It’s often thought that the only way to build strength is with gym machines and heavy barbells, but whether you use a rack at the gym or adjustable dumbbells at home, using dumbbells can help you build muscle in your legs.
Strength training and Pilates coach Courtney Fisher recently shared a workout that shows you how to effectively work your glutes, hips, hamstrings, and calves using dumbbells. The routine also includes single-legged exercises, which are great for people who love running or hiking, since you’re constantly relying on one leg to stabilize and keep your balance.
Courtney Fisher’s lower body workout routine
Fisher gives the number of repetitions for each move in his videos, but you’ll need to adjust the weight you use to make sure you can complete all of the repetitions with proper form.
For Romanian deadlifts and reverse lunges, you can choose heavier dumbbells because the muscles targeted by these exercises are larger and can withstand a greater load.
For the inner thigh lifts and fire hydrants, you will need lighter dumbbells or you will need to try these exercises using just your own body weight.
Aim to complete three sets of each exercise.
This is a great routine to do regularly. Each time you repeat the workout, aim to increase the difficulty of each exercise by increasing the number of repetitions in each set and/or the weight you use. If you increase the weight after a few weeks of increasing the number of repetitions, go back to the original number of repetitions and start again with a heavier weight.
This technique of gradually increasing difficulty over time is called progressive overload, and it’s one of the most effective techniques for getting results from any type of resistance training.
Combine this leg workout with an upper body workout using dumbbells to create a twice-weekly training plan.
Buy adjustable dumbbells
If you’re weight training at home, we recommend buying a pair of adjustable dumbbells that offer a variety of weight settings. This allows you to choose the right weight for your exercise and increase the difficulty as you get stronger. Here are our top three tried-and-true picks, or you can read more about the best adjustable dumbbells.
1. Bowflex 552 SelectTech Adjustable Dumbbells
2. AmazonBasics Dumbbells
3. NordicTrack Select-A-Weight Adjustable Dumbbells
