11 Bodyweight Quad Exercises You Can Do Anywhere

Lower Body Exercises

Wondering what exercises you can do to strengthen your quad muscles with just your own bodyweight?

Here are 9 of my absolute favourite bodyweight quad exercises you can do absolutely anywhere without the need for equipment or weights!

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11 No Equipment Bodyweight Quad Exercises

The exercises listed below are for a variety of fitness levels. So just choose the exercises that suit you and your abilities!

1) Bodyweight Squat

How To Do Bodyweight Squats

  • Stand tall, with your feet about hip-shoulder width distance apart.
  • Start to lower down into your squat by sending the hips back and pressing the knees out in line with the toes.
  • To come back up push through the floor and stand tall again, gently squeezing the glutes at the top.

2) Bodyweight Chair Squat

This is a brilliant exercise if you are a beginner & want to practise your squat pattern!

How To Do Bodyweight Chair Squats

  • Stand in front of a sturdy chair, with the feet about hip-width distance apart, toes pointed forward.
  • Start to lower your bum down and bend at the knees, either tapping the chair with your bum or sitting right down.
  • To come back up to standing, simply push through your feet and legs.

3) Bodyweight Split Squat

How To Do Bodyweight Split Squats

  • Step one foot forward and one foot back, in a split stance position.
  • Lower straight down by bending both your knees at the same time.
  • Your front foot should stay planted on the floor, whilst the back heel stays lifted.
  • To come back up to standing, drive through your planted foot in front.

4) Wall Sit

How To Do A Wall Sit

  • Find a solid wall, then slide down until your knees are at about a 90 degree angle.
  • Keep your back flat against the wall, and your feet planted. You don’t want to be up on your toes.
  • Hold in this position with the arms straight out or crossed at the chest for your chosen amount of time.

5) Seated Leg Extensions

How To Do Seated Leg Extensions

  • Sit down on a chair or bench.
  • Straighten one leg out in front of you with the foot flexed, squeezing your quad muscle at the top.
  • Lower back down and repeat on the other side.

6) Bodyweight Forward Lunge

How To Do Bodyweight Forward Lunges

  • Stand tall, then just step forward with one leg, descending into your lunge by bending both knees.
  • To return to standing, simply drive through the heel of that front foot.
  • Alternate sides or keep working one leg.

7) Bulgarian Split Squat

How To Do Bulgarian Split Squats

  • Stand in front of a chair, bench or step, then pop your back foot onto it.
  • Steady yourself, then start to lower down to the floor by bending the front leg.
  • The front foot should stay planted throughout, the back leg is simply keeping you stable.
  • To return, drive through that front foot to stand up again.

8) Bodyweight Step Up

How To Do Step Ups

  • Find a sturdy chair or step and set one foot fully onto it. The other foot will rest on the floor.
  • Push through the foot on the chair to lift yourself up onto it, so both feet are on the chair. Hold onto something if you need to for balance.
  • Pause for a moment then gently lower yourself the leg back down with control.
  • Repeat on the same leg or switch sides.

9) Single Leg Chair Squat

How To Do Single Leg Chair Squats

  • Stand in front of a chair or bench on one leg.
  • Lower yourself down to the chair with control. You can either tap the bum or sit right down.
  • Then drive through your leg to stand up.
  • If you need to, keep the heel of the other leg on the floor for balance.

10) Bodyweight Narrow Squat

How To Do Narrow Squats

  • Stand with your feet close together in a narrow position, about hip width apart.
  • Start to descend straight down until you feel your quads really working.
  • Drive through your legs and feet to stand back up.

11) Kneeling Quad Extension

This is probably the toughest exercise on this list! I recommend holding onto something when practising this one at first!

How To Do Kneeling Quad Extensions

  • Get into a kneeling position on the floor, with the torso upright.
  • Keeping your core tight and glutes tucked, start to lean back until you feel your quads working (or until you know you’ll not get back up lol!)
  • Drive through your leg muscles to come back up tall again.

What Dumbbells I Use For Home Workouts

I know this is a bodyweight article, but I just thought that if you wanted to progress any of these movements, the easiest way is to add weight by holding a dumbbell.

For my home workouts I like to use rubber HEX DUMBBELLS. They are the type of dumbbells you’ll probably find in most gyms and you can do so many different exercises with them.

They’re also very safe & sturdy due to their hexagonal shape.

I also find they feel better to grip due to the knurling on the steel handle, in comparison to smoother neoprene dumbbells.

You can get them on Amazon – these are the ones that are best reviewed in the UK/Ireland and seem to be the most popular/reviewed!

If they’re not available just look for similar ones, there seem to be plenty of options available! 💪🏻

What I’m Wearing In These Videos


I hope this list has inspired you to add some bodyweight quad exercises to your workouts at home! Honestly you can really build some good strength in your legs with all these moves!

If you want to save this list so you can refer back to it later, I’d recommend either bookmarking it in your favourites folder on your browser or save it to Pinterest below! 💋

Let me know in the comments if you’re going to try any of these quad exercises at home!

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