The lower body is the great forgotten part of calisthenics in most programs. Too many athletes stack push-up and pull-up sessions and neglect the legs and glutes. The result: an upper body that moves forward and a lower body that falls behind, imbalances that end up limiting progress on advanced skills (handstand, planche, levers).
This 10-week lower body program fills that gap. Three sessions per week, no equipment, complete targeting: quads, hamstrings, glutes and calves every session. You finish with solid prerequisites to attack the pistol squat or branch into a full body program.
Program principles
Two principles structure the 10 weeks: progressive overload and front/back balance. Each week, you add volume (sets or reps) or you slow the tempo. Each session combines exercises that target the quads (anterior chain) and exercises that target the glutes and hamstrings (posterior chain), so you do not create imbalances.
Sessions alternate in A/B to vary the stimulus:
- Session A: emphasis on unilateral strength and control.
- Session B: emphasis on volume and explosive power.
| Phase | Weeks | Goal |
|---|---|---|
| Phase 1: Base | 1-3 | Anchor the patterns, prepare the tendons |
| Phase 2: Volume | 4-7 | Raise total load for hypertrophy |
| Phase 3: Intensity | 8-10 | Advanced unilateral work and maximum density |
Never two sessions in a row without 48 hours of recovery. The lower body recovers more slowly than the upper body, do not rush it.
Warm-up before every session
5 to 10 minutes, non-negotiable. Target: ankles, hips, knees.
Warm-up routine:
- Ankle rotations: 15 each direction
- Hip circles: 10 each direction
- Light static lunges: 5 per leg, without going low
- Slow air squats: 10 reps, progressive range
- Glute bridges: 15 reps with a 1-second top squeeze
- Standing calf raises: 20 reps
Stiff ankles? The day-before test. If you struggle to go down with heels flat on your warm-up air squats, your ankles are blocking. The day before each session, add 2 minutes of calf stretching against a wall (front foot forward, knee bent, back foot straight, heel on the floor, 30 seconds per side, twice). In one to two weeks, your squat depth frees up on its own.
Phase 1: Base (weeks 1-3)
Goal: master the movement patterns, prepare the tendons and joints for the load to come.
Session A (Unilateral strength)
- Air squat: 4×15, 60 s rest
- Forward lunges: 3×10/leg, 75 s rest
- Glute bridge (2 s squeeze): 3×15, 60 s rest
- Standing calf raises: 4×20, 45 s rest
Session B (Volume)
- Wall sit: 3×40 s, 60 s rest
- Bulgarian split squats: 3×8/leg, 90 s rest
- Single leg glute bridge: 3×10/leg, 75 s rest
- Calf raises on a step: 3×15, 45 s rest
End of phase 1 target: 4×15 squats with no compensation, 3×8 clean Bulgarian split squats per leg, 40 s of stable wall sit.
Phase 2: Volume (weeks 4-7)
Goal: raise the total work load to drive hypertrophy.
Session A (Unilateral strength)
- Bulgarian split squats: 4×10/leg, 90 s rest
- Jump squat: 3×10, 90 s rest
- Single leg glute bridge: 4×12/leg, 75 s rest
- Single-leg calf raises: 3×12/leg, 60 s rest
Session B (Volume)
- Air squat (3-0-1 tempo): 4×20, 75 s rest
- Wall sit: 3×60 s, 75 s rest
- Glute bridge (slow tempo): 4×20, 60 s rest
- Assisted Nordic hamstring curl: 3×5, 2 min rest
End of phase 2 target: 4×10 Bulgarian split squats per leg, 60 s of wall sit without shaking, 5 clean assisted Nordic curls.
Phase 3: Intensity (weeks 8-10)
Goal: move to advanced unilateral exercises and increase density.
Session A (Unilateral strength)
- Bulgarian split squats: 4×12/leg, 90 s rest
- Box pistol squat progression: 4×6/leg, 2 min rest
- Nordic hamstring curl (unassisted if possible): 3×5-8, 2 min rest
- Single-leg calf raises on a step: 3×15, 60 s rest
Session B (Volume)
- Jump squat: 4×12, 90 s rest
- Single leg glute bridge: 4×15/leg, 75 s rest
- Single-leg wall sit (if possible): 3×30 s/leg, 90 s rest
- Glute bridge: 3×25, 60 s rest
End of phase 3 target: 6 box pistol squats per leg on a low surface, 4×12 Bulgarian split squats, 5-8 Nordic curls with no assistance.
The program exercises
Nine fundamental exercises structure the 10 weeks, organised by muscle group. The links to each technique guide are placed in the phases above, on first occurrence.
Quads and anterior chain
The air squat is the base motor pattern, present in every phase. The wall sit adds pure isometric work, brutal for quad endurance. The jump squat brings plyometric power in phases 2 and 3. The box pistol squat is the end-of-program goal on the unilateral strength side.
The quad exercises at home guide lists every available angle to go further.
Glutes and posterior chain
The classic glute bridge lays the base of hip extension. The single leg glute bridge doubles the unilateral load and reveals left/right imbalances. Bulgarian split squats work the glutes under a long stretch, the movement that produces the most soreness on the program.
The complete no-equipment glute exercises guide sorts every exercise by level and available equipment.
Hamstrings
The lunges and the glute bridge already load the hamstrings heavily. The Nordic hamstring curl (in phases 2 and 3) specifically targets the eccentric phase of the hamstrings, the exercise that reduces the strain-injury risk the most. You can start it assisted (strap, partner or furniture) if you do not have the strength for the free version.
To dig into the specific work of the back of the thigh, the hamstring exercises at home guide groups the options.
Calves
Calf raises are present in every session, in three forms depending on the phase: standing (phase 1), unilateral (phase 2), unilateral on a step at maximum range (phase 3). Short but dense, it is what builds the calf with no equipment.
To push further on specific calf work and explosive variations, the calf exercises at home guide covers the full progression.
Overview
The consolidated list of leg exercises by level covers every bodyweight movement.
Tips to succeed on this program
Full range or nothing. Half squats and half lunges do not build muscle. Go all the way down: thighs at least parallel to the floor on squats, back knee grazing the floor on lunges.
Control the descent. Strength gains come as much from the eccentric phase as from the concentric. 2 to 3 seconds on the way down on Bulgarian split squats and Nordic curls is what makes the difference at 6 weeks.
Respect the 48 hours of rest between two sessions. No bonus session on the weekend if you already did 3 sessions in the week. The lower body recovers slowly, forcing it does not give you more gains, just more risk of tendinitis.
Nutrition counts as much as training. Without 1.6 to 2 g of protein per kg of bodyweight, progress will stall despite the program. Check your intake over 3 typical days before blaming the program.
Mistakes to avoid
Knees caving inward, the mistake that injures. It is the most frequent mistake on squats, Bulgarian split squats and the pistol. The knees drift inward (dynamic valgus) instead of staying in line with the feet. At high frequency, it overloads the medial collateral ligament and the inner meniscus. Mental cue on every rep: “push the knees outward”. If you cannot fix it, reduce the volume of sets and work the movement at 50% of your max for 1 week.
Rushing the pistol squat. In phase 3, you work the box pistol (pistol down to a bench), not the full pistol. Going into the full range before you have the strength creates kneecap pain. If progress is blocked, stay on the higher box for 2 more weeks.
Neglecting the posterior chain. If you run the program skipping Nordic curls and glute bridges because “it is less fun”, your hamstrings will stay behind and you will get injured on sprints or jumps. The posterior exercises are as important as the quad exercises.
Skipping the warm-up. The ankles and knees do not forgive. 5 minutes is the minimum, not the maximum.
What comes after this program?
In 10 weeks, you have the base to branch into three directions depending on your goal.
If the pistol squat becomes the main goal, work it in a dedicated 6-week cycle with 3 specific sessions per week (bottom-up, slow negatives, descending box pistol). It is a project in its own right that deserves its own planning.
If you want to move to structured full-body training, the full body calisthenics program is the logical next step: it integrates push-ups, pull-ups, dips and leg work in a single progressive program, with a balanced upper/lower logic.
If you want to keep developing the lower body specifically, restart the program starting directly at phase 2: you have the prerequisites, and you go after 4 extra weeks of volume to stack the gains.
