The 7 Best Lower Body Exercises (AKA My Favorite Lower Body Exercises)

In this article I outline what I believe to the 7 best lower body exercises on the planet. Seriously, they are that good — so get them in your program.

When I first stepped foot into the gym, I did very little lower body strength work.

In fact, I did none.

I was adamant that running was enough to ‘keep my legs strong’.

To be honest, I was only in the gym to build some muscle, and lets face it — who cares about legs?

How naive I was…

But fortunately, things change, and as a result I began to see the benefits of training my lower body.

Over the years my love for lower body strength training has blossomed into a bit of a fetish. I am a vocal believer that everyone should strength train. And more importantly, I believe that everyone should prioritize exercises that strengthen their lower body.

As you age, your lower body strength is one of the first things things to decline. It is this decline that impairs your ability to perform normal tasks of daily living, lowers your quality of life, and simply makes everything harder.

Additionally, lower body strength is the foundation from which all other areas of performance are built. This means that if you want to sprint fast, change direction rapidly, run or cycle long distances, or play any type of sport, lower body strength is essential.

Which is why I am sharing what I believe to be the 7 best lower body exercises on the planet.

Now, just to be clear, these are not in any particular order. In fact, they are all great exercises in their own right, and they all deserve a place in your training program.

So, without further ado – the 7 best lower body exercises.

1. Bulgarian Split Squat

The Bulgarian split squat not only has a cool name, but also offers a great way to improve lower body strength and single leg stability. In this manner, it is one of the most bang for your buck exercises on the planet.

This makes it perfect for anyone who wants to sprint faster, change direction quicker, or simply navigate life’s many daily challenges easier.

As a bit of a bonus, it can easily be loaded with barbells, kettlebells, or dumbbells, making it super versatile.

2. Front Squat

Many people describe the barbell back squat as the king of all exercises — and its not far from the truth.

However, for 99% of the population, I prefer its handsome younger brother, the front squat.

With the front squat, the bar sits on the front of the shoulders, rather than on the back. This allows you to maintain a more upright position during the movement, making it more back friendly. This also forces more core engagement, and typically helps people sink a little bit lower.

As a result, it has great carry over to almost any real life task you can think of — especially those related to athletic performance, such as jumping and sprinting.

in short, front squat it like its hot.

3. Trap Bar Deadlift

Anyone who knows me knows I like to deadlift. I honestly think everyone should deadlift in some way, shape, or form.

It is the perfect exercise to build lower body strength. It places a premium on all the muscles of your posterior chain (think glutes and hamstrings). It even hammers all the muscles of your upper back.

As a result, it not only offers a great way to strengthen the lower body, but also improve your posture.

However, the traditional barbell deadlift can be quite challenging for a lot of people.

Which is exactly why I like the trap bar deadlift.

As the bar sits slightly higher than a normal barbell, it is more accessible (especially for those with mobility limitations). Additionally, the shape of the bar helps you keep a slightly more upright posture, which places less load on the lower back.

What more could you want?

4. Reverse Lunge

I am massive fan of exercises that not only build strength and stability, but also do so in a functionally relevant manner.

Which is exactly where the reverse lunge enters the discussion.

Like many other single leg exercises, the reverse lunge improves single leg stability. However, as it has you driving forward from the bottom position, it better replicates things like running, sprinting, jumping, and walking up stairs.

Even better, because it has you stepping backwards to initiate the movement (rather than forward like many other lunging variations), it makes it easier to load into the hip. This means that it tends to increase the work done by your glutes, while reducing the load on the knee.

5. Lateral Step Down

The lateral step down is the perfect way to improve single leg stability while moving in a lateral direction. With this in mind, it offers benefits for almost anyone on the planet.

The key with this exercise is to leave your ego at the door!

The load does not have to be heavy — in fact, it probably shouldn’t be. The key is to focus on slowing down the descent and keeping it smooth and controlled.

6. Single Leg Deadlift

As if I was going to leave this guy out.

If you have ever trained at iNform, then you would know that we are a big fan of single leg deadlift variations. They are the perfect way to improve hip strength and single leg stability, which is why they appear in so many of our programs.

To add to the appeal, they an be loaded using almost any piece of equipment, and can be performed assisted if balance is an issue.

Talk about versatile.

7. Barbell Hip Thrust

Last but not least, we have the hip thrust.

Popularized by the glute guy himself, Bret Contreras, this is a great exercises that absolutely smokes the glutes.

As a result, it offers a great way to improve athletic performance, help improve lower back pain, and build a sweet booty.

Seriously, what more could you want?

Take Home Message

Improving the strength of your lower body is a surefire way to improve your performance, function, and even quality of life — and the key lies with making sure you do it right.

Which is exactly why I have outlined what I believe to be the best 7 lower body exercises.

Start incorporating these guys into your training ASAP, and reap the rewards.

If you would like more ideas on exercise programs you can do at home, visit our home workout library by signing up using the form below:

Photo by Victor Freitas on Unsplash