My Three Favorite Lower Body Exercises

The last 3 months, when I haven't been rehabbing my shoulder, it’s been leg day. When I first got into lifting in high school, leg day was easily my favorite day. About 6 years ago, knee pain changed how I felt, it became something I would almost dread. Most activities, whether it was pick up sports or lower body exercises, were painful. I’d take some time off before going back to my old routine which ultimately led to no changes. I found myself totally avoiding exercises and anything else that would cause pain. About 2 years ago is when I really started down a path focused on actually fixing my knees, not just putting bandaids on the problem. Someone way smarter than me once told me an analogy for the body.  He compared it to a house and drew similarities between our legs and the foundation of a house. When you build a house, you start with the foundation. Think of the legs as the foundation for the rest of the body. Without a solid foundation to a house, things begin to deteriorate. Similarly, weak legs often lead to aches and pains elsewhere on the body. Once he shared this sentiment with me, I realized the answer wasn’t avoiding doing leg exercises completely. Instead I needed to find exercises that worked for me and didn’t make the pain worse.  While doing that, emphasizing strengthening where I was weak and stretching what was tight became my main focus.  

Once I had gotten to a spot where I was able to do some lower body movements without pain I tried different ways of training my lower body. Training both compound movements or accessory exercises to see what worked best for me. I kept coming back to three movements that I felt allowed me to progress my strength while avoiding increased pain like I had experienced for years. These exercises for me are the ones we are getting ready to talk about, which includes the front squat, hip thrusts and split squats. Each movement here challenges your lower body in a unique way.  Whether it's building strength, increasing stability or improving athletic performance, together these exercises create a base for a well rounded lower body routine that can be beneficial to everyone. 

The Front Squat 

Front squats have been my favorite lower body movement for a while. Compared to a traditional back squat, I find my body is in a better position when I front squat. Where the barbell sits forces a more upright posture which decreases low back pressure. For me, front squats are usually a lighter weight and I’m focused on controlling the movement. I often use that position as a warm up, sometimes taking just the barbell and in the front rack position rocking back and forth on my heels to improve ankle and hip mobility.  I perform front squats most of the time with a slow controlled descent, followed by exploding upwards to focus on core and trunk stability while increasing power and athletic performance.  In my opinion, the front squat gives someone the most return on their investment and the variations you can perform can help achieve different goals at the same time.

Hip Thrusts

Hip thrusts come in at number two. In my opinion, having strong glutes is essential for overall lower body strength and performance. Your glutes' job is to extend your leg, so whether it's walking, jumping or sprinting, all activity involves your glutes! When loaded properly and with good techniques, this movement directly targets your glute muscles. Weakness in your hips and glutes often results in compensations to gait or other active movements, this is why glute strength is so important. This movement can be loaded heavy enough for muscle growth while maintaining a safe ROM. I often warm up with a single leg hip thrust or bridge. I find it’s a great way to isolate the muscle and focus on any imbalances that may be present, especially starting out.

Whether you're an athlete looking to improve performance or someone who wants to move better, hip thrusts deserve a place in your program. Evidence shows that weak glutes, especially as we age, leads to decreased mobility and independence. So build your glutes now!

Back Leg Elevated Split Squat

The final movement is split squats, specifically having the rear foot elevated. The first few times performing this exercise I had trouble with the set up and ROM associated with the movement. I started without any resistance and kept it that way until I was comfortable enough to do it weighted. I love performing single leg exercises, the benefits of being able to isolate a side, especially if there is more weakness or instability on one side compared to the other. Because the movement is performed one leg at a time, it exposes strength imbalances, improves stability, and develops lower body strength with relatively lighter loads. When I'm working with athletes, I love incorporating this movement into leg day.  Whether that's using it in a dynamic warm up or as an accessory movement, clients always benefit from them. 

I like these exercises, not only because of their individual benefits, but how they compliment each other. Front squats develop bilateral leg strength, hip thrust strengthening your posterior chain and hips while the split squat improves unilateral strength,stability and balance. These exercises together cover almost every aspect fitness from strength to stability, athletic performance, mobility and injury tolerance. With lots of trial and error, I've found that performing these three exercises optimizes my lower body movements and works well with my current goals.  You don’t need to do seventy different exercises to reach your goals. Find some movements that work for you and do those great. As always, reach out if you need more help!