4 Most Effective Leg Workouts You Can Do at Home (with Bench)

Simple leg workouts with a bench can help you get strong legs that will help you in your workouts, daily life, and long-term health. When you work out your lower body regularly, you're not just trying to get bigger quads. You're also building the foundation for better posture, a stronger core, and better athletic performance. The good news is that you don't need to be a member of a gym to do effective leg workouts at home.

With a sturdy weight bench and (optionally) a pair of dumbbells, you can turn even a small corner of your living room or garage into a serious leg-training station.

What Do Bench Leg Workout Target

Bench leg workouts work out both the front and back sides of your lower body.

The front of your calves, quadriceps, adductors, and hip stabilizers are all part of the anterior chain.

The back of your calves, hamstrings, glutes, abductors, and other hip stabilizers make up the posterior chain.

Training these muscle groups regularly is beneficial for you because they are some of the biggest in your body.

• Help you lose weight and burn more calories
• Increase the amount of weight you can lift in big lifts like squats and deadlifts.
• Make it easier for your hips, knees, and ankles to move.
• Get stronger and more powerful, and build muscle that you can use in sports and daily life.

Why are Leg Day Exercises Important

Leg exercises are usually compound moves, meaning they recruit multiple joints and muscle groups at the same time. That’s why a good leg day often feels more taxing and why the soreness can hang around a bit longer. Because progress can be slower to “show” in the mirror, many people are tempted to skip leg day altogether.

But skipping leg day too often can leave you unbalanced, weaker on full-body lifts, and more susceptible to injury. Strong legs support your back and core, help protect your knees and hips, and are critical for balance and fall prevention as you age.

You might not realize that bench leg workouts are also important for your brain and nervous system. Research published in Frontiers in Neuroscience suggests that weight-bearing leg exercise sends signals to the brain that are vital for the production of healthy neural cells, essential for handling stress^[1]. This is another reason your brain loves a good leg session.

Warm-Up: 5 Minutes to Prep Your Hips, Knees, and Ankles

Before you start the main workout, take five minutes to wake up your legs and feet. A good warm-up gets your blood flowing, makes your joints move more easily, and helps your nervous system fire the right muscles at the right time.

Try this simple warm-up routine:

• 30–45 seconds of bodyweight squats
• 30–45 seconds of reverse lunges (alternating legs)
• 30–45 seconds of glute bridges on the floor or bench
• 30–45 seconds of high-knee marches in place
• 30–45 seconds of ankle circles and gentle calf raises

Don't push yourself to move in a way that hurts. Just move smoothly and stay relaxed. If you already have problems with your knees or hips, start with a smaller range of motion and work your way up.

How to Workout Legs at Home (with bench)

Doing leg exercises at home is probably a lot easier than you realize. To fire up those lower-body muscles, you don’t need a leg press machine or a squat bar. A bench lets you change angles, add stability, and safely challenge each leg on its own even in a small space. All you really need is your bodyweight, maybe a pair of dumbbells, and the motivation to put some burn in your quads, hamstrings, glutes, calves, and inner thighs.

Below are four of the most effective leg workouts at home you can do with a bench.

Step-Up

Muscles Worked:

Glutes, hamstrings, quads

How to Do It:

1. Stand with your feet hip-width apart and facing the bench. If you want more resistance, hold a dumbbell in each hand at your sides.
2. Put your whole right foot on the bench, making sure your heel is firmly planted.
3. Push through your right heel to lift your body up, and then lightly tap the bench with your left foot so you are standing tall.
4. Take control of the descent: first, step back down with your left foot, then your right foot, and then back to where you started.
5. Do all of the reps on one leg or switch legs, depending on how strong and balanced you are.

Pro Tips:

• Don't lean too far forward; keep your torso tall.
• Instead of pushing off with your trailing foot, drive through the heel of your working leg.Research confirms that step exercises are highly effective for gluteus maximus activation without excessive knee stress^[2].
• If your knees hurt or your hips don't move well, start with a lower bench.
  

Sets and reps:

3 sets of 8–12 reps for each leg, with 60–90 seconds of rest between sets.

Single-Leg Squat to Bench

Muscles Worked: 

Quadriceps, hamstrings, glutes, hip stabilizers

How to Do It:

1. Stand in front of the bench with your back to it and your feet about hip-width apart. For balance, stretch your arms out in front of you.
2. Put your weight on your right leg and lift your left foot a little bit off the floor.
3. Brace your core, keep your chest up, and slowly sit your hips back and down toward the bench.
4. Lightly tap the bench with your glutes; don’t fully relax at the bottom.
5. Drive through your right heel to stand back up, keeping your knee tracking over your toes.

If this is too challenging at first, start with a “supported” version:

• Use both legs to sit down under control, then stand up using mostly one leg.
• Or keep your non-working heel lightly touching the floor for extra balance.

Pro Tips:

• Keep your knee aligned with your foot; avoid letting it cave inward.
• Move slowly and control the lowering phase; that’s where a lot of strength is built.

Sets & Reps:

2–3 sets of 6–8 reps per leg. Quality matters more than quantity here.

Bench Jump (or Low-Impact Bench Step-Over)

Muscles Worked: 

Quadriceps, hamstrings, abductors, glutes, calves

How to Do the Bench Jump:

1. With your feet about hip-width apart and your knees slightly bent, stand sideways next to the bench. If you need to, put your hands lightly on the bench for support.
2. Position your core on the line, then use your legs to propel both feet upwards and over the bench to the opposite side.
3. When you land, bend your knees and keep your feet close together.
4. Right away, bounce back and jump back to the starting side for the next rep.

Low-Impact Option (Bench Step-Over):

If high-impact jumps hurt your knees or ankles, don't jump. Instead, step one foot at a time up and over the bench. Pay attention to your quick, controlled footwork and stay light on your feet.

Pro Tips:

• Pick a sturdy, stable bench, and make sure the surface is dry and not slippery.
• "Quiet feet" means that soft landings protect your joints and give you better control.

Sets & Reps:

3 sets of 10–15 total jumps or step-overs. Rest 45–60 seconds between sets.

Bulgarian Split Squat

Muscles Worked: 

Quads, glutes, hamstrings

How to Do It:

1. Stand about 2–3 feet in front of the bench with your back to it, feet hip-width apart.
2. Reach one leg back and place the top of your foot or the ball of your foot on the bench. Your front foot should be far enough forward that your knee stays behind or roughly over your toes when you lower down.
3. Brace your core and keep your chest lifted. Lower your hips straight down, bending your front knee, until your rear knee comes close to the floor.
4. Pause briefly at the bottom, feeling a stretch in the back leg and tension in the front leg.
5. Drive through your front heel to return to the starting position.
6. To increase the difficulty, grab a dumbbell in each hand with your arms fully extended at your sides and palms facing inward.

Pro Tips:

• If you feel sharp pain in the front knee, shorten your range of motion or adjust your stance.
• Keep your front knee tracking in line with your second toe.
• Start using bodyweight only until your balance and strength improve.

Sets & Reps: 

3 sets of 8–10 reps per leg. Rest 60–90 seconds between sets.

How Often Should You Workout Legs

When your goal is to build muscle and strength, research suggests that total weekly training volume (how many hard sets you do) is more important than the exact number of leg days per week. As long as you accumulate enough quality sets, training a muscle once or two to three times per week can all work.

Here’s a simple guideline for home leg workouts:

• Beginners: 1–2 leg days per week, aiming for about 8–12 hard sets for your lower body each week.
• Intermediate lifters: 2 leg days per week, aiming for about 12–16 hard sets per week.

For the bench workout in this article, doing 3 sets of each of the 4 exercises (12 total sets) is a solid starting point. Focus on slow, controlled reps and keeping 1–2 reps “in the tank” instead of pushing every set to failure.

Sample Leg Day Workout (with Bench)

Here’s how you can put everything together into a plug-and-play leg day:

• Warm-Up – 5 minutes
• Bodyweight squats, reverse lunges, glute bridges, high-knee marches, and ankle/calf mobility.
• Step-Up—3 sets of 8–12 reps per leg
• Bulgarian split squat: 3 sets of 8–10 reps per leg.
• Single-Leg Squat to Bench – 2–3 sets of 6–8 reps per leg
• Bench Jump or Low-Impact Bench Step-Over – 3 sets of 10–15 reps.
• Cool-Down – 5 minutes of stretching (see below)

Rest 60–90 seconds between sets. As you get stronger, you can increase dumbbell weight, add an extra set, or slow down the lowering phase of each rep to make the same weight feel harder.

Cool-Down: Stretching for Knee and Hip Health

Finish your session with 3–5 minutes of light stretching to help your muscles relax and your joints feel better after training:

• Standing quad stretch (hold 20–30 seconds per side)
• Seated or bench-supported hamstring stretch (20–30 seconds per side)
• Figure-4 glute stretch lying on the bench or floor (20–30 seconds per side)
• Calf stretch against a wall or bench (20–30 seconds per side)

If you feel sharp pain (not just muscle burn or mild stretching discomfort) at any point during the workout, stop the exercise.A study in the Journal of Strength and Conditioning Research suggests that varying exercises (like rotating between step-ups and lunges) can be as effective for muscle growth as simply cranking up the intensity, while reducing overuse injury risk^[3].

Conclusion

A study published in the Journal of Strength and Conditioning Research suggests that regularly changing exercises can be just as effective for muscle growth as simply cranking up the intensity. Rotating through these bench leg movements challenges both the front and back of your lower body, helping you build strength, muscle, and better movement patterns over time.

If you already have a bench at home, don’t let it sit in the corner; turn it into your leg day headquarters. Try this workout for the next 6–8 weeks, track your progress, and let us know in the comments how your legs (and confidence) feel once you stop skipping leg day.

References

• Sun W, Zhu J, Jiang Y, Yokoi H, Huang Q. One-Channel Surface Electromyography Decomposition for Muscle Force Estimation. Front Neurorobot. 2018;12:20. Published 2018 May 4. doi:10.3389/fnbot.2018.00020
• Mangine GT, Hoffman JR, Gonzalez AM, et al. The effect of training volume and intensity on improvements in muscular strength and size in resistance-trained men. Physiol Rep. 2015;3(8):e12472. doi:10.14814/phy2.12472
• Fonseca RM, Roschel H, Tricoli V, et al. Changes in exercises are more effective than in loading schemes to improve muscle strength. J Strength Cond Res. 2014;28(11):3085-3092. doi:10.1519/JSC.0000000000000539

FAQs: legs workout at Home with a Bench

1. What muscles do leg workouts with a bench target?

The main muscles that leg workouts with a bench work are your quads, hamstrings, glutes, and calves. A lot of exercises also work your core and hip stabilizers, which helps your balance and overall lower-body strength.

2. Can beginners do leg workouts with a bench at home?

Yes. Beginners can start with bodyweight versions of step-ups, supported single-leg squats, and Bulgarian split squats on a lower bench and with fewer sets. As they get stronger and more confident, they can add dumbbells.

3. How many times per week should I train legs with a bench?

As a beginner, most people do well with 1–2 leg days a week. Once they get better, they should do 2 leg days a week. You should do between 8 and 16 hard sets for your lower body each week.

4. Do I need dumbbells, or is bodyweight enough?

Bodyweight is enough to start, especially when doing movements with one leg. Adding dumbbells to your workouts as they get easier will help you keep making progress, build more muscle, and make your workouts harder without having to buy expensive equipment.

5. What bench height is best for leg exercises?

A standard weight bench works for most people. For step-ups and single-leg squats, choose a height that lets you maintain balance and good form—if your hips or knees feel pinchy, use a slightly lower surface.

6. Are bench leg workouts safe for my knees?

When you use good form, they can be very easy on your knees. Keep your knees over your toes, control the lowering phase, and don't make sudden, jerky movements. If you feel sharp pain, lessen the depth, lower the weight, or change exercises.

7. How long should a home leg workout with a bench take?

A focused session can be done in 25–40 minutes. That includes a 5-minute warm-up, 20–30 minutes of 3–4 main exercises, and a short cool-down with light stretching.

8. Can I really build muscle with just a bench and dumbbells?

Yes. Step-ups and Bulgarian split squats are examples of single-leg movements that put a lot of stress on the body and are hard to do. You can build noticeable strength and muscle as long as you slowly add more reps, sets, or weight over time.

9. What if I don’t have much space at home?

Bench leg workouts take up very little space. Most exercises only need enough room to step in front of and behind the bench, so they are great for small apartments, bedrooms, or garage corners.

10. Should I do cardio before or after my bench leg workout?

If strength and muscle are your priority, do your leg workout first and save longer cardio for afterward or on a separate day. A short 3–5 minute light cardio warm-up is fine before lifting.

11. How sore should I feel after a leg workout with a bench?

It's normal to feel mild to moderate soreness for 24 to 48 hours, especially when you start or add new exercises. If you have sharp, intense joint pain or soreness that lasts for days, you should back off and change the volume or technique.

12. Can I replace gym leg machines with bench leg workouts?

Yes, for most people who lift weights at home. Using a bench for exercises can work the same muscles as machines do, but in harder ranges of motion. This is especially true when you use single-leg variations and progressive overload.