Sometimes the gym is just not in reach.
This can be because it’s literally not in reach. You might live far from any useful fitness facility or you might be on the road or jet setting.
Sometimes other factors limit accessibility to the gym. Busy family life, work deadlines and late hours in the office.
These all can limit your ability to actually make a workout session at the gym.
Your alternatives? Train at home.
And if you want to train your legs, you should be doing it at home even if you do have access to a gym.
That's because, contrary to the common trend of having one or two dedicated leg days per week, every day is leg day.
Why Every Day Is Leg Day
Why is everyday leg day you ask? Well, take a walk with us and we’ll explain.
Humans are mobile creatures, which means daily tasks and activities depend on us being able to move from one place to another.
Today, there are many supplementary ways of achieving this. Machines like cars and automated walkways like escalators all make transporting our bodies much simpler than originally anticipated.
But at the end of the day, you will still want to rely on yourself for simple transport needs.
And what do you use to achieve this? It's your legs of course.
So if you need to use your legs every day, isn't it safe to assume that every day should be leg day?
We think so, especially from a functional perspective, and that's what this article will help you with.
But first, before you embark on your home leg day journey, there are a few important things you’ll want to make sure you have.
Important Equipment To Have At Home
Kettlebells
These are important for scaling the resistance intensity of your leg workouts.
Try to get a good range of weights spread across no more than 5 kettlebells.
Aerobic Stepper
The aerobic stepper is a great workout tool for those leg workouts that need varied surface heights
Try to get at least one, but no more than two steppers with adjustable height bases.
Resistance Bands
Resistance bands are a versatile way to add a unique form of training resistance all in a compact lightweight piece of equipment.
These bands usually come in a number of resistance levels, often color-coded according to the manufacturer’s system.
Jump Rope
The jump rope is a good go-to for cardio warm-ups and calf activation prior to a good workout.
Skipping and double unders are good workouts on their own, but make good intros into a leg workout.
5 Awesome At-Home Leg Workouts
1. Goblet squats
A good compound lower-body blaster, this is a kettlebell inspired squat variation.
Simply cradle the kettlebell in both hands. Assume a foot wide apart stance and squat down.
Flex the knees to just less than 90 degrees, then stand up straight after a brief pause, completing one rep.
Remember to focus on the glutes and hamstrings for this one.
Do 4 sets of 12 reps.
2. Kettlebell swing
The poster child of kettlebell workouts, the KB swing is a cardio/resistance combo everyone should incorporate.
Start in a wide stance with both hands holding the KB, hanging between your legs.
From here, perform a gentle squat and power back up using the momentum to generate a swing in the kettlebell. Guide it down to complete the rep.
Focus on the glutes for this one too. Do 4 sets of 12 reps.
3. Step Lunge
A great quad workout. This one will have you feeling toned, tight and strong.
Using an aerobic stepper, go into the lunge position, placing the back leg on the stepper behind.
From this position dip your lunge. You can either pause or pulse for two beats, then lift up again to complete one rep.
Do this over 4 sets of 12 reps for each leg.
4. Calf Raises
This calf muscle activator is great with a kettlebell and aerobic stepper.
Simply stand on the stepper with your forefoot so that the heels are hanging off the edge.
From here use one hand for stability on a wall or pillar, and the other to hold your required weight.
You can either do rapid pulsing movements or slow controlled reps, making sure to lower the heels below the level of the stepper, then raising up in plantar flexion up to your tippy toes.
Do this over 4 sets of 10 reps each.
5. Single-Leg Deadlift
With a kettlebell in one hand, perform a single leg deadlift by bending over the waist on one leg until your back is parallel to the floor.
Once here, hold for a moment, then extend back up to complete one rep.
The other leg should remain straight and inline with the spine throughout each rep.
Perform 4 sets of 10 reps on each leg.
Conclusion
Make every day a mindful leg day with these awesome lower body workouts.
You can use all four in a complete workout or focus on just a few to get the blood pumping each day.
The intensity can be scaled up depending on the weight you decide to use.
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