7 Best Leg Exercises That Don’t Use Ankles

Ankle injuries are commonplace in many sports and day to day life.

But what do you do about lower body training when dealing with this? 

Here are the 7 best leg exercises that don’t use ankles:

• Glute-Ham Raise
• Leg Extension
• Leg Curl
• Hip Adduction
• Hip Abduction
• Copenhagen Planks
• Glute Kickbacks

At the end of this article, you will understand which exercises are best suited to you, and how to adjust the execution to reduce the load to the ankle joint.

I will cover: 

• 3 exercises you want to avoid and why

• 7 exercises that do not use the ankles

• A sample program you can follow

3 Leg Exercise You Want To Avoid 

Before diving into the exercises you should do if you want to limit the loading on the ankle, let’s discuss the three main exercises you want to avoid.  

Squats

While a squat variation is at the core of most leg sessions, these need to be avoided when the goal is to avoid using your ankles.

Any kind of squatting movement, from free weight to hack squats, are going to load your ankles throughout the entire movement.

The goal here will be to make up the training volume and intensity through more isolated exercises for each muscle group.

Check out our squat variations article to learn more about other squatting exercises you may want to avoid at this time. 

Leg Press

Similar to the squat, the leg press also puts load directly through your ankles throughout the entire movement.

The same will go for any kind of lower body pressing machines, from leg presses to hip thrusts.

Deadlifts

Deadlift variations are my favourite for hamstring and glute training, however, when avoiding using the ankles, these are another exercise you need to replace with other options.

Powerlifters looking to find replacements for the upper and lower back can trial seated good mornings. These train a similar range of motion for these muscle groups, without loading the ankles.

7 Leg Exercises That Do Not Use The Ankles

Glute-Ham Raise

These are going to be the best glute and hamstring replacements for deadlift variations.

These can be challenging so if you struggle to hit 6+ reps you may want to consider doing a close variation of the glute-ham raise. 

You can learn more in my article 12 Best Glute Ham Raise Alternatives.

If you do not have access to a GHR machine, you can do these under a loaded barbell/smith machine bar, with a partner holding your legs or a back extension makes a very good replacement too.

Execution is key here as always, focus on maintaining your torso position (rigid and straight) and keeping tension through the hamstrings and glutes rather than your lower back.

Related Article: Glute Ham Raise vs Nordic Curl: Pros, Cons, Differences

Leg Extension

With squats and leg press no longer an option, quadricep training will become far less varied.

Leg extensions are the best option here, but by incorporating various intensity measures you can get a lot more out of them.

A drop set would be doing a heavy set of 10 reps with a weight that is near maximal, then reducing the load by 20-30% and performing an additional 5-10 reps.  

I recommend using AMRAP (as many reps as possible) sets or drop sets to increase the intensity and working closer to failure.

If you do not have access to a machine, then these can be set up using a high box or bench and a cable or band around your lower leg. Using dumbbells or kettlebells hung off the foot may also be an option depending on what your ankle can tolerate.

To maximize the effectiveness work through a full range of motion and hold the top position briefly between each rep.

Looking for alternatives to leg extensions? Read our article 15 Leg Extensions Alternatives (At Home, Bands, Free Weight).

Leg Curl

Leg curls (or a leg curl alternative) will be where you will make up more volume with your hamstring training.

While the glute-ham raise trains the hamstring as a hip extensor and knee flexor, leg curls solely train knee flexion.

What does this mean?  It means there is more hamstring isolation in the leg curl vs the glute-ham raise.

Machine leg curls are my favorite, with seated and lying leg curls both being fantastic options. 

However, for those without access to a machine, these can be set up using a cable, dumbbell, or with bands, with options for unilateral (single leg) or bilateral (both legs) training

While I prefer a lying leg curl, seated leg curls have the added benefit of allowing you to train the hamstring with it lengthening at both ends of the muscle as it crosses both the knee and hip joint. 

It also offers more constraints, such as holding the legs in place, making it harder to cheat through the latter reps of a set.

With lying leg curls, you need to ensure you keep your hips pushed down into the pad in order to keep the load in your hamstrings rather than cheating reps.

While I almost always recommend the full range of motion for exercises, hamstring curls can benefit from stopping just shy of full extension in order to keep tension in the hamstrings between reps.

Want to learn more about leg extensions? Check out my article on Leg Extension vs Leg Curl: Differences, Pros, & Cons.

Hip Adduction

While a lot of common lower body exercises are not feasible when trying not to use the ankles, this opens time and effort that can be put into commonly neglected muscle groups.

The adductors contribute hugely to lower body size and strength, so using this time to improve them is a great option.

While an adductor machine is optimal, you can set these up simply with a cable attachment or band around your lower leg (just above the ankle will be best for effective loading while still avoiding the ankle).

Holding and squeezing the peak contraction as if you are trying to crush something between your knees will help you get the most out of these. Work through a range of motion where you feel the load in your adductors rather than just working as wide as possible.

I recommend performing higher rep ranges for these (10-15) as they will function as a hip extensor during squat-like movements in your usual training that is typically <10 reps.

To increase the intensity here, I recommend incorporating sets closer to failure, AMRAPs or drop sets as loading jumps are typically less frequent than other lower body exercises.

Hip Abduction

As with the quads, avoiding ankle loading limits the movement options available for the glutes.

Glute-ham raises are fantastic but are not a great option for training in higher rep ranges due to their difficulty and technical demands.

Hip abductions are one of the options here that allow us to load the glutes with no ankle loading at all and perform higher repetitions (10-15).

Examples of hip abduction exercises are X-Band Walks, Dumbbell Fire Hydrant Circles, and Dumbbell Clamshells. 

Similar to the adductor exercises, controlling the eccentric phase and incorporating intensity methods and sets closer to failure is going to be key for getting the most out of these you can.

Copenhagen Planks

Copenhagen planks are one of my favorite exercises, regardless of training limitations or injury.

These are the only isometric exercise on this list.  You will be holding a static position for a prescribed amount of time rather than a set amount of reps.

This exercise works both the adductor muscles, but also your obliques and shoulder stabilizers.  

While these are challenging if they have not been done before, the regressions available are viable for all levels; such as starting with a shorter lever by placing the knee on the bench, or starting with the ground level rather than elevated on a bench.

Glute Kickbacks

The other option we have for higher rep glute training without using the ankles is glute kickbacks.

These can be set up with cable attachments easily too where a machine is not available.

Pausing at the peak contraction and controlling the eccentric will help you keep loading in the glutes here rather than making it a lower back or hamstring exercise.

Sets close to failure (or technical failure) are great to finish a session on, especially following glute-ham raises performed earlier in the session.

Sample Program: How To Structure Your Leg Day Without Using Ankles

This two-day program will help you get the most out of training your legs while minimising the use of your ankles

Day 1:

• Glute-Ham Raise – 3 Sets of 6-8 Reps – If you can do more reps than this, you may be rushing your sets. Slow down, control the movement and initiate the movement through your glutes and hamstrings.

• Leg Extension – 4 Sets of 8-10 Reps – The aim here is to increase load whenever you hit 10 reps, as quad exercises are limited, push these closer to failure.

• Seated Leg Curl – 2 Sets of 10+ AMRAPs– Select a load you think you can perform for 10 reps and perform two AMRAPs. When you hit 15 reps, look to increase load.

• Hip Adduction Machine Superset With Hip Abduction Machine – 3 Sets of 10-12 Reps – Hold the peak contraction for 1-2 seconds and perform 2-3 second eccentrics.

Day 2:

• Eccentric Glute-Ham Raise – 3 Sets of 5-8 Reps – 4 second eccentrics. Add load if you hit more than 8 reps

• Leg Extension – 3 Sets of AMRAPs – Load with a weight you can perform for 10+ reps and perform 3 AMRAP sets with 60 seconds rest between sets.

• Lying Leg Curl – 3 Sets of 8-10 Reps – Hold the peak contraction and work close to failure.

• Copenhagen Plank – 3 Sets of 10-15 Seconds – Look to add load or progress the lever length once you hit 15 seconds for all 3 sets.

• Glute Kickback – 3 Sets of 10-12 Reps – Hold the peak contraction and work close to technical failure.

Other Helpful Guides

• Leg Exercises That Don’t Use Hip Flexors
• Leg Exercises That Don’t Use Glutes
• Leg Exercises That Don’t Use Hip Flexors

Final Thoughts

Ankle injuries are the main reason why you may want to train legs without using the ankles.

Exercise execution is going to be paramount in structuring effective training without loading the ankle.

What To Read Next: How To Increase Your Ankle Mobility For Squats: 13 Exercises.

About The Author

Jacob Wymer is a powerlifting coach and PhD Candidate in Biomechanics and Strength and Conditioning, researching the application of barbell velocity measurements to powerlifting. He is involved in powerlifting across the board, from athlete to meet director. Jacob runs his coaching services at EST Barbell. You can also connect with him on Instagram.