If you’re looking for a leg-day challenge, a bodyweight lower-body workout probably isn’t the first thing that jumps to mind. You need external resistance—say, in the form of free weights or resistance bands—to really bring on the oomph, right?
Not exactly. If you want an intense lower-body workout without weights, there’s a pretty straightforward way to ramp up the challenge: Look to single-leg moves.
“Bodyweight training using single-leg or unilateral moves is not easy,” Sivan Fagan, C.P.T., owner of Strong With Sivan, tells SELF. “It requires a lot of single-leg stability, as well as hip, knee, and ankle stability too.” In fact, many people who can squat a significant amount of weight bilaterally tend to struggle performing just a few reps when they try unilateral leg moves with only their bodyweight.
Single-leg moves are also helpful for building lower-body strength, especially if you’ve been strength training for a while with bodyweight moves. Think of it like this: If you can crank out a whole load of bodyweight squats—say, 20 or more without resting—that puts you in the endurance-training range, says Fagan. But if you can only do about half that for a single-leg move, you’ll move more into the sweet spot for building muscle (and strength) during your leg day workout.
A solid bodyweight lower-body routine using unilateral moves, like the one Fagan created below, focuses on the main movement patterns: hip extension from a horizontal position (think, glute bridges), a hip hinge (like a deadlift), a squat pattern, and hip abduction (a side-lying leg lift). This works your lower-body muscles like your quads, hamstrings, and glutes, including the smaller glute muscles that function as hip abductors—and you’ll be done in just 15 minutes!
An additional benefit of single-leg lower-body workouts is that they help you identify strength imbalances—many of us have one side that’s stronger than the other. If you notice a significantly stronger or weaker side during this workout, there are two things you can do to work to build balanced strength, says Fagan.
Your first option is to start on your weaker side, and do as many reps as you can on that side. Then, you’d do the same number on the stronger side. After your prescribed sets are done, you’d do two additional sets on the weaker side.
Another option is to start on your stronger side, and then try to match that number of reps on your weaker side, even though it probably won’t be all in one shot, says Fagan. For instance, say you can do 10 single-leg glute bridges on your right leg. Maybe on your left you can only do 6. After you complete that six, you’d rest about 20 seconds or so, and then crank out the remaining 4. You’d end your program with two additional sets on your weaker side.
Ready to get started? Here’s what you need for an intense bodyweight lower-body workout that focuses on single-leg strength.
The Workout
What you need: An exercise mat for comfort.
Exercises
Superset
- Single-Leg Glute Bridge
- Side-Lying Leg Lift
Triset
- Side-Step to Squat
- Warrior Balance
- Frog Pump With Hold
Directions
- In the first superset, complete 10–15 reps per side of the glute bridge and 15–20 per side of the leg lift. Complete 3 rounds total. Rest for 1 to 2 minutes after all your rounds are done.
- In the triset, complete 10–15 reps per side of the squat and warrior balance. Then complete AMRAP (as many reps as possible) of the frog pump. Complete 3 rounds total.
Demoing the moves below are Grace Pulliam (GIF 1), an aerial yoga and vinyasa yoga teacher in New York City; Krystal Salvent (GIF 2), NASM-certified personal trainer in New York City; Nikki Pebbles (GIF 3); a fitness instructor and an AFAA- and NCCPT-certified personal trainer and group fitness trainer in New York City; Cookie Janee (GIF 4), a background investigator and security forces specialist in the Air Force Reserve; and Shauna Harrison (GIF 5), a Bay Area–based trainer, yogi, public health academic, advocate, and columnist for SELF.
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Katie Thompson 1 Single-Leg Glute Bridge
- Lie on the floor faceup with your knees bent and feet flat on the floor, hands at your sides. Engage your core to press your low back against the floor.
- From this position, lift your right foot off the floor and extend your leg.
- Push off your left foot, engage your core, and squeeze your glutes as you lift your hips and do a glute bridge.
- Slowly lower your hips back to the floor. That’s 1 rep.
- Complete 10–15 reps, then switch sides.
The single-leg glute bridge works your hamstrings and glutes with a horizontal hip extension movement. Make sure you’re pushing off your heel to really feel it in your glutes.
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Tory Rust2 Side-Lying Leg Lift
- Lie on your left side, with your legs extended straight. Support your head with your left hand.
- Lift your top leg 45 degrees, then lower slowly. This is 1 rep.
- Complete 15–20 reps, then switch sides.
The side-lying leg lift occurs in the frontal plane of motion, since you’re moving your leg out away from your body. This works your gluteus minimus and medius, the two small glute muscles that serve as hip abductors.
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Katie Thompson3 Side-Step to Squat
- Stand with your feet together, core engaged, and hands held at chest height.
- Step your right foot to the right, so your feet are wider than hip-width apart, hinge at your hips to send your butt back, and bend both knees to drop into a wide squat.
- Straighten your knees and bring your right foot back to your starting position. This is 1 rep.
- Complete 10–15 reps, then switch sides.
The squat part of this move works your quads and glutes, while the lateral step gives your hip abductor muscles a little extra work too.
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Katie Thompson4 Warrior Balance
- Stand on your left foot and lift your right knee to hip height in front of your body. Bend your elbows so that your hands are by your shoulders. This is the starting position.
- Hinge forward at the hips and reach your arms forward as you extend your right leg behind you. Keep your standing leg slightly bent as your torso becomes parallel with the floor.
- Pause for a second, then reverse the movement to return to starting position. That’s 1 rep.
- Complete 10–15 reps, then switch sides.
The warrior balance, which is a hip-hinge movement, is similar to a single-leg deadlift—it works your hamstrings and your glutes.
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Kelsey McClellan5 Frog Pump With Hold
- Lie faceup on the floor or a mat, your knees bent, and feet hip-width apart.
- Press your heels together so your legs make a diamond shape. This is the starting position. (To find the proper position, start with your heels as close to your butt as you can, though you may need to move them out farther as pictured to really feel the move in your glutes.)
- Squeezing your glutes, lift your butt off the mat, making a straight line to your knees. Pause 1–2 seconds at the top.
- Lower your hips down to starting position. This is 1 rep.
- Complete AMRAP as possible, stopping before your form begins to falter.
The only bilateral move in this workout, the frog pump with hold serves as a glute burnout. Because your legs are externally rotated here as your heels press together, you’ll take your hip flexors out of the equation as you get into hip extension. As a result, you’ll really feel the glute burn.
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