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20-Minute Superset Leg Workout

By: Lindsey Bomgren, CPT | December 16, 2025

Build strong legs at home with this efficient, muscle-building superset leg workout! Each circuit combines a lower-body strength exercise with a powerful plyometric exercise to strengthen and fatigue all of the major muscle groups in the lower body. You’ll target the quads, hamstrings, glutes, calves and thighs in under 20 minutes using just a set of dumbbells. 

Jump To Workout

When I’m in a time crunch, I turn to supersets to get my workout done.

A superset is a workout technique that involves performing 2 different exercises back-to-back with minimal or no rest between moves. You can either target opposing muscle groups (like the legs and arms) or the same muscle group, like today’s workout.

I programmed today’s superset leg workout to pair complementary strength training and plyometric exercises to save time, increase the workout intensity and boost cardiovascular fitness.

The combination of lower body strength and plyometric exercises improves athletic performance, increases bone density and improves speed and reaction time. 

This is incredibly functional both in your workouts (by improving movements with explosive power, like dumbbell snatches or kettlebell swings) and your real life (think: any time you need to react quickly and efficiently, like lunging towards a falling toddler or pivoting during a flag-football game).

You’ll start each superset with a low-impact exercise designed to build muscle in the lower body, like a squat, deadlift or lunge. Then, you’ll ramp up the intensity by progressing to a powerful plyometric move, such as squat jacks, dumbbell snatches and skaters.

Today’s workout can be performed entirely at home using just a set of dumbbells; no barbell, bench press, leg press or cable machine necessary.

Bonus: This entire workout is performed from a standing position, which makes it a great option if you prefer not to go to the ground during workouts. Hit the quadriceps, hamstrings, glutes, hips and thighs using just a set of dumbbells.

two women at the bottom of a dumbbell snatch as part of leg superset workout

Read A 5-Star Review ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

“These 20 minute workouts are awesome and should be called “toddler twenty” because I’m full of sweat and I could do it with my toddler running around — it’s perfect!

Workout Details

Build explosive power in the lower body with this quick leg workout at home. 5 efficient leg day supersets fatigue both the fast-twitch and slow-twitch muscles of the lower body.

Add lower body strength workouts like this to your home workout routine 1-2 times a week to reach your weight loss and fitness goals.

Workout Equipment

Medium to Heavy Dumbbells. I’m using 20-25 lbs.

If you’re a beginner, I recommend starting with 5–10% of your body weight per dumbbell. That’s about 8–15 lbs if you weigh 150 lbs. Increase gradually as your form and confidence improve.

Workout Instructions

Follow along with the guided Superset Leg Workout on YouTube, led by me — your certified personal trainer (CPT), Lindsey Bomgren.

Your Workout Looks Like This:

  • Guided Warm-Up and Cool-Down
  • 5 Leg Supersets (1 strength and 1 power exercise per superset)
  • Timed Intervals (perform each strength exercise for 30 seconds, then immediately perform 30 seconds of the power exercise (1 minute of work total). Then rest for 30 seconds).
  • Repeat x2 Sets

Note: I re-filmed this workout to improve the audio and video quality (and change up some of the exercises!). You can find the original workout video here. If you try both, I’d love to know your favorite!

Workout Outline

Superset 1

  1. Squat
  2. Squat Jack

Superset 2:

  1. Split Lunge
  2. Plyo Lunge and Knee Drive

Superset 3: 

  1. Staggered Deadlift
  2. Alternating Snatches

Superset 4:

  1. Lateral Lunge
  2. Skaters

Superset 5:

  1. Sumo Squats
  2. Squat Jacks

1. Squat

Targets: Legs, glutes, quadriceps, hamstrings, hips and core.

two women performing a squat with dumbbells as part of leg superset workout

How to Do a Dumbbell Squat

  1. Start standing feet shoulder-width apart, knees slightly bent. Hold a dumbbell in each hand outside your thighs.
  2. Lower down into a squat position, lowering your hips down parallel with your knees. Drive your knees out toward your outer 3 toes.
  3. Drive through your heels to stand tall, returning to a standing position.

Modification: If squats hurt your knees, try one of these lunge and squat alternatives.

2. Squat Jack

Targets: Legs, glutes, quads, hamstrings, hips, calves and adductors (inner thighs).

women performing a goblet squat jack as part of superset leg workout

How to Do a Squat Jack

  1. Start standing feet shoulder-width apart apart knees slightly bent, holding a single dumbbell at your chest (vertically so the dumbbell is touching your collarbone and sternum).
  2. Lower down into a squat position, lowering your hips down parallel with your knees. Drive your knees out toward your outer 3 toes.
  3. Then, “jack” both legs in, pushing off the ground as you drive your hips forward to bring you to a standing position.
  4. “Jack” your legs back out and lower back into a low squat position.

Modification: Make this a low-impact exercise by stepping one foot out at a time rather than jumping or “jacking” the legs. Option to also drop the weight.

3. Split Lunge

Targets: Legs, glutes, quads, hamstrings and core.

2 women performing dumbbell split lunges as part of superset leg workout routine

How to Do a Split Lunge

  1. Start standing feet hip-width apart, holding 1 dumbbell in each hand at your sides.
  2. Step your right leg back into a lunge position. Imagine your feet are on train tracks – front left foot planted on the mat and back right toes on the mat. Feet stay planted in this position throughout the entire movement.
  3. Lower your back right knee towards the mat until your front thigh is parallel to the mat. Both knees bent at 90 degrees. Shoulders remain stacked over hips.
  4. Then drive up through your front heel to stand tall, returning to the top of the movement.

4. Plyo Lunge and Knee Drive

Targets: Glutes, hamstrings, quads, calves, hips and core.

women performing a bodyweight plyo lunge as part of leg superset workout

How to Do a Plyo Lunge and Knee Drive

  1. Start standing with feet hip-width apart, knees soft and core engaged.
  2. Step your left foot back into a reverse lunge, lowering your back left knee towards the mat. Option to lower your left fingertips to tap the ground.
  3. Drive through your front right heel to explode up out of the lunge. As you return to standing, drive your left knee up towards your chest. Option to add a small hop, exploding up as your right foot leaves the floor.

Modification: Perform a reverse lunge with a knee drive to omit the impact.

5. Staggered Deadlift

Targets: Legs, glutes, hamstrings, hips, lower back and core.

2 women performing a b-stance deadlift with dumbbells

How to Do a Staggered Deadlift

  1. Stand with your feet hip-width apart, knees slightly bent. Hold dumbbells in each hand in front of your thighs, palms facing in towards your body.
  2. Stagger your feet, so your right leg is slightly in front of your left foot. Kickstand your back left foot, left heel floating off the ground. Keep 80% of your weight in your front foot, 20% in your back left toe.
  3. Maintain a staggered stance as you hinge at the hips. Push your hips back towards the wall behind you as you glide the dumbbells down the front of your legs. Range of motion will look different for everyone.
  4. Drive through your front right heel to push your hips forward, pulling the dumbbells back up towards your hip as you stand tall.

6. Alternating Snatches

Targets: Legs, hamstrings, glutes, lower back, shoulders arms and core.

standing women performing a dumbbell snatch as example of lower body power exercise

How to Do Alternating Dumbbell Snatches

  1. Stand with feet hip-distance apart, or a little wider, with a dumbbell horizontal on the ground between your feet.
  2. Hinge forward at the hips, pushing your hips back as you reach for the dumbbell between your feet with your right hand.
  3. In one explosive movement, drive through your heels to press your hips forward as you “snatch” the weight overhead with your right arm (using the momentum created by your legs and hips to move the weight overhead).
  4. The right arm should be fully extended overhead, wrist stacked over the shoulder, palm facing out away from the body. Note, you shouldn’t struggle to press the weight overhead; it should be an easy extension of the move, with the majority of the work being done by your legs to create momentum.
  5. With control, lower the dumbbell down to your right shoulder, then back to the ground to return to the starting position.

Modification: If the overhead snatch isn’t comfortable for your shoulder, omit the snatch and perform a clean instead.

7. Lateral Lunge

Targets: Gluteus medius (the outer part of your butt used for side-to-side movements), quads, hamstrings, hip adductors and abductors, hip flexors and calves.

women performing a lateral lunge as part of leg superset workout

How to Do a Lateral Lunge

  1. Stand with your feet under your hips, holding a dumbbell in your right hand.
  2. Step your left leg out to the side as you push your hips back, bending your left knee while leaving your right leg straight. Think of performing a single-leg squat with your left leg. Knees and toes are pointing forward.
  3. Then, drive off your right foot to reverse the movement, stepping back to center.

8. Skaters

Targets: Legs, glutes (outer gluteus medius), hips, calves, quads and core (for stability and balance).

demonstration of beginner and advanced version of skater exercise as part of strength and HIIT plyo workout

How to Do Skaters

  1. Start standing in an athletic stance, feet hip-width apart, knees slightly bent, core engaged.
  2. Push off your right foot to bound laterally to the left, landing in a loaded skater position on your left foot. Left knee bent, right leg tracking behind your left foot in a skater position.
  3. Then, drive off your planted left foot to bind laterally back to the right. Landing softly on your right foot. Right knee bent, left leg tracking behind your right foot in a skater position.
  4. Repeat, alternating the skaters on each leg.

9. Sumo Squats (Glute-Biased Squats)

Targets: Glutes, quads and hamstrings.

2 women performing sumo squats to target glutes

How to Do a Wide Squat

  1. Stand with your feet shoulder-width apart. Hold a set of dumbbells between your legs, hanging slightly in front of you.
  2. With a slight bend in your knees, hinge forward at the hips until your torso is parallel to the ground. The core is engaged, and the spine is neutral (back flat). You should feel a stretch in your hamstrings (back of the legs).
  3. Maintain this forward hinge as you lower down into a squat, pushing your hips down until your hips align with your knees (making a 90-degree angle with your hips and knees). Knees push out towards your outer 3 toes. If possible, tap the dumbbells to the ground.
  4. Drive through your heels to stand as you continue to maintain the forward hinge. To make this exercise harder, keep constant tension on the glutes by never standing straight up, keeping a slight bend in the knees.

10. Squat Jacks

Targets: Legs, glutes, quads, hamstrings, outer glutes (side butt) and inner thighs.

women performing squat jacks as part of leg day superset workout

How to Do a Squat Jack

  1. Start in an athletic stance or loaded squat position, with your feet shoulder-width apart and a slight bend in your knees.
  2. With your chest upright and your core engaged, “jack” your feet out into a wide squat (stretching the band so your feet are wider than your shoulders).
  3. Land softly in a low squat, touching the ground with your fingertips if you can.
  4. Then “jack” your feet in, hip-width distance apart and stand tall. Drive your arms overhead like you would in a regular jumping jack.

Modification: Make this low impact exercise by stepping one foot out at a time rather than jumping or “jacking” the legs.

FAQs

How can beginners safely incorporate supersets into leg day?

Beginners can safely incorporate supersets into leg day by choosing exercises they are familiar with, supersetting opposing muscle groups (such as the legs and arms) rather than 2 exercises that target the same muscle group and increasing rest time between exercises. Beginners should focus on maintaining good form during each rep rather than prioritizing speed.

How many times per week should you train legs for the best results?

I recommend training legs 2-3 times a week to maximize muscle growth without risking overtraining. For best results, follow a well-rounded workout program that alternates leg workouts with upper-body, cardio and full-body workouts to allow each muscle group adequate recovery time between sessions. 

Is it normal to feel like every leg day is the same workout?

Yes, it’s normal to feel like there is repetition between leg days. Most leg days rely on similar compound leg exercises, like split squats, front squats, Romanian deadlifts, step-ups, hip thrusts and lunges, so it’s expected you’d feel like every leg day is a similar workout. That said, this repetition serves a purpose: repeating exercises and gradually increasing the intensity over time is the key to muscular hypertrophy and progressive overload, which is required to build muscle. 

What should I pair with a leg workout?

I highly recommend pairing your leg workout with an intentional warm-up, specifically these leg day stretches or a glute activation routine. Properly warming up your lower body before lifting allows for a better range of motion in your squats, deadlifts and lunges, leading to muscle growth. 

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