18 Exercises For a Great Dumbbell Leg Workout

The classic dumbbell squat is a great leg-day exercise that targets your whole lower body, including your quads, hamstrings, and glutes, in one efficient movement. Form is key here, so make sure to do your squats properly.

While thrusters are a great dumbbell leg exercise, they work a lot more than just your legs. This squat variation adds a more explosive movement at the top that engages your core and shoulder muscles in addition to your quads, hamstrings, and glutes. It's important to keep your core engaged throughout the squat and shoulder press so that you're fully supporting your upper body; if you feel your back start to round or arch, drop down to a lighter weight or remove the shoulder press and do a simple dumbbell squat.

The goblet squat is similar to a traditional dumbbell squat, with some differences in foot and weight placement: your feet will be wider and pointed slightly out, and you'll hold one dumbbell (or kettlebell) at your chest. This dumbbell leg workout move is great for targeting your glutes and quads, and you might find that you're able to squat lower than in a traditional squat because the dumbbell is placed at your chest, which helps some people stay balanced and keep the weight in their heels, according to the National Academy of Sports Medicine.

Yes, another squat variation! In addition to working your glutes, quads, and hamstrings, sumo squats also recruit your calves and inner thighs — making this a dumbbell leg exercise that truly targets your whole lower body. Your legs will be extra wide, but note that your knees still shouldn't go past your toes. Hold one dumbbell at your chest or grab two to increase the challenge even more.

Romanian deadlifts are a popular compound exercise for good reason. This dumbbell leg move targets the muscles on the back of your legs and butt, which are often underutilized. (Many people don't train those muscles as much as their quads, which are on the front of the legs.) When done with correct form, a deadlift will also work your back, abs, and upper body, too. Many people do deadlifts with a barbell, but dumbbells work just as well.

In addition to doing bilateral leg exercises with weights (i.e. moves using both legs), it's important to do unilateral (aka single-leg) moves, too. That way, you're making sure both legs can do their job separately as well as together. The single-leg deadlift targets similar muscle groups as the traditional deadlift, but focuses the work on one leg and glute while challenging your core strength and balance. Make sure you can perform this move without falling over (tougher than it sounds, trust us) and go at a slow, comfortable pace to maintain your form, especially if you're trying the single-leg deadlift for the first time.

If you'd like a dumbbell leg exercise that also works your arms at the same time, the lunge with a bicep curl is the move for you. The lunge portion of the exercise targets your glutes, hamstrings, quads, and calves, while the curl works your biceps. Performing the curl at the bottom of the lunge also increases your time under tension, aka the amount of time you spend in the toughest part of the exercise, which increases the overall difficulty.

If you don't have a kettlebell around, grab a single dumbbell and change the traditional kettlebell swing to a dumbbell swing. The form and motion are the same, and you'll work your hamstrings, abs, arms, and glutes just as effectively.

Another upper-and-lower-body combo move, split squats with overhead presses are an effective way to work your glutes, quads, hamstrings, and calves while incorporating a bonus movement for your shoulders. As with dumbbell thrusters, make sure your core is engaged while you do this dumbbell leg exercise so your back and upper body are supported during the overhead press.

If you want to really work on your balance while you strengthen your legs, the reverse lunge to knee drive is a good choice. You'll work your leg and glute muscles through the lunge portion and challenge your abs and balance with the knee drive. You can do this leg workout move with bodyweight (shown) or, to make it more difficult, with dumbbells (hold them by your sides throughout the move).

Step-ups target your quads, glutes, and hamstrings in one simple movement. Make sure the surface you're stepping onto can safely support your weight (and the weight of your dumbbells!) before you start.

Mix up your lunges with this off-center variation that makes for a great addition to your leg-day workout. Curtsy lunges target your quads, your hamstrings, the muscle on the side of your butt (called the glute medius), and the abductor muscles in your hips. You can do this move with only your bodyweight, as pictured, or with dumbbells (hold them at chest height or down at your sides).

The side lunge (aka lateral lunge) is designed to light up your glutes, particularly your glute medius (the muscle on the outside of your butt), while also working your quads and abs. Feel free to add a bicep curl to target your arms, as shown.

This glute-, quad-, and hamstring-strengthening move will also challenge your coordination and core strength. Try it with just your bodyweight (as shown) before trying to add weights.

Just a few Bulgarian split squats will have you feeling a serious burn in your working leg. Maintaining correct posture and core engagement is very important in this dumbbell leg exercise, which primarily targets your glutes.

There are plenty of glute bridge variations out there, but if you have a dumbbell handy, this is the one for you. The weighted glute bridge is a classic butt exercise for good reason — it really targets your glutes! Make sure to go for a weight that's sufficiently challenging for the strong muscles in your legs and butt.

Walking lunges are a great functional movement to add to your leg-day workouts, and you can do them with dumbbells to really amp up the challenge.

There's a good chance single-leg squats are going to be hard for you even without dumbbells (no shade, it's an advanced move!). But if you want to, you can add weights to make the move more challenging. (You can also scale it back by doing a squat down onto a bench or chair.)