# Leg Day Primer A no-equipment warmup that wakes up the hips, quads, and hamstrings before squats or lower-body lifts. - URL: https://formaroutines.com/routines/leg-day-primer/ - Duration: About 4 min - Admin slug: leg-day-primer ## Before you start Move gently and stop if you feel sharp pain, dizziness, numbness, or symptoms that feel unsafe. This routine is general fitness guidance, not medical care. ## Exercises ### 1. Bodyweight Squat 1 set · 10 reps · 20s rest Go only as deep as you can keep the heels down and the chest tall. Depth improves on its own. #### Steps - Stand tall with feet shoulder-width apart and your toes pointed slightly outward. - Brace your core, lift your chest, and extend your arms straight out for balance. - Sit your hips back and down as if lowering into a chair, keeping your weight in your heels. - Lower until your thighs are at least parallel to the floor, with knees tracking over your toes. - Keep your chest tall and your spine neutral throughout the descent — no rounding at the bottom. - Drive through your heels to stand back up, squeezing your glutes hard at the top of the rep. #### Cues - Sit between the heels. - Chest stays tall. - Drive up evenly. #### Common mistakes - Letting the knees cave inward, which weakens the squat and loads the knee joint badly. - Squatting straight down instead of sitting the hips back, which puts all the work on the knees. - Lifting the heels off the floor at the bottom, which kills balance and reduces glute drive. - Cutting the depth short and squatting only halfway — robs the lift of glute and quad work. ### 2. Bodyweight Reverse Lunge 1 set · 8 reps · 20s rest · both sides Step back into a shallow lunge and return. Hold support and keep the front knee comfortable. #### Steps - Stand tall with feet hip-width apart and your hands on your hips or at your chest. - Take a long step back with one leg, planting the ball of the back foot down lightly. - Lower the back knee straight down toward the floor while keeping the front shin near vertical. - Drop until the back knee is just above the ground and the front thigh is roughly parallel to the floor. - Drive through the heel of the front foot to push yourself back up to a tall standing position. - Repeat on the same leg for the prescribed reps, then switch sides without losing form. #### Cues - Use support. - Keep the step shallow. - Front knee feels comfortable. #### Common mistakes - Stepping back too short, which puts the load on the front knee instead of the front glute. - Letting the front knee cave inward instead of tracking over the foot. - Pushing off the back foot instead of driving through the front heel — robs the working leg of work. - Slamming the back knee into the floor instead of lowering it under control. ### 3. Good Mornings 1 set · 10 reps · 20s rest Hinge from the hips with soft knees and a long spine. A small bow is enough to warm the hamstrings. #### Steps - Stand tall with your feet hip-width apart, hands crossed at your chest or behind your head. - Brace your core and unlock your knees with a soft bend, keeping that bend constant through the rep. - Push your hips backward and bow your torso forward, keeping your back flat from head to tailbone. - Lower until you feel a deep stretch in the hamstrings or your torso is roughly parallel to the floor. - Drive your hips forward to lift your torso back up to standing, squeezing your glutes at the top. - Pause briefly upright before starting the next rep, keeping the same knee angle throughout the set. #### Cues - Hips move back. - Knees stay soft. - Spine stays long. #### Common mistakes - Rounding the back as you bow forward, which loads the spine instead of the hamstrings and glutes. - Bending the knees more as you go down, turning the hinge into a half-squat and reducing hamstring work. - Going past parallel before the hips can absorb the stretch, which strains the lower back. - Standing up by pulling with the lower back instead of driving with the hips and glutes. ### 4. Wall Sit 1 set · 25s hold · 25s rest Slide down until the thighs feel work, then hold and breathe. Come out early if the knees complain. #### Steps - Stand with your back flat against a smooth wall and your feet about two feet out from the wall. - Slide down the wall by bending the knees until your thighs are parallel to the floor. - Set your feet roughly shoulder-width apart with your knees stacked over your ankles. - Press your lower back firmly into the wall and rest your arms relaxed at your sides or out in front. - Hold the position with steady breathing as the quads burn, keeping the knees in line with the toes. - Stay in the hold for 30 to 60 seconds, then slowly slide back up the wall to stand. #### Cues - Back on wall. - Knees comfortable. - Breathe through the hold. #### Common mistakes - Setting the feet too close to the wall so the knees travel far past the toes, which overloads the joint. - Letting the lower back peel off the wall as fatigue sets in, which removes the quad isolation. - Letting the knees cave inward as the hold gets hard, which strains the joint. - Holding the breath to push through the burn, which spikes blood pressure unnecessarily.