Best and Worst Lower Body Strength Exercises for Athletes

As athletes become bigger, stronger, and more physical, functional strength training becomes essential to compete and to void injury.

For athletic performance and injury prevention, lower body power and strength are key. A functionally strong lower body increases the amount of ground force an athlete can produce, thereby improving speed, agility, vertical, and many other aspects of sports performance. A strong lower body also improves an athlete’s ability to compete and avoid injury against contact.

Although well-meaning athletes, parents, and coaches look to popular fitness and bodybuilding material for guidance on strength training, very few resources have reliable advice on functional sports training, and most resources emphasize the bodybuilding philosophy of isolating muscle groups. Although bodybuilders are known to have impeccable physiques, many also have chronic injuries—and few would function well in sports that demand speed and quickness.

The bodybuilding philosophy of strength training leads to greater risks for injury on and off the field—and it negatively impacts key athletic components, such as speed, power, balance, and agility. Remember that strength alone is not the primary goal of a sports enhancement program. Of major importance is functional strength—the sort of strength called for on the playing field.

Boosting the ability to coordinate athletic movements with speed and precision requires a spectrum of exercises to enhance neuromuscular control, power, mobility, balance, strength, and technique. The focus of this article is to point out the best and worst lower body exercises for functional STRENGTH. Before pointing out the BEST lower body exercises, let’s begin by looking at the WORST exercises—movements that lack function and can contribute to injury.

WORST Lower Body Strength Exercises for Athletes

Machine Leg Extension (Instead: DO Squat, Lunge, and Step up)
Leg extensions are used by bodybuilders and fitness enthusiasts to build definition in the quadriceps—front of the upper leg. While leg extensions effectively isolate and build strength and definition in quadricep muscles, the exercise increases risk of injury to the knees it lacks the potential to build functional lower body strength and stability.

Increased Risk of Anterior Cruciate Ligament Tears: Isolating the knee joint and engaging the quadriceps without engaging the hamstrings—back of the upper leg—produces a shearing (horizontal) force across the joint. This shear force is highest across the Anterior Cruciate Ligament (ACL)—a key ligament that helps stabilize the knee joint. An ACL tear is one of the most common injuries in sports that require sudden stops and changes in direction. Horizontal forces like those produced in leg extensions can create an overly lax ACL, which can increase an athlete’s risk of injuring the ligament while participating sports.

Decreased Knee Joint Stability: During most athletic movements (and movements of life) hips and knees move together, contracting both the quadriceps and the hamstrings. Quadriceps and the hamstrings work together with ligaments and tendons in the knee to create a stable joint. When isolating the quadriceps—as in leg extensions—knee stability is compromised. 

Lack of Function: The knee almost never moves independently from the hip to produce force during athletic movements or motions in daily living. Consider how the quadriceps, hamstrings, glutes, and supporting muscles in the back and abdominals work together to walk, jog, sprint, or kick a ball. All require hip flexion and knee extension in conjunction with bracing the muscles in the deep abdominals and back for power and support. Leg extensions require only a contraction of the quadriceps without drawing support from rear leg muscles, the back, or abdominals. Furthermore, when neither foot is fixed to the ground—as in the machine-leg-extension exercise—athletes do not efficiently improve their ability to exert force into the ground. Producing force through the feet and into the ground is needed for sprinting, jumping, changing direction, even throwing or serving a ball.

 

Machine Leg Curl (Instead: Do Stability Ball Glute Bridge, Stability Ball Leg Curl, Hip Hinge, and Romanian Dead Lift)
Bodybuilders and fitness enthusiast use Machine Leg Curls to build strength and definition in the hamstrings—back of the upper leg. Although leg curls effectively isolate and build strength and definition in the hamstring muscles, the exercise increases the likelihood of hamstring pulls, low-back injuries, and knee pain; plus it lacks the potential to build functional lower body strength and stability.

 

Increased Risk of Hamstring Strains: Hamstrings work in synergy with other muscles in the posterior chain—primarily the glutes and low back. Working in synergy means that muscles co-contract to increase the strength of a movement, supporting one another and surrounding joints. Muscle strains are often a result of inactive synergists. Programming hamstrings to work in isolation—as required during a leg curl—increases risks for hamstring strains both during the leg curl exercise itself as well as during movements required in sports.

Increased Risk of Low-Back Injury: Leg curl machines are designed to allow the leg to flex and extend at the knee while suppressing movement at the hip. Preventing hip extension along with the knee (as naturally occurs during ground-based movements), causes lumbar (low back) hyperextension and can lead to low-back tightness and strain.

Lack of Function: The primary function of hamstrings is to assist in hip extension—which happens when the hip moves forward and the thigh moves backward. The secondary function of the hamstrings is to flex (bend) the knee. During functional movements—walking, sprinting, jumping, throwing, kicking—hip extension is the primary source of contraction in the hamstring muscles. By programming the hamstrings to flex (bend) the knee—as in leg curls—muscles will not become strong and efficient for their primary function.

 

Smith Machine Squat (Instead: Do Goblet Squat or Back Squat, Lunge, Step-Up, or Rear Leg Elevated Split Squat)
A Smith machine is basically a squat rack with a barbell fixed within steel rails, allowing only vertical or near-vertical movement. Be assured: Doing a squat on a Smith machine is NOT safer than a squat with a traditional barbell.

Increased Risk of Low-Back Injury: When the bar is fixed to a machine instead of moving freely, your back stays upright—almost perpendicular to the ground—which compresses vertebrae and can lead to back pain and spinal disc injuries.

Fails to Activate Stabilizing Muscles: Even though a Smith Machine looks similar to a free-standing squat rack, it’s still a machine; and with the machine supporting the load, it’s not possible to fully engage stabilizing muscles through the core and back. For athletic development, it is critical to engage core muscles to support the spine and other joints.

Lack of Function: Because the machine has a fixed line of motion and inhibits activating muscles used for balance and support, movements on the machine fail to translate to day-to-day activities. Properly performing squats with free weights engages core muscles and promotes functional strength for sports as well as routine activities.

 

Leg Press (Instead: Do Goblet Squat or Back Squat, Lunge, Step-Up, or Rear Leg Elevated Split Squat)
Although bodybuilders use the Leg Press to build leg mass, the muscular size and strength gained from performing a Leg Press typically doesn’t transfer well to athletic settings—plus, the exercise itself can increase risk of low-back injury.

 

Increased Risk of Low-Back Injury: The awkward seated position maintained while performing a leg press creates a rounding of the spine. Exerting force form this flexed spine position can cause serious damage to spinal discs. A seated position—versus standing—also prevents effective engagement of the core and stabilizing muscles that support the spine.

Lack of Function: With movement constrained in a fixed position and lacking balance and core stability while performing the exercise, motions on machines like the Leg Press fail to correlate to athletic motions.

 

To aid in preventing injuries both on and off the field, court, or track, exclude the previous exercises from any training routine.

Next, I’ll cover how to create a strong foundation for lower body strength that will help improve athletic performance and decrease potential injuries. Remember: With any training program, slow and steady wins the race. It’s vitally important that safe mechanics for fundamental movement patterns—like the squat, hip hinge, and lunge—be deeply engrained in an athlete’s neuromuscular recruitment patterns before adding outside resistance or moving on to more advanced exercises.

 

BEST Lower Body Strength Exercises for Athletes

Lower Body Strength Exercises for Beginning Lifters

Goblet Squat   The Goblet Squat is my favorite beginner exercise for learning basic squat mechanics as well as learning to engage the stabilizing muscles through the glutes and core. Because the Goblet Squat is a ground-based free-weight exercise, it transfers directly to movements used in sports. The spine should remain in alignment from head to tailbone with the dumbbell held close to the body as hips descend.

 

Low Step-Up   This is one of my favorite unilateral (single-leg) strength exercises for beginners. The Low Step-Up gives athletes an opportunity to safely coordinate a single-leg movement before moving on to more advanced exercises. I also use the Low Step-Up to detect knee valgus (inward hip rotation resulting in knee collapse—most often due to weakness in one or more lower body muscle groups—glutes, hamstrings, quadriceps—or deficits in neuromuscular control). Step height remains low and athletes use only a light weight until knee valgus is corrected.

Step height for the Low Step-Up varies depending on athlete height. With one foot in contact with step and one in contact with floor, set step height so athlete’s bent knee is at an angle greater than 90 degrees. If knee valgus or knee instability is present, lower step height.

Athletes commonly want to push themselves up using the back leg; however the work should come from the leg on the step. Beginning athletes are instructed to control the movement both up and down. Once athletes have demonstrated good mechanics and baseline strength, power is added to the Step “Up” portion of the movement while continuing to use control on the Step “Down”.

 

Hip Hinge and Single-Leg Hip Hinge  The Hip Hinge is a fundamental movement needed to safely load before jumping and to lift and pick up items. Being able to keep a neutral spine while hips hinge backward is key to back health. For athletes, it’s also key to efficient jumping mechanics, hip extension during sprinting, throwing, kicking and other athletic movements—as well as the ability to safely lift a lot weight—as in the deadlift.

As integral as the Hip Hinge is to back health and strength, it can be one of the most difficult movements to master. Some athletes catch on to the Hip Hinge immediately, while others take months or longer to become proficient. An inability to learn the hip hinge can be due to a number of factors, including restricted mobility in the hips, hamstrings, or ankles; inefficient neuromuscular recruitment; or insufficient low back strength and/or endurance. Athletes: DO NOT move on to weighted deadlifts until you have baseline strength and endurance through the muscles that stabilize the spine and until the mechanics of the Hip Hinge are fully engrained to muscle memory. If back strength/endurance and/or Hip Hinge mechanics are lacking, Half Airplane and Glute Bridge (below) will help.

Half Airplane   From hands and knees in the Half Airplane, less coordination and core strength are required to maintain a neutral spine than in the standing Hip Hinge position. Half Airplane enables athletes to get comfortable with the neutral spine position while also improving back strength needed for the standing Hip Hinge.

 

Bridge and Hip Thrust   These Exercises  are good exercises for beginners to strengthen the musculature needed to perform a Hip Hinge with efficiency. Hip Thrust also trains hip extension—a key action in sprinting, jumping, throwing, kicking, and other athletic movements. Once athletes are able to hold a Bridge with hips at full extension (with spine neutral) for 20 seconds, add the Hip Thrust—lowering hips just off the floor then thrusting them back up to full extension.

 

Lower Body Strength Exercises for Intermediate Lifters

Intermediate lifters can continue to improve strength in Goblet Squat and Half Airplane while learning additional lower body exercises (below). 

Reverse Lunge: Once athletes have baseline strength and coordination while performing bilateral exercises like the Goblet Squat and basic unilateral exercises like the Low Step-Up, it’s time to add slightly more advanced unilateral (single-leg) exercises. Unilateral training is important for athletes because most actions in sport—sprinting, throwing or serving a ball, kicking a ball, moving laterally, and often jumping—require the exertion of force from one leg. Lunges provide athletes an opportunity to train unilaterally while still receiving some support from the nonactive leg. For beginners—while neuromuscular coordination and strength throughout the core and lower body is developed—stepping backward (Reverse Lunge) is a safer option than stepping forward (Front Lunge). 

At the bottom of a Lunge, the front knee should be in line with the or slightly anterior (in front of) the ankle and the back knee in line with or slightly posterior to (behind) the hip while weight is distributed mostly through the hips and core. If knee valgus or knee instability is present (see Low Step-Up above) avoid loading this exercise with any weight until corrected. 

 

High Step-Up   After the Low Step-Up is mastered with good balance and control, athletes can move onto the High Step-Up—one of my preferred unilateral strength exercises for developing the explosive power needed to sprint and to jump from one leg.

Step height for the High Step-Up varies depending on athlete height. With one foot in contact with step and one in contact with floor, set step height so athlete’s bent knee is at or slightly less than 90 degrees. If knee valgus or knee instability is present, lower step height.

Athletes commonly want to push themselves up using the back leg; however the work should come from the leg on the step. Beginning athletes are instructed to control the movement both up and down. Once athletes have demonstrated good mechanics and baseline strength, power is added to the Step “Up” portion of the movement while continuing to use control on the Step “Down”.

 

Romanian Deadlift (RDL) and Single-Leg RDL   After baseline strength and endurance through the muscles that stabilize the spine and the mechanics of the Hip Hinge are fully engrained to muscle memory, athletes can move on to a weighted Hip Hinge (Romanian Dead Lift). As addressed previously, the Hip Hinge (Deadlift) movement is key to efficient jumping mechanics, hip extension during sprinting, throwing, kicking and other athletic movements. Developing a strong deadlift (both bilaterally and unilaterally) is also crucial to injury prevention in sports because it promotes a stable low back along with strong hamstrings and glutes—all of which are key to supporting the spine and remaining stable while exerting force and receiving contact from an opponent.

 

 

Elevated Bridge and Hip Thrust from a Stability Ball An advanced version of Bridge and Hip Thrust (See Lower Body Exercises for Beginning Lifters),  these exercises provide more range of motion and a less stable surface. Performing Elevated Bridge and Hip Thrust a stability ball requires athletes to depend more on stabilizing muscles—which will enhance sports performance and assist in injury prevention.

 

Lower Body Strength Exercises for Advanced Lifters 

Advanced lifters can continue to improve strength in Goblet Squat and Half Airplane as well as the intermediate exercises (above) while learning additional lower body exercises (below). 

Front Lunge   Once athletes have demonstrated good mechanics, balance, and strength in all the beginner and intermediate exercises, the Front Lunge can be added to workouts. While a Front Lunge is mainly a strength exercise, it also contains components of a reactive exercise (Watch for Best and Worst Reactive Exercises for Athletes coming soon). A reactive exercise targets the ability to change quickly from an eccentric to concentric muscle action, commonly referred to as the stretch-shortening cycle. The Front Lunge is a reactive exercise because the negative part of the movement—as knees bend—is NOT performed slowly, as in a traditional lower body strength exercise like the squat.

As the front knee bends to form a lunge, the athlete immediately pushes off the front leg to return to standing—stretching then immediately shortening active muscles in the front leg. Like the Reverse Lunge (See Lower Body Exercises for Intermediate Lifters), at the bottom of the Front Lunge the front knee should be in line with the ankle and the back knee in line with or slightly posterior to the hip while most of the weight is distributed through the hips and core.

Stability Ball Leg Curl  This exercise is an expansion of the Stability Ball Glute Bridge (See Lower Body Strength Exercises for Intermediate Lifters). While a Machine Leg Curl (See Worst Lower Body Strength Exercises for Athletes) allows for movement only at the knee, the Stability Ball Leg Curl promotes unified motion from both knees and the hips—as in sprinting, jumping, and other athletic movements. Hips should lift to full extension as the ball is curled toward the body.

 

Rear Leg Elevated Split Squat Performing even a bodyweight Rear Leg Elevated Split Squat requires a fair amount of balance plus lower body and core strength in order to safely stabilize the front knee. Athletes who demonstrate knee valgus or other forms of instability in any of the intermediate exercises (above) should hold off on doing the Rear Leg Elevated Split Squat.

For advanced athletes, the Rear Leg Elevated Split Squat is one of the safest and most functional exercises for heavy loading of the legs. As in a Lunge, at the bottom of the Rear Leg Elevated Split Squat the front knee should be in line with the ankle and the back knee in line with or slightly posterior to the hip while most of the weight is distributed through the hips and core. Work should come from the front leg, while the rear leg is used only for support.

 

Why the Back Squat is Not on My List of Best OR Worst Lower Body Exercises for Athletes

Wonder why one of the most historically used exercises by strength coaches—the Back Squat—is not included in my list of Best OR Worst Lower Body Exercises for Athletes? I’ll explain.

For certain athletes, I believe the Back Squat can be a safe and functional exercise. But for athletes who lack shoulder external rotation and thoracic spine mobility, the Back Squat can cause pain and injury to knees, back, and shoulders. Even getting under the bar and trying to place it in a safe position on the back can be a risky move for those with mobility deficits.

Because of the unique stress that overhead athletes (in sports like baseball, softball, volleyball, tennis, even basketball) experience with elbows and shoulders, Back Squat is often contraindicated by some sports performance coaches for this category of athletes. Back Squats put shoulders in maximal external rotation and can put wrists and elbows in less than optimal positioning for heavy loading.

Other sports performance coaches—like world-renowned strength coach Mike Boyle—have stopped using the Back Squat altogether in favor of the Goblet Squat and unilateral lower body training. Boyle cites dangers to compressing the spine with extreme weight. He also believes single-leg training is a better way to improve functional lower body strength for athletes.

The majority of strength and conditioning coaches still currently use the back squat with most, if not all, of their athletes, but is that pendulum shifting?

Stay tuned: I’ll discuss the pros and cons of back squatting in detail in a future article.

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