5 Effective Lower Body Bodyweight Exercises

Lower body exercises are exercises that target the areas of the body from the waist down. The biggest benefit of bodyweight exercises is the built-in cardio which aids weight loss. You can reap those benefits with the help of the best effective lower body bodyweight exercises.

Effective lower body bodyweight exercises can be done just about anywhere and help you lose weight while doing a bit of toning as well. What are bodyweight exercises? The answer is as simple as you think.

They are exercises that don’t require equipment at all. You will use your bodyweight as the “equipment,” which is more akin to cardio workouts. You can move quickly with multiple reps to help you lose weight or go slow and use them to tone your body.

But you can also use lower body bodyweight exercises to target specific areas of your lower body. The question now becomes, what is considered lower body? The lower body consists of everything below the waist, like your calves, quads, hamstrings, and glutes.

These exercises will not build much muscle at all. Instead, the workouts will help you lose weight and tone up your lower body. 

Squats

There are multiple versions of squats you can do to keep things spicy. However, you should start with basic squats before adding in a jump at the end of each rep or adding weights into the mix. This exercise will help strengthen your glutes and quads while shaping your butt. 

• Stand straight up with your feet hip-width apart.
• Slowly bend at the knee as low as you can without falling over. Keep your back as straight as possible, don’t let your knees go past your toes, and keep your weight on your heels.
• Press through your heels to raise yourself back up into the standing position and repeat.
• Aim for two or three sets of twelve reps.

Lunges

Lunges are another one of the most effective lower body bodyweight exercises. This exercise will work out glutes, quads, and hamstrings. Add a leg kick at the end of each rep.

• Stand up straight with your feet together.
• Put weight on either the right foot while taking a step forward with your left foot and bending your right knee down toward the ground, so your left leg is at a 90-degree angle. Do not rest your right knee down on the floor.
• Push into your left heel so that you can come back to the starting position before repeating the above steps but with opposite feet. You have completed one rep after having both feet take the forward position.
• Aim to do two or three sets of 10 reps.

Donkey Kicks

The last two effective lower body bodyweight exercises target multiple areas, but there is one that is more focused. Donkey kicks target the glutes specifically and can get the job done. In fact, donkey kicks might be better than squats for shaping a booty.

• Get on all fours with your hands shoulder-width apart and knees aligned with your hips. Don’t forget that form is everything, so get it as close to right as possible.
• Slowly raise your left knee backward while keeping your knee at a 90-degree angle until your thigh is parallel with the floor, and your back should be straight. Bring your knee back to the starting position and repeat, do not switch legs.
• Aim to do 20 reps with each leg with two or three sets.

Skater Hops

This might be the most fun of all the lower body bodyweight exercises. People call this one by many names like side skaters, skater hops, lateral plyometric jumps, and even side jump squats. Names don’t matter; this exercise works out your entire lower body.

• The easiest start position is to stand with your left leg in front of your right leg in a squatting position. Think combined squat lunge, but your back leg should be more to the side.
• Jump sideways to the right making sure to land in the same position you started in, just with your legs switched. So now, your right foot should be in the front, and your left foot should be back and to the right.
• Jump again but this time to the right, making sure to end in the same position in which you started. That is one rep. Aim for thirty reps for one set and a total of two or three sets. 

Jumping Lunges

Jumping lunges combine multiple lower body bodyweight exercises to work out your quads, glutes, hamstrings, hip flexors, and calves. The form is essential during all exercises, so save this one for after you have nailed the form down of the rest. 

• Start in the standing position with your feet together, and your knees slightly bent.
• Jump up as high as you can, keeping your body straight, and land in a lunge position with your right leg forward.
• Push off using both feet to jump again while switching your legs so that your right leg is in the back and your left leg is in the front; again, landing in the lunge position. This is one rep. Aim for five reps to complete a set with a total of three sets.