Lower body home workout with dumbbells | Beginner-friendly & apartment-friendly

Got a few weights and a mat? Looking for a lower body workout that you can do at home? Give this workout a go! It’s apartment-friendly, suitable for beginners and will leave you feeling like you’ve put your legs to work!

How to perform this lower body workout?

Perform 3 sets for each exercise, with up to one minute rest between each set. I am demonstrating one set per exercise in the video tutorial.
Good form is key. Take your time to execute the movement properly.
How to make it more challenging? Use heavier weights, or add an extra set for each exercise, or reduce the rest period to 30-45 seconds.
Make sure to warm up before you start. Here’s a warmup flow you can try.

PS: If you’re looking for a full body workout you can do at home, check out this full body dumbbell workout!

The lower body workout

Exercise 1: Goblet squats with pulse

Grab a dumbbell and hold it close to your chest. Roll your shoulders back, brace your core and squat. Ensure to have a wide enough foot stance so your elbows can stay inside your knees when you’re squatting.

Once you’ve done 10 reps, stay low and perform 5 pulses, which are low range of motion squats (do not come all the way back up).

This squat variation is an excellent way to mobilise your core muscles as well as leg muscles. The pulses at the end put more tension on the quads for an extra challenge.

One set = 10 reps and 5 pulses at the end

Exercise 2: Reverse lunges

Lunges are a very effective exercise to target quads, hamstrings and glutes.

Hold one dumbbell at chest level, engage your core and take a step back whilst bending both knees.

Try to stop just before the back knee touches the floor. Keep your core tight and look right in front of you to help keep your balance. If it’s too challenging, do it without any weight and hold a chair or the wall with one arm whilst lunging.

One set = 8 reps per side

Exercise 3: Single leg deadlift

This exercise may seem challenging, but there are ways to make it easier and not miss out on the benefits it has for your glutes and hamstrings.

Holding a weight on one side (same side as your supporting leg), slowly bend over from the hip whilst lifting your back leg extended, until forming a straight line from your head to your foot. Make sure to look down to keep your spine in neutral position.

Bracing your core will help with balance. You can absolutely put your foot down between reps. You can also hold a chair with your free hand or be close to a wall if you need more stability.

I’m demonstrating with a kettlebell but a dumbbell is fine too!

One set = 8 to 10 reps per side

Exercise 4: Kneeling to low squats

This will make you feel your quads! Start with your knees on the floor. Brace your core, then lift one knee up to put your full foot on the floor, then do the same on the other side, whilst keeping your hamstrings parallel with the floor. The aim here is to go from a kneeling to low squat position.

One set = 8 reps (1 rep = 2 knees up then 2 knees back down)

Exercise 5: Glute bridges

The key to performing this exercise effectively and target your glutes is to start by bracing your core and tilting your pelvis so that your full back is against the floor and there’s no arch on your lower back.

With a weight (dumbbell or kettlebell) on your lower belly, lift your hips whilst still bracing your core to avoid arching, pause for one second on top then come back down, allowing your full back to touch the floor.

Make sure to keep your feet on the floor, avoiding to lift your heels.

One set = 10 to 12 reps

Want to learn to perform exercises the right way? Check out my exercise library!