Your legs are your pension. I say it in almost every post because it's true: getting up, climbing stairs, walking, running for the bus. All legs.
And you can train them properly at home. The trick is that bodyweight squats get easy fast, so you need to move to single-leg exercises. One leg carrying your whole body weight is a serious workout.
How to use this page: start with the easiest version you can do for 10 good reps, and move down the list as things get easy.
Squats
Squat to a chair Beginner
Sit back until you touch the chair, stand up. Knees follow your toes, chest up.
Reps: 10–20.
Wall sit Beginner
Back against the wall, slide down until the knees are bent (90 degrees is the goal, higher is fine to start), hold. Burns like crazy, easy on the joints.
Hold: 20–60 seconds.
Band squat Beginner
Stand on a resistance band, handles at your shoulders. Adds load where bodyweight squats get too easy.
Reps: 12–20.
Jump squat Intermediate
Squat, jump, land softly, sink straight into the next one. Power (producing force fast) tends to drop faster with age than plain strength, so it's worth training while you can. Skip it if your knees or the neighbours complain.
Reps: 6–10.
Lunges and split squats
Reverse lunge Beginner
Step back, lower the back knee, push up through the front heel. Hold a chair for balance at first.
Reps: 8–12 per leg.
Walking lunge Intermediate
Needs a bit of space. Long steps, upright torso.
Reps: 10–12 per leg.
Side lunge Intermediate
Step wide, sit into one hip, other leg straight. Trains the inner thighs and side-to-side strength.
Reps: 8–10 per side.
Bulgarian split squat Hard
Back foot on the sofa, drop straight down. The best home leg exercise, and everyone hates it.
Reps: 6–12 per leg.
Step-ups
Step-up Beginner
Bottom stair or a sturdy step. Push up with the top leg only.
Reps: 8–12 per leg.
Lateral step-up Intermediate
Stand beside the step and step up sideways. Hits the side glutes and quads differently.
Reps: 8–12 per leg.
Calves
Calf raise on a step Beginner
Heels hanging off a step, all the way up, pause, all the way down. Hold the rail.
Reps: 12–20.
Single-leg calf raise Intermediate
Same thing on one leg. Most people can't do 15 clean ones per leg. Can you?
Reps: 8–15 per leg.
A ready-made home leg workout
| Exercise | Sets | Reps |
|---|---|---|
| Bulgarian split squat (or reverse lunge) | 3 | 8–12 per leg |
| Squat or band squat | 3 | 12–20 |
| Step-up | 3 | 8–12 per leg |
| Wall sit | 2 | 30–60 s |
| Single-leg calf raise | 2 | 8–15 per leg |
Twice a week. When you hit the top of the reps, hold something heavy or slow down the lowering to 3 seconds. Want the full plan? See the home leg workout post or the beginner home program.