15 Best Leg Workouts for Women, According to Top Fitness Experts

Ashley Joi, trainer on Chris Hemsworth's health and fitness app Centr, loves plyometric moves like this one.

How to: Start by standing tall on the right side of your mat with feet hip width apart. Launch your left foot over to other side of your mat in a skating motion, bending at the hips and knees. The right hand touches down to the left foot, and the right foot goes behind you to lightly touch the floor to stabilize the movement. Then, launch of the right foot and repeat on the other side.

Don't be fooled by the name; the Bulgarian split squat mimics a lunge motion more than a squat. Joi says that this move in particular is especially effective at toning the legs and getting a cardio burn.

How to: Take a long step backwards with your right leg, feeling a stretch through the right hip flexor and quad. Elevate the top of your right foot on a sofa, low table, or bench. Then, keeping your torso upright, bend your right knee to lower your body straight down towards the ground. Come back to the top and repeat. Once you’ve got your form right, pick up a dumbbell with each hand to advance.

McKinney is a fan of this unilateral move that tests both strength, balance, and flexibility. She says, "working the calves, hamstrings, glutes, low back, mid back, upper back (a.k.a posterior chain) is a great way to fix a lot of the posture issues we have as a society today."

How to: Start with your feet hip distance apart. Roll your shoulders back and down, and do your best to keep them there as you work through the movement. Push your hips back and shift your weight to one leg as the other leg begins to extend back behind you. Your working leg with have a slight bend in the knee and a maximal bend in the hip. Push your hips back until your chest is parallel with the ground. Then, squeeze your glute and return to a standing position. Once you have built enough balance to move through the range of motion safely and without falling, you can add a dumbbell or kettlebell to the mix.

This movement activates the core and also builds good mechanics for healthy knees, which is why McKinney says it's a favorite of hers.

How to: Start by standing with legs shoulder width apart, and engage your core. Grab a kettlebell, dumbbell, water jug, etc. and hold it against your chest. Your elbows should be underneath the weight and the weight should be physically touching your chest close to where your sternum meets your collar bone. Keep your feet completely flat on the ground and push your knees out as your lower down. Work to get your hip crease to your knee crease. At the bottom of a squat you should have max knee flexion and max hip flexion. Keep your chest lifted, and engage your glutes on the way back up.

Kettlebell swings work virtually every single muscle in the body, but they heavily engage the hamstrings and glutes. A full kettlebell swing goes all the way above your head, whereas a Russian kettlebell swing ends at eye level and allows you to focus on strength in the hips.

How to: Stand with your feet hip width apart and a slight bend in your knees. Engage your core and be sure to keep a flat back throughout the movement. Hold the kettlebell with both hands in an overhand grip and start with the kettlebell hanging in between your thighs with arms straight and engaged. Lean forward, then use your hips to swing the kettlebell up to eye level. Lower back down and repeat.

McKinney says this move is important to help develop strong abductors for healthy hips and in turn, healthy knees.

How to: Start on the ground on all fours and brace your core tight by keeping your hips in a neutral position and pulling your belly button into your spine. Keep your knee in a bent position, lift your knee out to the side of your body. Continue to lift the knee away from your body and bring it back down with control. Ensure you are doing even reps for both sides of your hips.

Brooks Beast professional runner Allie Ostrander makes a point to work on strength training moves like the hip bridge, which she finds also helps to enhance her running skills.

How to: Lay on your back with knees bent, feet flat on the floor, and arms next to your sides. Engage your core and glutes to lift your hips until they have created a "bridge," which is a flat surface from chest to knees. At the top of the bridge, squeeze glutes for a second before lowering back to the starting position. To increase the difficulty of this exercise, try it while holding a kettlebell or dumbbell over the hips, or by placing the feet on an elevated surface (such as a chair or couch).

Alvarez brings an extra level to the hip bridge by adding abduction. She says that this activates the outer thigh, glutes, and even the lower abdominals. Alvarez especially likes this move for mothers to help strengthen and tighten the muscles and ligaments around the hips that may have weakened after giving birth.

How to: Lay on your back with your knees bent and feet on the floor. Place a resistance band above your knees, and space out your feet so that there is tension on the band. Keeping the band tense, squeeze your glutes and lift your hips up to a bridge. Once in the bridge push your knees out to the sides. Bring knees in and lower hips to return to the start. Aim to do this 20 times without stopping, and remember to move slowly and with control.

Alvarez loves this booty burner move for strengthening your glutes, which she says can help you run faster and stronger. For an extra challenge, use a resistance band placed on your thighs just above your knee.

How to: Kick your left foot in a right angle to the ceiling, imagining that you are stepping on the ceiling with the left foot. Your leg stays bent and your foot is flexed. The lower abs are drawn into the belly button to prevent your lower back from arching. Repeat 10 times each leg. For even more of a challenge, try to hover both knees above the ground when you do this in a bear plank position.

You can do this standing straight leg kickback anytime and virtually anywhere. It's especially excellent for sculpting the inner thighs.

How to: Stand with feet hip-width apart. Use a wall or sturdy chair to help balance yourself. Engage your core and glutes, and keep your spine long. Keep your right leg straight and float it upwards behind you. Slowly lower down to gently tap the floor. Repeat and don't forget to switch sides when you finish the reps. Place a resistance band around your ankles or on your lower thighs right above your knees for an extra challenge.

This lunge variation hits all different angles of the legs and glutes and is a favorite for Olympian and Team USA Track & Field athlete Colleen Quigley.

How to: Stand with feet hip width apart and grab a medicine ball or medium weight with both hands. Step one leg forward and lunge down so that your back knee is hovering over floor and your front knee is over your toes. Return to standing position (for an extra challenge, don't touch the ground when you come up, keep the knee up in a high knee position in between lunges). Take the same leg as before and step out to the side, lunging out nice and low with your chest lifted. Return to standing position, and then take that same leg and step it behind you into a deep reverse lunge. Return to standing position, and this time take the same leg and do a lunge to the back corner behind your standing leg, like a curtsey. Do the whole round on one leg, then switch legs. Repeat the set 3-5 times. You can always grab a heavier weight for a bigger challenge

Quigley says the key to this move is going slowly and feeling the burn on the way down. Start using just your bodyweight, and grab a dumbbell in your alternate hand if you want an extra challenge.

How to: Find a stair or a ledge that you can stand on. Balance on one foot with the ball of your foot on the edge of the stair so that your heel can drop down below. Drop your heel down as far as you can go so that you get a little stretch in the back of your calf/ankle. Drive the heel up fairly quickly so that you are on your tippy toes. Very slowly drop the heel back down to the stretched out position again. Repeat the quick up, very slow down heel drops 10-12 times.

Dannah Bollig, a certified personal trainer, former division one athlete and the creator of The DE Method is also a fan of calf raises and loves these calf blaster variations that you can do anytime, anywhere. She suggests doing each calf blaster for 20 repetitions and repeating for 3 rounds.

How to:

1. Forward Position: Standing tall with both feet shoulder width apart and toes facing forward, place your hands on your hips and raise only your heels as high as you can off the ground, engaging both calves. Then lower back down.
2. V Position: Standing tall with both feet shoulder width apart and toes facing outward so your feet create the letter V, place your hands on your hips and raise only your heels as high as you can off the ground, engaging both calves. Then lower back down.
3. Triangle Position: Standing tall with both feet shoulder width apart and toes facing inward so your feet make a triangle, place your hands on your hips and raise only your heels as high as you can off the ground, engaging both calves. Then lower back down.

Bollig is the queen of resistance band workouts and says that they add extra activation and sculpting in any leg day session.

How to: Place your resistance band a few inches above your knees. Stand with your feet about hip width apart. Keep a slight bend in your knees (this helps protect your lower back, joints, ligaments and tendons) and your back straight. Engage your core, then shuffle two steps to the right, then back two steps to the left. Do 3 rounds of 30 seconds to 1 minute to feel the burn.

Bollig loves this move for sculpting the thighs, calves, and even lower abdominals.

How to: Rest your back against a stable wall and sink down so that your knees are at a 90-degree angle. While keeping your back glued to the wall, core engaged, and arms straight out in front of you with your palms facing the floor (why not burn those shoulders too), hold this position for 30 seconds to 1 minute. Repeat 3 times. Start by keeping both feet on the ground, and progress to a one-legged wall sit once you have mastered the move.