Maintaining lower-body strength is vital to aging well and the more work you put in when you're younger, the more you can look forward to an active old age.
Tami Smith, a NASM-certified personal trainer and founder of Fit Healthy Macros, agrees, explaining that with little to no strength in your lower body, you would struggle to perform movements you take for granted when you're younger, such as walking, standing and lifting things. “Lower body strength supports your joint health and stability,” she says. “As we age, our bones and joints weaken, which can cause injury or an inability to get around and support ourselves.”
So it pays to include well-rounded leg workouts in your week to keep each of the main muscle groups in good working order. Smith gave me a rundown of the major muscle groups in the lower body, along with a straightforward workout that hits all six muscle groups.
Six lower-body muscle groups and what they do
- Quads: The quad muscles are found on the front of your thighs and are crucial for knee extension and stability. You can train your quads using exercises like squats and lunges.
- Hamstrings: These are the muscles that run along the back of your thighs. They are essential for knee flexion and hip extension, and are called into action when deadlifting, jumping and running.
- Glutes: This is the largest muscle group in the body and it's important for maintaining your posture and powering hip extension. Your glutes are also used to perform exercises like squats and lunges.
- Calves: Your calves are located between your knees and your ankles, running down the back of your lower legs. They are responsible for supporting your ankles, helping you to balance and are involved in explosive movements like jumping.
- Adductors: These are your inner thigh muscles. They’re smaller muscles, but still very important because they stabilize your pelvis and provide support during lateral movements like a lateral lunge.
- Hip flexors: These muscles help give you the ability to lift your leg and provide stabilization of the pelvis while walking and running.
Workout in brief
- Goblet squat x 10-12 reps
- Romanian deadlift x 10-12 reps
- Reverse lunge x 8-10 reps each side
- Kettlebell swing x 12-15 reps
- Lateral lunge x 8-10 reps each side
The exercises
1. Goblet squat
Reps: 10-12
- Stand with your feet shoulder-width apart and hold your kettlebell by the sides of the handle at chest height.
- Keeping your back straight and your chest facing forward, bend your knees and push your hips back to lower until your thighs are parallel with the floor.
- Push through your heels to return to standing.
2. Romanian deadlift
Reps: 10-12
- Stand with your feet shoulder-width apart and a slight bend in your knees, holding the kettlebell handle with both hands in front of you.
- Keeping your back straight throughout, slowly hinge forward at your hips, pushing your hips back and lowering the kettlebell along your legs. Stop when you feel a stretch in your hamstrings.
- Push your hips forward to return to the start.
3. Reverse lunge
Reps: 8-10 each side
- Stand with your feet hip-width apart, holding the kettlebell in your left hand.
- Step your right foot back and bend both knees to 90° to lower, keeping your upper body upright.
- Push through the heel of your left leg to return to the start.
- Complete all your reps on one side, then switch sides.
4. Kettlebell swing
Reps: 12-15
The kettlebell swing requires you to perform the hip hinge movement at pace. If you're not confident performing this move, try this kettlebell leg workout instead.
- Stand with your feet slightly wider than hip-width apart with the kettlebell on the floor slightly in front of you.
- Engage your core and hinge forward, pushing your hips back and keeping a slight bend in your knees.
- Take hold of the kettlebell handle in both hands, lift it off the floor slightly and let it swing back between your legs.
- Drive your hips forward to swing the kettlebell up to chest height.
- As the kettlebell descends, hinge forward and push your hips back as the kettlebell swings back between your legs.
5. Lateral lunge
Reps: 8-10
- Stand with your feet hip-width apart, holding a kettlebell in your right hand by your right side.
- Step your right leg out to the right side and, keeping your left leg straight, bend your right knee and push your hips back to lower the kettlebell to the outside of your right foot.
- Push off your right foot to return to the start under control.
- Complete all your reps on one side, then switch sides.
