Top 7 Best Dumbbell Leg Exercises for Strength and Toning

Although many often use barbells or machines for the majority of the exercises on leg day, dumbbells are a versatile training tool which adds an extra dimension to your workouts.

Or if you don't go to the gym, it is possible to exercise your legs at home with nothing more than a pair of dumbbells.

Whether you want to lose fat, build some muscle, or just tone those legs, there are a variety of dumbbell leg exercises that you can do virtually anywhere.

Today, we're going to take you through a dumbbell leg workout to give you a good idea of the many types of exercises that you can do with dumbbells to strengthen your legs.

We're going to strengthen your glutes, quadriceps, hamstrings, cats, and more.

1. Dumbbell Deadlift

Although most people use barbells to do deadlifts, you can also use dumbbells which provide a slightly different experience and can feel more comfortable to grip for some people.

Moreover, deadlifts are also great exercises because they target so much more than just your legs.

They're also great for your upper back and your core. If you're just getting into deadlifting, then using light dumbbells is a great way to start.

Remember that a barbell on its own can already weigh as much as 40 pounds, or in some cases more, which may be too much for a beginner. Using dumbbells, you can start as low as you need.

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How to do a Dumbbell Deadlift

1. To do a dumbbell deadlift, first place two dumbbells on the ground facing left to right. Holding the dumbbells in your hand using an overhand grip, which means that your palms are facing back and towards you.
2. Start by standing just a little bit narrower than shoulder width, keep your chest puffed out and your shoulders back, and you're back totally straight. Your starting position should see you bent over at the hips with your back virtually parallel to the ground.
3. With the dumbbells in your hands, from your starting position, tense your abdominal muscles and stand up straight by driving your hips forward and pushing your heels into the ground.
4. Lower back down to the starting position by moving your bum backwards and bending your knees. Ensure that your back stays straight the whole time.
5. Aim to perform up to 12 repetitions and four sets.

2. Goblet Squat

Another great dumbbell leg exercise is the goblet squat and if you don't have a dumbbell you can always use a kettbell instead.

One of the main benefits of Goblet squats is that they help take the pressure off of your neck and back, while also adding a certain challenge to the mix. It's a great exercise for targeting both your legs and your abdominal muscles.

How to do a Goblet Squat

1. To do a goblet squat, hold the dumbbell with your palms facing upwards and your feet at shoulder width, with your chest facing forwards and your shoulders back.
2. Keeping a straight back, bend your knees and move your backside out and down, so your weight is spread out through your heels. Your goal is to get your backside as close to the ground as possible.
3. Once you get to the lowest squatting position, tense your abdominal muscles, push through your heels, and get back to your original starting position.
4. Try to do four sets of 10 repetitions each.

3. Calf Raises

If you want to add some more strength and definition to your calves, then one of the best exercises to do is the dumbbell calf raise.

Calf raises can be done with a wide variety of workout equipment, although it is common to do them with dumbbells.

How to do Calf Raises

1. To do calf raises, start by picking moderately heavy dumbbells.
2. You can hold the dumbbells either in front of you using an overhand grip with your palms facing back or beside you using a neutral grip with your palms facing inwards.
3. Stand with your feet slightly narrower than shoulder width.
4. You're now simply going to stand up on your tiptoes and make sure that your heel does not come into contact with the ground anymore. If possible, use your toes to lift yourself so high that the balls of your feet are no longer in contact with the ground either.
5. Hold this position for a few seconds and then lower yourself back down to the starting position. To make the exercise more difficult for you, start from an elevated position.
6. Aim to perform up to 10 reps for three sets.

4. Bulgarian Split Squat

If you're looking for a challenge and you want to target those quadriceps and almost all other muscles in your legs, then this is a great exercise to consider.

Keep in mind that the Bulgarian split squat is a single-leg exercise, which means that it is a bit harder than a regular squat.

The reason for this is that not only are you challenging your muscles, but your ability to balance as well.

However, this makes it an ideal exercise for those looking for an increased challenge, as well As for those looking to balance out any potential muscle imbalances.

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How to do a Bulgarian Split Squat

1. To do a Bulgarian split squat with dumbbells, hold a dumbbell in each one of your hands and stand with your back towards the bench.
2. You're going to place one foot on the bench, which is effectively your back foot. Depending on the state of your ankles and feet, you might find it more comfortable to only have your toes on the bench, whereas some people find it more comfortable to have the whole foot on the bench up to the ankle.
3. You now need to lean forward at roughly a 45° angle. The more you lean forward, the harder your glutes will have to work.
4. With your front foot planted firmly on the ground, bend at your knee and lower yourself down until your back knee is as close to the ground as you can get.
5. Hold this position for one or two seconds and then push through your heel to get back up to the starting position.
6. Aim to perform eight repetitions and three sets for each leg.

5. Glute Bridges

If your main goal is to build bigger glutes, then doing some dumbbell glute bridges is the way to go. 

Glute bridges are another one of these exercises that you can do virtually anywhere. We do recommend laying down on something like a yoga mat to keep yourself off of the hard ground.

How to do Glute Bridges

1. To do a glute bridge, start by choosing a dumbbell that you can easily push up into the air using your pelvis without too much trouble.
2. Lay down on the mat with your back flat, your knees bent, and your feet flat on the floor.
3. Place the dumbbell across your hips and pelvis.
4. Lift yourself off the ground by squeezing your glutes and lifting your hips upwards. Your body should create a straight line from your shoulders to your knees when you are at the top of the movement.
5. Once you're at the top of the movement, quickly pause and hold for one to two seconds, and then slowly lower yourself back down to the starting position.

6. Walking Lunges

Perhaps one of the simplest dumbbell leg exercises that you can do is a walking lunge. The Walking lunge is another fantastic exercise because it targets virtually all of the muscles in your legs, including your hamstrings, glutes, quadriceps, and even your calves to a certain degree.

Another big benefit of this exercise is that you can use virtually any amount of weight, and you can do it anywhere as well. As long as you have access to dumbbells and a few feet of space to walk back and forth, you can do this exercise anywhere you see fit.

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How to do Walking Lunges

1. Start by holding a dumbbell in each hand in a neutral position with your palms facing inwards.
2. Start the exercise by stepping forward with one leg and bending that knee. Place all of your weight in your front heel and then drop your back knee downwards toward the ground. 
3. Make sure to step the right distance. Stepping too far means that you'll use your back leg to help whereas not stepping far enough means that the weight will be on the ball of your foot instead of your heel.
4. While leaning forward at roughly a 45° angle, push back upwards through your heel from your front foot. Then, step forward with your back foot to meet your front leg, and then repeat for the other side.
5. Aim to do up to 16 repetitions for three sets.

Rounding Up

As you can see, dumbbells are a versatile training tool and there are many more leg exercises you could use them for but here are a few of our favourites.

Incorporate any number of the above dumbbell like exercises into your next leg day, and you'll start seeing gains in no time at all.