The Best Lower-Body Workout for Women

Deadlifts

Deadlifts are far and away the best exercise to hit your glutes, hamstrings and lower-back muscles. Deadlifts are a truly functional movement that transfer to everyday activities, according to strength coach Nia Shanks. They're a fairly technical lift, so you may need to ask a trainer for some assistance with technique when starting out, but don't let that put you off -- the benefits far outweigh the time needed for the learning process. Begin each session with five sets of six to eight reps. If you're not comfortable with regular deadlifts, try the stiff-legged or wide-stance sumo varieties, or use a trap bar, advises Shanks.

Squats

Add squats into the mix and you've got all you need for the perfect lower body workout, notes powerlifter and trainer Julia Ladewski. Squats mainly target your quadriceps, hamstrings and glutes, but also hit your calves, lower back and core. As with deadlifts, you can switch between different styles of squats, so rotate between front squats, back squats and squats to a box each session. Make sure you go as low as you can while maintaining perfect form to work as many muscles as possible. Stick with five sets of six to eight on these, too.

Additions

In theory, squats and deadlifts are all you need to get good legs, but to get a great lower body, you could do with a little more. Include at least one single-leg exercise in each session such as forward or reverse lunges or split squats. Women are prone to knee injuries because of their narrow joint structure, writes corrective exercise specialist Mike Robertson in "Bulletproof Knees." Not only do single-leg exercises strengthen the joints and tendons, reducing injury risk, but also they build impressive quads and glutes. To target your hamstrings further, add glute bridges, hip thrusts or leg curls with a Swiss ball. Perform three sets of 12 to 15 reps on one of each of these types of exercise every session.

Planning

To ramp up your results, hit your legs twice a week, leaving three to four days between each workout to allow the muscles to recover. Each session you should aim to add a little extra weight or perform one or two more reps on each exercise. Don't be afraid to change things round if your progress is stalling. You can switch between squat and deadlift variations or add in new intensity techniques, such as drop sets, where you perform your final set to muscular failure, then immediately drop the weight 20 percent and go again, or supersets, which involve performing two exercises back to back to increase calorie burn and raise your metabolism.