Leg strength is essential for most sports and can give you a competitive edge. Whether you want to become a powerlifter, compete in martial arts, or just look good at the beach or the gym, you need strong legs. Calisthenics, or bodyweight exercises, are an excellent choice for building leg strength without a gym or weights. But, with proper progressions and an adequate training volume, you can also build muscle mass.

The jump squat is a quick and effective exercise for developing lower body explosiveness, while also helping to tone the thighs and glutes and burn a decent amount of calories. This calisthenics leg workout is ideal for beginners as it targets all the major muscles in the lower body.

To increase the challenge, try adding in some variation to the basic bodyweight squat. For example, using a box for one of your feet increases the height at which you can perform the movement and makes it more challenging. In addition, try to go closer to or even into actual failure per set as this will help you build strength faster.

Another great calisthenics leg workout is the pistol squat, which is a single-leg version of the standard bodyweight squat. Performing this movement with one leg elevated above the other makes it more difficult as you’re working against gravity, but also adds in some isometric work. Try experimenting with other variations of this movement such as doing split squats, or elevating the front or back leg to change up the muscle activation and challenge. calisthenics legs exercises