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For Strong, Powerful Legs, Trainers Love These 10 Muscle-Building Dumbbell Exercises

25/09/2019 - 06:05 PM

Building leg and butt muscle is the same as putting on muscle [1] everywhere else on your body: you need consistent work and increasing weights (aka progressive overload [2]) to see results. Dumbbells are a great tool for that: portable, easily interchangeable, and versatile. In fact, they're almost too versatile. Once you have a pair in your hands, there are so many moves you can do. Which ones are best for building leg and glute muscle?

That's the question we asked these eight trainers, and luckily for all of us, they responded with the 10 best leg-strengthening moves that engage and challenge your lower body with two dumbbells. (And, in some case, only one!) Adding a few sets to your workouts will help you see results in your quads, hamstrings, glutes, and calves, so grab your weights and get ready to feel strong and confident from head to toe! (Not sure how heavy to go? Check out this guide to choosing the right weight [3].)

Alternating Reverse Lunge

The reverse lunge targets your glutes and hamstrings, explained certified personal trainer Andrew Bustos [5], NASM.

Dumbbell Deadlifts

This dumbbell deadlift variation engages your hamstrings, glutes, and even your lower back, said Mike Nicholson [6], CSCS, a trainer at Chelsea Piers. A good deadlift "effectively adds resistance to the muscles that control the hip hinge," he told POPSUGAR.

Front Squat

This weighted squat variation challenges your quads, hamstrings, and glutes as well as your core, Mike told POPSUGAR. Make sure to keep your chest and elbows high and your core engaged [7] the whole time, said Andrew.

Dumbbell Sumo Squat

A dumbbell sumo squat engages the muscles that move your hip and knee and makes it easier to activate your glutes, Mike told POPSUGAR. You can do it with one or two dumbbells.

Goblet Squat

"Goblet squats target all of the muscles of the legs, specifically the quads and the glutes," said Chris Cooper, an NSCA-certified personal trainer. "With an exercise like this, you can increase the intensity by upping the weight relatively easily, as long as your arms can support it."

Dumbbell Hip Thrusts

"Hip thrusts target the glutes and particularly the upper glutes which is a difficult area to target with other movements," said Mariah Heller, ACSM-certified personal trainer and founder of Pain-Free Fitness [8]. The movement is similar to a glute bridge [9], Mariah explained, but with your shoulders off the ground. (The photo shows a barbell, but you can substitute a heavy dumbbell.)

Bulgarian Split Squat

This squat variation is the favourite of Matt Grasso, NSCA-CSCS, who described it as a more advanced variation of a typical split squat with both feet grounded. "It targets mainly the glutes, quads, and hamstrings," he told POPSUGAR. "I recommend this exercise to build muscle mass in the lower body, to increase total body strength, and to increase coordination."

Alternating Side Lunge

Side lunges work your quads, hamstrings, and glutes, said Sylvia Nasser, a NASM-certified personal trainer. If you're new to this move, master it with no weight first (as pictured), then add one or two dumbbells.

Squat to Overhead Press

This compound move is recommended by David Garza, a NASM-certified personal trainer and master instructor at Love Cycling Studio in Austin, TX. You're getting in some shoulder work while challenging your hamstrings and glutes.

Single-Leg Squat

The always-challenging single-leg squat fires up your glutes and hamstrings, said Steve Stonehouse, NASM-certified personal trainer and director of education for Stride [10] indoor running studio. It develops single-leg strength to help you be explosive when sprinting, jumping, and changing directions, he said. Make sure you can do the move on its own first, then advance it by holding a dumbbell in one hand.


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