Legs · Dumbbell
Dumbbell Sitting Leg Extension
How to do the dumbbell sitting leg extension, the muscles it works, and the mistakes to avoid. Pulled straight from the Kovo app's exercise library.
- Equipment
- Dumbbell
- Difficulty
- Intermediate
- Logged as
- Weighted reps
- Movement
- Extension
- Mechanic
- Isolation
How to do it
Sit on the end of a bench and hold a dumbbell upright between your feet, gripping it with your insteps. Keeping your thighs on the bench, extend your knees to lift the dumbbell until your legs are almost straight, then lower it slowly back down. Keep the movement smooth and controlled.
- 1Your quadriceps contracting hard as you straighten the knees
- 2A squeeze at the top followed by a slow, controlled lowering
- 3The dumbbell held securely between your feet throughout
Common mistakes
- Snapping the knees into a hard lockout
- Leaning back or arching to swing the weight up
- Letting the dumbbell drop quickly instead of lowering it
Muscles worked
The dumbbell sitting leg extension mainly works the quads.
- QuadsPrimary
- GlutesMinor
- HamstringsMinor
- CalvesMinor
- Hip FlexorsMinor
- Tibialis AnteriorMinor
Kovo programs the dumbbell sitting leg extension for you and tracks it every session.
We build your whole program, drop the right lifts into each workout, and adjust your weights as you get stronger. Free on iOS and Android.
More quads exercises
- How to do the resistance band squat
- How to do the resistance band squat to press
- How to do the resistance band thruster
- How to do the resistance band squat walk
- How to do the barbell squat
- How to do the barbell bulgarian split squat
Last reviewed June 2026.