If you want to tighten and tone your lower body at home, this post has everything you need! We’re sharing 10 leg and glute workouts for women, including step-by-step instructions for each move so you can customize your own routine based on the space and equipment you have available. And for those who need a little more structure and routine, we’ve also curated 5 leg and glute workouts you can stream for free on YouTube. They range from 10 minutes to 30 minutes, and will give you serious results if you do them consistently!
10 Leg and Glute Workouts to Tighten and Tone
1. Plié Squats
Derived from a ballet exercise, plié squats target the inner thigh muscles while also adding definition to the leg muscles as a whole. To perform this exercise, stand with your feet more than hip-width apart, with your toes pointed out at a 45-degree angle and your shoulders aligned with your hips. Place your hands on your hips and squat so your knees are at a 90-degree angle and are pointed towards your toes. Press into your heels as you return to a standing position and repeat.
2. Goblet Squats
Stand with your feet a little wider than shoulder-length apart and your toes pointed slightly outward. Grab a dumbbell and hold it vertically with both of your hands in front of your chest and your elbows bent, and then squat until your hips are parallel to your knees. Press through your heel, return to a standing position, and repeat.
3. Lateral Squat Walk with Resistance Bands
If you have a resistance band at your disposal, adding lateral squat walks to your leg and glute workouts will help you tighten and tone your bum. To perform this exercise, place a resistance band around your ankles and stand with your feet a little more than shoulder-width apart. Lower your body into a squat position with your knees at a 45-degree angle, and walk sideways for 5 or more steps, being careful to keep your knees bent and to maintain resistance on the band. Repeat on the other side.
4. Squat Jumps
If you want to add a little cardio to your leg and glute workouts, this move is the one for you! Squat jumps are a plyometric exercise designed to strengthen your entire lower body while also burning calories. Begin with your feet at a hip-distance apart, and then lower your body into a squat position, keeping your spine straight and your bum backwards so your knees are positioned behind your toes. Then, jump straight up, swinging your arms above your head. Return to a squat position and repeat!
5. Walking Lunges
Static lunges are a great leg and glute workout if you don’t have a ton of room, but walking lunges allow you to take bigger steps for a more intense workout, and also get your heart rate up. To do walking lunges, start with your feet shoulder-width apart and take a large step in front of you with your right leg so that you are in a static lunge position with your right knee at a 90-degree angle. Allow your left knee to drop close to the floor, but before it touches the ground, push down with your right leg and move your left leg into a lunge position in front of you. The idea is to continue moving, performing lunges with each leg as you move forward.
6. Reverse Lunges
If you suffer from knee pain, incorporating reverse lunges into your leg and glute workouts is a great option. Start by standing with your feet shoulder-width apart, and then take a step backward with your right leg. Just as your right knee reaches the floor, push back and forward until you are in a standing position again, and then repeat with the left leg. Your hips should remain aligned throughout each movement, with your weight concentrated on your front leg.
7. Curtsy Lunges
While traditional lunges focus on the gluteus maximus, curtsy lunges target the gluteus medius, which is the smaller muscle on the side of your bum responsible for helping you rotate your hip externally. To perform this exercise, stand with your feet hip-width apart. Keep your weight on your right foot, and take a large step back with your left leg, crossing it behind your right leg, ensuring your hips remain facing forward. Bend your knees until they are bent at a 90-degree angle and then push through your right heel and return to a standing position. Repeat on the other side.
8. Donkey Kicks
Donkey kicks tone your gluteus maximus and they are great for improving your stability. Begin on all fours with your knees under your hips and your hands stacked beneath your shoulders. Make sure your back is flat (you can balance a yoga block on your back to be sure) and then slowly lift your right leg backwards and then up toward the ceiling, keeping your knee bent at a 90-degree angle. Repeat several times and then move to the left side.
9. Glute Bridge
If you’re looking for leg and glute workouts that improve hip mobility and strengthen your lower back, this is a great exercise to try. Lie on your back on the floor with your knees bent, feet flat, and arms at your side with your palms facing down. Keep your arms on the ground, squeeze your glutes, and lift your hips off the ground so that your knees, hips, and shoulders form a straight line at a 45-degree angle. Hold yourself in position, then lower your lower body back to the ground and repeat.
You can make this move more challenging by placing a weight on your abdomen and/or placing a resistance band around your thighs.
10. Single Leg Dead Lifts
Holding a dumbbell in each hand with your palms facing toward your thighs, stand with your feet hip-width apart and your toes pointing forward. Hinge your hips forward as you extend one leg behind you so your body is parallel to the ground and your arms are hanging toward the ground. Come up and repeat with the other leg extended behind you.
5 Leg and Glute Workout Videos to Try
If you’re like me and prefer someone to tell you exactly what to do for your workouts rather than creating your own routines, we’ve curated 5 leg and glute workouts you can stream for free on YouTube, allowing you to tighten and tone wherever you are!
How To Do a Squat Correctly | Bowflex
If you’re just getting started with leg and glute workouts, I highly recommend watching this 2-minute video to learn how to do a squat correctly. Form is everything when it comes to strength training, and if you want to seriously tighten and tone your lower body, give this video a watch!
20-Minute Toned Legs & Round Booty Workout | MadFit
You can do this workout without any equipment, but a workout mat and resistance bands are recommended. She takes you through most of the exercises mentioned above, making this a great instructional video to help you visualize how each move is performed. Be prepared the feel the burn with this 20-minute leg and glute workout!
15-Minute Leg, Butt, and Thigh Workout | MadFit
This workout is very similar to the one above, but it’s slightly shorter. No equipment is required, and you’ll do each move for 1 minute. If you only have 15 minutes to spare, this is the leg and glute workout for you!
30-Minute Brutal Butt & Thigh Workout | FitnessBlender
If you want to seriously sculpt your lower body and you’re looking for leg and glute workouts you can do at home, this one is a great one to add to your weekly exercise regime. All you need is a set of dumbbells (she uses POWERBLOCK Adjustable Dumbbells, which are great if you don’t have a ton of space. We have a set and love them!), and you will be amazed at all of the different squat variations you’ll learn in this video!
10-Minute Butt and Thigh Workout | FitnessBlender
If you want to tighten and tone your legs and glutes but don’t have a ton of time, this 10-minute routine is perfect, and it doesn’t require any equipment! It’s a great routine to tack onto your other workouts so you can squeeze in some lower body strengthening.
If you’re looking for leg and glute workouts to help you tighten and tone your lower body, I hope the moves and videos in this post prove useful to you!