Best Beginner Legs Workouts With Barbells

The Landmine Squat is a lower body exercise using a landmine setup. It strengthens your quads, glutes, and hamstrings while also engaging your core for stability, making it a great variation to traditional squats.

How to do it

1. Stand with your feet shoulder-width apart, just past the end of the landmine.
2. Grab the bar under you with both hands in a deadlift grip.
3. Lift the bar to chest height and interlock your fingers around the end.
4. Lean slightly forward, positioning your chest against your hands.
5. Hinge at your hips and lower into a squat while keeping your core tight.
6. Push through your feet to rise back up, using your legs and core for support.
7. Ensure your knees stay behind your toes and maintain good posture throughout the movement.

The Landmine Romanian Deadlift is a beginner-friendly exercise that targets your hamstrings and glutes. It uses a landmine setup for added stability, making it easier to control the movement compared to traditional deadlifts.

How to do it

1. Stand with your feet slightly wider than shoulder-width apart with a slight bend in your knees.
2. Grip the landmine with both hands, keeping your fingers underneath.
3. Hinge at your hips and lower the weight slowly, keeping your knees slightly bent.
4. Stop when you feel a stretch in your hamstrings, not exceeding your flexibility limit.
5. Push through your glutes and hamstrings to lift your hips and raise the weight back up.
6. Pause at the top, keeping your glutes and hamstrings engaged.
7. Keep your core tight, shoulders back, and chest up throughout the exercise.

The Romanian Deadlift to Shrug is an exercise that works your lower and upper back muscles. It strengthens the hamstrings and glutes while isolating the traps with a shoulder shrug, making it great for improving your posture and overall back strength.

How to do it

1. Stand with your feet shoulder-width apart and hold the barbell with hands wider than shoulders, using an overhand grip.
2. Keep your core tight, back straight, and chest up.
3. Bend at your hips to lower the barbell until you feel a stretch in your hamstrings, then pause.
4. Drive your hips forward to stand up straight, engaging your glutes and hamstrings.
5. As you stand, shrug your shoulders up to your ears and hold briefly.
6. Lower back to the starting position.

The Romanian Deadlift to Bent-Over Row is a combined exercise that works your hamstrings, glutes, and upper back. This move strengthens your entire posterior chain while improving back muscle definition, making it great for beginners.

How to do it

1. Stand with feet shoulder-width apart.
2. Grip the barbell with hands wider than shoulders, using an overhand grip.
3. Engage your core and keep your back straight and chest up.
4. Hinge at the hips to lower the barbell until you feel a stretch in your hamstrings.
5. Pause briefly at the bottom position.
6. Pull the barbell to your chest, keeping it close to your body.
7. Pause again at the top position.
8. Lower the barbell back to the starting position.
9. Stand up by pushing through your legs and hips.

The Romanian Deadlift to High Pull is a combined exercise that works both your lower and upper body. It strengthens your hamstrings, glutes, lower back, traps, and shoulders while improving power and functional strength.

How to do it

1. Stand with your feet hip-width apart, gripping the barbell with hands wider than shoulders using an overhand grip.
2. Engage your core, keep your back straight, and chest up.
3. Hinge at your hips to lower the barbell until you feel a stretch in your hamstrings, holding this position briefly.
4. In one smooth motion, push through your heels to stand, driving your hips forward.
5. As you stand, rise onto your toes and explosively lift the barbell to chest height, with your elbows flaring out.
6. Hold at the top, then return to the starting position.

The Standing Barbell Calf Raise is a calf exercise that uses a barbell for added weight. It focuses on strengthening your calves and can be more challenging than regular calf raises since you can lift more weight.

How to do it

1. Set a barbell on a rack at shoulder height.
2. Stand under the bar, resting it on your upper back.
3. Stand up to lift the bar off the rack and take a step back.
4. Position your feet hip-width apart, with a slight outward angle.
5. Lift your heels off the ground by pushing through your toes.
6. Lower your heels back to the starting position.

The Barbell Seated Calf Raise is a simple exercise that targets your calf muscles. By sitting while you perform this movement, you can focus better on working your calves without worrying about balance.

How to do it

1. Sit up straight on a bench with your feet on a raised surface like a block or plate.
2. Hold the barbell across your thighs, avoiding your knees.
3. Press down through the balls of your feet to lift the barbell by contracting your calves.
4. Hold the raised position for a moment before lowering the weight back down slowly.
5. Keep your core tight, shoulders back, and chest up while performing the exercise.
6. You should feel a good stretch in your calves during the movement.

The Calf Raise to Shrug is an exercise that strengthens your calves and traps by combining a calf raise and a shoulder shrug. It's great for developing explosive power and can help with Olympic lifting techniques.

How to do it

1. Hold a dumbbell in each hand at your sides with palms facing in.
2. Stand with your feet shoulder-width apart and engage your core.
3. Lift your heels off the ground to stand on your toes while shrugging your shoulders up to your ears.
4. Hold the position briefly, then lower your heels and shoulders back to the starting position.