How to Train Your Legs Without Going to the Gym

Do you want to know how to train your legs without going to the gym? Training from home has a considerable number of advantages. Also, this allows you to workout in an environment of your creation, but it also means that you no longer need to travel to the gym when you’re low on energy. Thus, you no longer need to feel self-conscious training in front of strangers. It also means you don’t need to wait for the squat rack to become free anymore!

But this brings us to our next point. Because probably there won’t be a squat rack. If you’re like most people with a home gym, your equipment will comprise some dumbbells and a pull-up bar.

And this is fine for the vast majority of things you need to do. The problem only arises once you want to push beyond those basics and start building more significant muscle. And in particular, it comes when you try to build leg strength. Because it is much more challenging to train your legs with bodyweight or even with basic dumbbells, so let’s look at what you can do to solve this minor challenge.

Using Dumbbells

First, don’t write dumbbells off completely. These can build leg strength as long as you know how. However, using heavy enough weights and performing shoulder presses, for example, you can make your squats quite tricky, and even if you do not approach the weights, you use them for deadlifts or squats. In all honestly, the legs have quite a lot of slow-twitch muscle fiber (we rely on them to get around all day, after all), and this means that they respond well to training with lighter weights and higher volumes.

Using Bodyweight

You can also train your legs with bodyweight if you know how to make things harder. Performing one-legged squats, for example, is an excellent way to squat twice your body weight (effectively) and also requires a lot of balance and concentration. Performing jump squats meanwhile challenges you to use explosive power. Also, performing a more extended wall sit can challenge the legs.

If you stack these exercises correctly, you can create some punishing workouts to fatigue the muscle.

Kettlebells

The best thing to do, though? Invest in a kettlebell. Also, this is the closest thing to having a barbell in your home, especially if you get a heavy one. You can use it to perform deadlifts, clean and presses, and even goblet squats. Depending on the weight, you may need a little help to pick it up, but a goblet squat can be highly challenging for the legs, just as a regular squat is (the only difference is it places a little more emphasis on the quads over the hamstrings).

Better yet, it is to use the kettlebell to perform kettlebell swings and exercises that build your legs by letting you drive the weight up and forward by performing rapid squats and pushing through the floor. Also, this is brilliant for cardio and triggering a significant anabolic hormone response!

The Last Word on How to Train Your Legs Without a Gym

You can train your legs without ever stepping foot in a gym. You can do most of these exercises right at home with no equipment required. All you need is some space to move around and about 30 minutes per day to dedicate to your leg workout.

Also, use progressive overload, a protein-based diet, and a periodization plan to build more muscle faster. So give these exercises a try. Let us know how you feel after a few weeks of training. Did you find any new favorites? Please share your response in the comments below so that others can benefit from your experience.