this post, feel free to post them below.
I would love to help you out!
– Bodyweight Todd