One popular method was created by Ed Zercher, a St. Louis-based weightlifter from the 1930s. Rather than get the bar onto his back, he developed a technique to get the bar from the floor into the crook of his arms so he could squat while clutching the weight to his torso.

This type of squat was dubbed “the Zercher squat.” Even if you’re a full-fledged 21st-century lifter, you can benefit from this old-school exercise.

• How to Do the Zercher Squat
• Zercher Squat Mistakes to Avoid
• Benefits of the Zercher Squat
• Muscles Worked by the Zercher Squat
• Who Should Do the Zercher Squat
• How to Program the Zercher Squat
• Zercher Squat Variations
• Zercher Squat Alternatives
• Frequently Asked Questions

How to Do the Zercher Squat

While the Zercher squat was originally intended as a solution for lifters without a squat rack, this approach does require the bar to begin either in a rack or set on benches, blockers, or another elevated surface. A Zercher movement for the rack-less lifter will be explained later in the Variations section.

Step 1 — Unrack the Bar

Set a barbell between your belly button and your chest, either in a rack or supported on benches, steps, or blocks. Stand as close as possible, with your feet directly under the bar at shoulder-width. Keep your shoulders back. Squat down just low enough to get your elbows under the bar.

Cradle the bar in your elbows, between your forearms and biceps, and curl both hands as close to your shoulders as possible. The palms of your hands should be pointed towards your face and your elbows should be tight to your ribs. Lift the weight by standing up. Lock your legs and stabilize your entire body. Take one full step backwards. Step one foot sideways to set your stance outside of shoulder-width.

Form Tip: For many lifters, physical discomfort from holding the bar in position is the biggest challenge. Wrapping the bar in a towel or bar pad (often meant to cushion the neck during back squats) is a solution as your body adapts to the pressure. Keeping your hands palms-up, not thumbs-up, will also help to disperse stress onto the muscles of the forearm instead of the bones of the forearm.

Step 2 — Squat Down

Maintain a stable and wide stance, beyond shoulder-width. Take a breath into your belly and tense your abs. Shift your hips backwards to squat down until your elbows or the barbell (depending on arm length) barely touch your thighs. Keep your torso as upright as possible throughout the movement.

Don’t allow the weight to pull your elbows forward or your arms to straighten. Your hands should remain near your shoulders or your chin during the movement. Pause very briefly in the bottom position.

Form Tip: Maintain full-body tension in the bottom position. Don’t relax your legs, core, or arms. Don’t allow the weight to “unload” onto your legs, which decreases muscular tension and increases overall joint strain.

Step 3 — Stand Up to Lockout

From the bottom position, keep your feet flat while pressing upwards to a standing position. Keep your shoulders back and squeeze your elbows into your sides to encourage upper body tension. As your legs lockout, squeeze your glutes to increase tension and ensure a strong standing position.

Form Tip: Pause very briefly in the locked out position to ensure total-body tightness. Don’t rise explosively to prevent the bar from bouncing in your arms; move with steady power and control.

Zercher Squat Mistakes to Avoid

Because the Zercher squat involves a unique and often unfamiliar bar position, there are several common mistakes many lifters may make which can reduce effectiveness and increase the risk of injury.

Leaning Forward

Much like the front squat, the Zercher squat supports the barbell in front of the body. This requires an upright torso position during the entire movement. Leaning forward shifts your center of gravity and pulls your upper body into a weakened position.

When the upper body falls forward, either the bar will roll out of your arms or you’ll manage to keep control of the weight while grinding out a rep with a serious leverage disadvantage, exposing your lower back to potential injury.

Avoid It: Maintain a vertical torso by keeping your shoulder blades pinched back and, even more importantly, by keeping the bar as close to your body as possible. Create tension through your arms, abs, shoulders, and back to hold the bar in position.

Short Range of Motion

The lower one descends into a squat position, the more glute and hamstring muscles are recruited. (1) Squatting to a relatively higher position may offer specific benefits, such as competitive powerlifters who only need to reach a parallel-thigh position and not any lower.

However, when a lifter unknowingly squats high or deliberately squats high as an “easier” option, they shortchange their overall results. Partial rep squatting can also increase stress on the knee and hip joints compared to squatting to lower depths. (2)

Avoid it: Because the bar is held relatively low on the body during the Zercher squat, the barbell acts as a built-in boundary, offering an unwavering target for depth. Make sure the bar reaches your thighs at the bottom of each rep.

Bouncing Off Your Legs

Maintaining control of the weight during an exercise is essential for developing muscle and power. Uncontrolled, explosive movements also open the door for unexpected injuries.

While a guideline for proper Zercher squat technique is to reach the bar to the tops of your legs, some lifters descend so quickly that the bar impacts their legs and rebounds upwards. Clearly, smashing your thighs with 100-plus pounds at a fairly high rate of speed isn’t the best idea.

Avoid it: Lower yourself under control, don’t free fall. Imagine your phone resting on your legs and touch the bar as softly as possible without breaking it.

Benefits of the Zercher Squat

The Zercher squat is more taxing, and slightly more complicated, than other squat variations. That extra effort can pay dividends with increased muscle recruitment and more overall strength gains.

 

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Leg Strength

The Zercher squat allows the legs to move significantly heavy weight with a stable and engaged core, reducing potential lower back strain (compared to other squat variations). Power output is optimized due to overall leverage, making the legs the primary mover and the most significantly recruited muscle group.

Leg Size

The Zercher squat has been shown to activate the quadriceps comparable to several popular squat variations, while also activating the glutes and hamstrings to a higher degree. (3) This increased muscle activation can directly lead to more muscle growth.

Upper Back Strength

While the upper back isn’t worked through a significant range of motion, it is heavily activated to keep your shoulders back while maintaining a stable upper body position. This constant work, resisting the barbell’s forward and downward pull, leads to a stronger upper back.

Core Strength

The abs and lower back are essential for preventing your upper body from collapsing forward under the stress of the weight. Coordinating the abs and lower back in this type of supportive role is essential for building total core strength.

Sport-Specific Training

The front-loaded barbell position of the Zercher squat can offer direct carryover for strength athletes who compete in similar front-loaded events. In strongman/strongwoman contests, this would include atlas stones, stone carries, and, most specifically, the “Conan’s Wheel” event.

Training Around Lower Back Pain

All types of squats can help to build lower body strength, but many squat variations require intensive lower back stress which can be a limiting factor for some lifters. Due to the unique bar position and increased overall core recruitment, the Zercher squat doesn’t significantly strain the lower back, allowing lifters to target their legs with reduced back pain.

Muscles Worked by Zercher Squat

The Zercher squat is predominantly a lower body exercise, but it involves multiple large muscles in the upper body as well.

 

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Quadriceps

The quads are significantly recruited during any squat, particularly as you reach the bottom position of the Zercher squat. The quads are responsible for straightening the leg and extending the knee, which helps you rise from the bottom position and get to a standing position.

Glutes

The glute muscles play a key role to “extend” the hips and bring the legs directly under the upper body. Performing a complete lockout in the top position allows the glutes to maximally contract.

Hamstrings

The hamstrings consist of several different muscles heads, each of which coordinate to flex or bend the knee. The hamstrings are recruited and act as “brakes” while lowering yourself into the bottom of the squat position.

Upper Back

The upper back (consisting of the trapezius, rhomboids, rear deltoids, and other smaller muscles) is highly activated from the moment you unrack the barbell until the set is completed. The upper back works to keep your shoulder blades retracted (pinched together) and prevents your upper body from rounding forward into a dangerous position.

Spinal Erectors

The spinal erectors, or technically “erector spinae”, are more commonly referred to as the “lower back” although they’re a pair of muscles which run the entire length of the spine. They work primarily to prevent the rounding of the back and to maintain a straight upper body posture.

Abs

The abdominal muscles are responsible for more than just flexing or “crunching” the upper body. They control all basic movement from the hips up, including rotation, bending to either side, and to prevent bending backwards.

Biceps

The biceps, like the upper back, aren’t worked through any significant range of motion during a Zercher squat but they are highly activated to maintain a static position while holding the bar in place. It’s not uncommon for a lifter to feel muscular fatigue in their biceps after a set of hard Zercher squats.

Who Should Do the Zercher Squat

The Zercher squat can offer specific benefits for any lifter who can overcome or acclimate to the initial physical discomfort of the bar position.

Strength Athletes

Competitive strength athletes who perform front-loaded events can benefit directly from the Zercher squat. Athletes in any strength sport can benefit from the Zercher squat’s carryover to overall strength and core stability. Because of its significant upper back recruitment, it’s well-suited as an accessory exercise for either the squat or deadlift.

Training for Muscle

The Zercher squat isn’t a common exercise for muscle-building purposes, but it can serve as an effective squat variation to target the legs without excessive strain on the back.

How to Program the Zercher Squat

The Zercher squat can be programmed in line with multiple goals, but lower rep ranges are typically preferred to prevent fatigue as a limiting factor.

Heavy Weight, Low Repetition

The classic set and rep scheme of three to five sets of three to five reps is a reliable approach to build strength in any big lift, like the Zercher squat. The key to moving heavy weights is taking the time to adjust to the physical pressure at the elbows in the support position.

Moderate Weight, Low Repetition

Slightly reducing the weight while maintaining a lower rep range can shift the focus from leg strength to strength in the core and upper back. Two to four sets of four to six reps is an efficient way to train these total-body stabilizer muscles.

Zercher Squat Variations

Lifters may progressively work towards a full Zercher squat while adjusting to the bar position. Here are the most comparable options.

Goblet Squat

The goblet squat is a similar front-loaded squat variation, holding a dumbbell or kettlebell in the hands near chest-level. It offers reduced lower back stress, making it ideal for any lifter with back issues.

The goblet squat also allows for a complete range of motion, letting the lifter squat as deep as their hip and ankle mobility will allow. While the goblet squat is sometimes used by beginner lifters, it can be progressed heavily and can benefit even the most advanced lifter.

Sandbag Zercher Squat

Training with a sandbag offers countless benefits ranging from increased core stability to overall calorie-burning. It’s also an excellent callback to homemade training equipment, in the true spirit of Ed Zercher.

Using a sandbag instead of a barbell does compromise on potential load, since you don’t often find 300-pound sandbags, but the thicker diameter makes the support position extremely more comfortable, which allows you to focus on basic exercise technique and intensity.

Zercher Carry

The Zercher carry removes the squat portion and swaps it for a nice, long walk. Anytime you move while carrying a load, your core activation will light up. Zercher carries, in particular, will also involve your upper back (specifically the traps) to a very high degree.

A word of warning: Be sure to pay attention to your surroundings when Zercher carrying a barbell. You’ll be moving a wide load and the last thing you need is to have the seven-foot long barbell clip an object on one side and throw yourself into a spin.

Zercher Deadlift

The literal granddaddy of all Zercher lifts, the Zercher deadlift starts with the barbell on the floor rather than a rack, just the way Ed did them.

Sometimes called a “full cycle Zercher,” this movement is a multi-step process requiring you to deadlift the weight, hold the bar in position while squatting your body down, rest the bar on your legs, take the bar into the crooks of your arms, and then squat up.

This drawn-out technique involves so many moving parts, literally, that many lifters may not find it efficient for their goals. It is, however, a purebred piece of weightlifting history and is worth an experience, if only with an empty barbell.

Zercher Squat Alternatives

Not all lifters may need to incorporate the Zercher squat into their routine. There are several exercises which can offer similar benefits.

Front Squat

The front squat may appear to be a “Zercher squat while holding the bar higher on your body.” That’s a fair assessment. By using a “rack position,” the front squat keeps the weight in front of the body, supported across the front of the shoulders.

This allows the legs to be trained with drastically reduced lower back stress. The wrist and shoulder mobility needed to achieve a strong rack position can be relatively quickly trained with minimal direct attention.

High-Bar Squat

A simple variation of the basic back squat, placing the bar high on the shoulders and traps allows the lifter to maintain a more vertical torso, which reduces lower back strain.

This squat variation also offers much more direct carryover to competitive powerlifters, compared to the Zercher squat, because the bar is placed nearly identical to their contest lift. (Though, many competitive powerlifters opt to use a low-bar squat position, which places the bar more on the middle traps.)

Safety Bar Squat

The key benefit of the safety bar squat is the hand position, which accommodates lifters whose shoulder problems prevent holding a bar across their back.

A significant secondary benefit of the safety bar squat is increased upper back recruitment, due to the way the specialized handle offsets the barbell from your center of gravity. This upper back recruitment can offer comparable benefits to Zerchers.

FAQs

The bar hurts my arms. What’s the solution?

Probably the single most common issue with Zercher squats is the initial discomfort of holding the barbell in the elbow-supported position. There are a number of very effective workarounds that allow you to gradually adapt to the feeling while working on the exercise.

You can cushion yourself by wearing long-sleeve shirts and/or elbow sleeves (some lifters wear knee sleeves on their arms because the knee sleeves are larger and more comfortable). You can also cushion the bar with a bad pad typically used when the bar’s on your neck, or by wrapping a towel around the barbell.

Increasing the diameter of the bar also reduces the direct pressure. If your gym has thick barbells or axles, those work very well. Attaching removable thick-grip handles can also work.

Lastly, if you don’t feel that adapting to the movement is a good investment of your time in the gym, and presuming you’re not a competitive athlete performing Zercher-type movements in competition, it’s entirely acceptable to simply choose a different exercise.

Will the barbell crush the tendons in my elbows?

No, it won’t. Biceps tendon injuries at the elbow are relatively rare in the gym and, even then, they most often occur at the shoulder, not at the elbow. (4)(5)

While the biceps tendon does attach to the elbow joint, it’s not being strained in the Zercher position because it’s under a static contraction. Biceps tendon injuries typically occur when the tendon is “overstretched” with too much weight, too much speed, or too much range of motion. During a Zercher squat, the tendon isn’t put through any of those conditions.

However, if you have pre-existing elbow pain or inflammation issues, the exercise becomes a different scenario. In that case, as with any exercise, you should choose movements which do not aggravate your condition or affect recovery.

References

1. Kubo, K., Ikebukuro, T., & Yata, H. (2019). Effects of squat training with different depths on lower limb muscle volumes. European journal of applied physiology, 119(9), 1933–1942. https://doi.org/10.1007/s00421-019-04181-y
2. Hartmann H, Wirth K, Klusemann M. Analysis of the load on the knee joint and vertebral column with changes in squatting depth and weight load. Sports Med. 2013 Oct;43(10):993-1008. doi: 10.1007/s40279-013-0073-6. PMID: 23821469.
3. Erdağ, Deniz & Yavuz, Hasan. (2020). Evaluation of Muscle Activities During Different Squat Variations Using Electromyography Signals. 10.1007/978-3-030-35249-3_114.
4. Golshani K, Cinque ME, O’Halloran P, Softness K, Keeling L, Macdonell JR. Upper extremity weightlifting injuries: Diagnosis and management. J Orthop. 2017;15(1):24-27. Published 2017 Nov 7. doi:10.1016/j.jor.2017.11.005
5. Lavallee ME, Balam T. An overview of strength training injuries: acute and chronic. Curr Sports Med Rep. 2010 Sep-Oct;9(5):307-13. doi: 10.1249/JSR.0b013e3181f3ed6d. PMID: 20827099.

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The post How to Do the Zercher Squat for Lower Body Size and Power appeared first on Breaking Muscle.

Here are some of the best workouts to hit your legs hard no matter your training situation — at home, on the road, or if you’re just looking for a new way to pack on size and strength.

The Best Leg Workouts

• Best Leg Workout With Dumbbells
• Best Bodyweight Leg Workout 
• Best Leg Workout for Size
• Best Leg Workout for Strength

Best Leg Workout With Dumbbells

Leg day is often a chance to use a wide range of equipment at the gym. Every standard commercial gym has various machines to target specific leg muscles, a behemoth of a leg press, and the tried and true squat rack. But if you don’t have access to all the fun stuff, you don’t have to sacrifice results.

Whether you’re training at home with a few dumbbells or you’re in a barebones hotel gym, you can get a serious leg workout.

The Dumbbell-Only Leg Workout

A few pairs of dumbbells or a pair of adjustable dumbbells are all you need to target each leg muscle with high-intensity exercises. Because the legs are powerful and can typically move more weight than most dumbbells allow, this workout focuses primarily on single-leg exercises to reap more benefit from relatively lighter weights.

This routine can be done twice per week if it’s the only leg training in your program or it can be used as an additional leg workout to complement your current plan.

Single-Side Walking Lunge

• How to Do it: Begin standing with a dumbbell in each hand at your sides. Take one large step forward and descend into a deep lunge position. Keep your head and shoulders above your hips, not leaning forward. Press through the front foot to rise while pulling your back leg forwards. Your entire body should be a short distance from where you began. Step forward again with the same leg for the target reps before switching sides.

• Sets and Reps: 3 x 10-15 per leg.

• Rest Time: No rest between legs, 60 seconds between sets.

Dumbbell Squat

• How to Do it: Stand with a dumbbell in each hand. Keep your arms straight and your feet roughly hip-width apart. Keep a neutral spine without rounding forward. Push your hips back to squat halfway down, pause briefly, then return upright. Next, squat as low as your mobility allows, and stand upright again. This is considered one full rep using the “one and a half rep” method.

• Sets and Reps: 4 x 8-10

• Rest Time: 90 seconds between sets.

Split-Stance Dumbbell Romanian Deadlift

• How to Do it: Begin standing with a dumbbell in each hand at your sides. Take a small step backwards into a staggered stance. If you were on a clock face, have one foot at 11 and the other at 5 (after switching sides, you’d be on 1 and 7). Keep a slight bend in your front leg. Push your hips back and bend at your waist. You should feel tension in the hamstrings of your front leg. Avoid rounding your spine. Flex your glutes and hamstrings to pull your torso upright. Your feet shouldn’t move until all reps are completed.

• Sets and Reps: 3 x 8-10 per leg.

• Rest Time: No rest between legs, 60 seconds between sets.

Leaning Single-Leg Calf Raise

• How to Do it: Stand at arms-length to a wall with one hand palm-flat against the wall. Hold one dumbbell in your free hand by your side. Bend your wall-supporting arm until your entire forearm is on the wall and your body is leaned forward at a slight angle. Keep your body straight from your feet to your shoulders. Raise as high as possible onto the toes of the foot under the dumbbell. Hold the peak contraction for three seconds before lowering.

• Sets and Reps: 3 x 10-15 per leg.

• Rest Time: No rest between legs or sets.

Best Bodyweight Leg Workout

Some lifters’ legs may be capable of squatting hundreds of pounds and leg pressing even more, but with the right exercise choices, you can get an intense and effective lower body workout without any weights.

Bodyweight-only training is most often associated with upper body workouts filled with dips, chin-ups, and push-up variations, but any lifter can get a serious leg workout using more than high-rep bodyweight squats or miles of walking lunges.

The Simple and Effective Bodyweight Leg Workout

This bodyweight-only routine prioritizes single-leg exercises, long time under tension in each set, and explosive movements to burn the quadriceps, hamstrings, and glutes.

This style of training, using unfamiliar exercises and high-intensity techniques, can often create a surprising amount of muscle soreness in the days following the workout. Train hard, recover properly, and stick with the plan to see results. Go through the complete workout once every four to seven days.

 

 

 

 

 

 

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Bulgarian Split Squat

• How to Do it: Put one foot behind you on a bench, chair, low table or other study object below knee-height. Stabilize your body. Squat down until your rear knee is nearly touching the floor. Reaching straight ahead while leaning slightly forward can help to maintain balance. Pause at the bottom for two seconds. Keep your foot flat as you straighten your leg. Lower halfway down before rising up again. This is one full rep using the “one and a half rep” method.

• Sets and Reps: 4 x 6-8 per leg.

• Rest Time: 15 seconds rest between legs, 60 seconds between sets.

Reverse Lunge

• How to Do it: From a standing position, take one large step backwards with one foot. Descend into a lunge position. Don’t allow your upper body to lean while stepping back. Return to a standing position and pull your back leg forward. Perform all reps on one leg. Use the same leg to perform reps of the next exercise before switching sides.
• Sets and Reps: 3 x 10-12 per leg.
• Rest Time: No rest before moving to the next exercise, working the same leg.

Single-Leg Romanian Deadlift

• How to Do it: From a standing position, take a small step backwards into a staggered stance, stepping with the same foot as the previous exercise. Keep a slight bend in your front leg. Push your hips back and bend at your waist. Feel tension in the hamstrings of your front leg. Pause briefly before flexing your glutes and hamstrings to pull your torso upright. Perform all reps with one leg forward before performing a set of the previous exercise on the opposite leg.
• Sets and Reps: 3 x 10-12 per leg.
• Rest Time: 60 seconds before returning to the previous exercise, performing a set on the opposite leg.

Leg Matrix

• How to Do it: This isn’t one single exercise, but is a four-exercise circuit popularized by Coach Alwyn Cosgrove. Perform standard bodyweight squats, followed immediately by alternating lunges (step with one leg, descend, stand upright and return to center, step with your other leg, descend, repeat), followed immediately by jumping alternating lunges (as the previous exercise with an added jump into the air to as you switch legs), ending with jumping squats (standard bodyweight squats, jumping into the air on each rep).
• Sets and Reps: 1 x 24 reps of each exercise (12 lunges per leg, 24 total reps). If you somehow manage to complete all 96 reps in less than 90 seconds, which is top-level performance, rest three minutes and repeat the circuit for one additional set.
• Rest Time: No rest between exercises.

Best Leg Workout for Size

“Leg day” is a phrase which strikes fear into even the most experienced lifters. Because the legs are a relatively large muscle group, you need to include multiple exercises to avoid neglecting any part of the lower body. That means you’re in for a lot of work with a lot of intensity and a lot of muscle-burning reps.

Many lifters over-focus on the quadriceps and neglect their hamstrings and calves, but a complete training session addresses them all. Under-trained muscles remain smaller and weaker than muscles that get worked. Since most people want to wear shorts in public once in a while without feeling self-conscious, here’s a size-building program to build a solid set of legs.

Legendary Leg Day

This once-per-week workout uses classic exercises, simple techniques like supersets and peak contractions, and old fashioned hard work to grind out muscle-building reps. The last few reps of each set should be extremely challenging while maintaining good form. Reach near-complete muscular failure on the very last rep of each set.

Back Squat

• How to Do it: Setup in a squat rack with the bar positioned across the back of your shoulders. Unrack the bar by taking one small step backwards. Set your feet outside-hip width. Keep your lower back locked and your chest up. Aim to reach a parallel depth (having your hips level with your knees) for optimal muscle recruitment. Pause briefly before standing up.
• Sets and Reps: 4 x 8-12
• Rest Time: 90 seconds between sets.

Leg Curl

• How to Do it: Set up on either a seated or lying leg curl machine. Adjust the pads to contact slightly above your heels. Bend only at your knees without moving your upper body. Contract your hamstrings fully, until the leg pad is either in contact under the seat frame (for seated leg curls) or in contact with your glutes (for lying leg curls). Hold for two seconds before slowly extending your legs under control.
• Sets and Reps: 4 x 10-12
• Rest Time: No rest before moving to the next exercise.

Leg Extension

• How to Do it: Sit on a leg extension machine. Set the shin pads just above your ankles. Think of your shoelaces floating to the ceiling while straightening your legs to raise the weight. Don’t allow your glutes or hips to leave the seat. Hold the peak contraction for two seconds before lowering the weight under control.
• Sets and Reps: 4 x 10-12
• Rest Time: 60 seconds before returning to the previous exercise.

High-Stance Leg Press

• How to Do it: Sit in a leg press machine and set your feet outside shoulder-width relatively high on the platform. This stance activates more glutes and hamstrings. Keep your feet flat while pressing through your heels to full lockout. Lower the weight as far as your mobility allows. Keep your lower back in contact with the seat throughout the set. Repeat reps steadily without pausing in either the locked out or the stretched positions.
• Sets and Reps: 3 x 12-15
• Rest Time: 60 seconds between sets.

Seated Calf Raise

• How to Do it: Sit in a seated calf raise station. Unlock the weight and lower your heels to a comfortable stretch position. Pause for two seconds. Raise onto your toes as high as possible. Pause for two seconds before lowering to the next rep.
• Sets and Reps: 3 x 15-20
• Rest Time: 30 seconds between sets.

Best Leg Workout For Strength

A strong lower body can often be an indicator of total body strength, since many upper body exercises are hindered by a weak lower body. In short: When in doubt, get really strong legs because they improve pretty much everything else.

Stronger Legs, Stronger Body

This strength-focused workout is centered around the classic barbell back squat. Not only is it, arguably, the most popular of the “big three” powerlifts, it has also been shown to benefit athleticism. (1) (2)

Use this program once per week, ideally after a rest day to avoid cumulative fatigue and allow maximum focus.

Back Squat

• How to Do it: Setup in a squat rack with the bar positioned across the back of your shoulders. Unrack the bar by taking one small step backwards. Set your feet outside-hip width. Keep your lower back locked and your chest up. Aim to reach a parallel depth (having your hips level with your knees) for optimal muscle recruitment. Pause briefly before standing up.
• Sets and Reps: 5 x 3-5
• Rest Time: Three minutes between sets.

Romanian Deadlift

• How to Do it: Begin with a barbell at waist-height using a palms-down (pronated) grip. Set your feet shoulder-width apart. Retract your shoulder blades and brace your core. Keep your back in a neutral position while pushing your hips back and bending at the waist. Lower the bar until you feel maximum tension in the hamstrings and glutes. Contract the target muscles and return to an upright standing position.
• Sets and Reps: 4 x 6-8
• Rest Time: Three minutes between sets.

Step-Up

• How to Do it: Begin with a bench or steps at roughly knee-height placed in front of you. Hold a pair of dumbbells in each hand, hanging at your sides. Place one foot on top of the platform. Focus on pressing through the top foot with little to no assistance from the foot on the ground. Keep your shoulders back and resist leaning. Pause briefly at the top before lowering under control. Letting your body free fall to ground-level decreases muscular stress and increases joint impact.
• Sets and Reps: 3 x 6-8 per leg.
• Rest Time: 60 seconds between legs, 60 seconds between sets.

The Leg Muscles

Training your “legs” is like training your “back.” It’s almost always considered one body part for training purposes. In reality, it’s a collection of multiple muscles which need to be recruited with a variety of exercises.

Knowing exactly what muscles make up your lower body is essential to getting the best results, building more muscle, and increasing overall strength.

Quadriceps

Being the large muscles on the front of the thigh, your quadriceps are responsible for movement at the knee to extend and straighten your leg. The “quad” in quadriceps refers to the four muscles that function together — the rectus femoris, vastus lateralis, vastus medialis, and vastus intermedius.

Generally speaking, the muscles are recruited and activated similarly during quadriceps-focused exercises. However, some research has shown that certain heads may be recruited differently with specific techniques. (3) (4)

This type of finely targeted training can be useful for competitive bodybuilders and high-level aesthetic lifters, but the vast majority of lifters in the gym can build exceptional muscular development without over stressing about hitting one head of the quads more than another.

Hamstrings

The hamstrings are a multi-headed muscle on the back of the upper leg. It consists of three different sections — the biceps femoris, semimembranosus, and semitendinosus. The hamstrings are responsible for bending the knee, as well as extending the hips.

Because the hamstrings control two different types of movements, exercises like leg curls and deadlift variations are both necessary for total recruitment and maximum development.

Glutes

The glute maximus, glute medius, and glute minimus combine to form eye-catching glutes. The glutes primarily function in hip extension, to pull the legs and torso into a straight line. They’re also heavily recruited in rotating and moving the leg from the hip joint.

Due to the glutes’ relative size and attachment points, they can be some of the most pound-for-pound powerful muscles in your body. While heavy lifting certainly isn’t the only way to train, direct glute exercises have the potential to move higher poundages than direct training for other body parts.

Calves

The calves are made of the soleus and gastrocnemius on the back of the lower leg. Both work to extend the ankle and foot. The gastrocnemius attaches above the knee while the soleus is entirely below it. Due to this unique division, the soleus is prioritized when the knee is bent (during seated calf raises) while both muscle heads work during straight-legged calf raises.

Warming Up the Legs

Because the legs involve multiple muscles and multiple joints, a thorough warm-up is mandatory. Addressing the hips, knees, and ankles can lead to improved range of motion, optimal performance, and reduced risk of injury.

The Full Leg Warm-Up

• Squat to Calf Raise: With your feet shoulder-width apart, squat down to a comfortable depth. Pause briefly before standing. Transition directly into a calf raise, rising onto both toes. Hold the top position briefly before returning to a squat position. Repeat for 10 reps.
• Standing Knee Raise: From a standing position, bring one bent leg up to waist-level in front of your body. Keep your torso over your hips without leaning excessively forwards or backwards. Complete a total of 20 reps, alternating legs each rep. 
• Squat to Stand: Stand with your feet beyond shoulder-width apart. Reach forward to touch your toes. Slightly rounding your back is acceptable because the spine isn’t under any load. Next, drop your hips down into a deep squat position. Your knees should end up outside of your arms. Stay in the bottom position and raise both hands overhead. Stand up while keeping both arms up. Lower your arms to your sides and repeat the process for five reps.

Leg Day Every Day?

“Skipping leg day” has become in-gym shorthand for avoiding hard work, but if you want impressive results, going through hard work is unavoidable. You’re now armed with plenty of options to get the job done, no matter your goal and no matter your gym. There are no excuses left to skip leg day.

References

1. Chelly MS, Fathloun M, Cherif N, Ben Amar M, Tabka Z, Van Praagh E. Effects of a back squat training program on leg power, jump, and sprint performances in junior soccer players. J Strength Cond Res. 2009 Nov;23(8):2241-9. doi: 10.1519/JSC.0b013e3181b86c40. PMID: 19826302.
2. Crewther, B. T., Kilduff, L. P., Cook, C. J., Middleton, M. K., Bunce, P. J., & Yang, G. Z. (2011). The acute potentiating effects of back squats on athlete performance. Journal of strength and conditioning research, 25(12), 3319–3325. https://doi.org/10.1519/JSC.0b013e318215f560
3. Stoutenberg M, Pluchino AP, Ma F, Hoctor JE, Signorile JF. The impact of foot position on electromyographical activity of the superficial quadriceps muscles during leg extension. J Strength Cond Res. 2005 Nov;19(4):931-938. doi: 10.1519/r-16364.1. PMID: 16437818.
4. Signorile JF, Kacsik D, Perry A, Robertson B, Williams R, Lowensteyn I, Digel S, Caruso J, LeBlanc WG. The effect of knee and foot position on the electromyographical activity of the superficial quadriceps. J Orthop Sports Phys Ther. 1995 Jul;22(1):2-9. doi: 10.2519/jospt.1995.22.1.2. PMID: 7550299.

Featured Image: restyler / Shutterstock

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A two-jointed muscle crosses two joints, thus making it a bit more complex in its functions. Interestingly, all major joints of the body – the shoulders, elbows, hips, knees, and ankles – are governed by at least one TJM. Here are three lower-body two-jointed muscles, the joints they function at, and their actions:

• Muscle: Semitendinosus, semimembranosus, and biceps femoris (long head)
• Joints: Hip and knee
• Action: Hip extension and knee flexion

• Muscle: Rectus femoris (one of the quadriceps)
• Joints: Hip and knee
• Action: Hip flexion and knee extension

• Muscle: Gastrocnemius (calf)
• Joints: Knee and ankle
• Action: Knee flexion and ankle plantar flexion

Before we go further it is vital to understand this general rule: Taking a TJM out of one of its functions maximizes the muscle’s potential when performing the other function. Performing both functions simultaneously weakens the combined effort.

Here’s a practical example with the hamstrings. In a standing position, extend your right leg backward as if you’re kicking your heel backward. Now, simultaneously flex your knee by bringing the heel of that right leg to the buttocks. Ouch! That cramp sensation is a result of the hamstrings expressing both of their functions simultaneously: hip extension and concurrent knee flexion. These actions are weak because the muscle is being forced to perform double-duty.

Think about this: why do sprinters incur hamstring trauma during an all-out sprint? There is lightening-fast hip extension (ground push off) followed by a rapid knee and hip flexion (recovery phase of that limb). It’s a volatile situation that can compromise the hamstrings and why the infamous “pop” can be heard when an athlete tears hamstring muscle fibers. While we’re on the hamstrings, let’s go into more detail and discuss the implications for training them.

Proper Hamstring Training

All three hamstring muscles (except the short head of the biceps femoris) cross two joints – the hip and the knee. They originate at the tuberosity of the ischium (pelvis) and insert on tibia (semitendinosus and semimembranosus) and fibula (biceps femoris long head). Again, they assist with knee flexion (heel to buttocks) and also hip extension (extending the thigh backward). The short head of the biceps femoris is a single joint muscle that originates on the upper part of the femur and inserts on the fibula.

To maximally target the TJM hamstrings in their knee flexion role they need to be removed from their role as hip extensors. Google a photograph of a vintage leg curl machine from years ago. What you will see is a flat surface the exerciser laid prone upon. The flat surface was not completely effective because it placed the hips in an extended position. As we know, full hip extension minimizes the potential of the hamstrings to maximally address knee flexion.

Enter any modern-day gym and you’ll only see prone leg curl machines that have “A-frame” lying surfaces. This construction places the hips in a more flexed position, thus maximally addressing knee flexion potential. If you see a seated leg curl machine, the exerciser is sitting upright which naturally flexes the hip joint and allows more effective knee flexion hamstring work.

To maximally target the TJM hamstrings in their hip extension role they need to be removed from their role as knee flexors. However, to minimize lumbar (low back) stress, a slight knee flexion should be used. For example:

Romanian Deadlifts or Stiff-Leg Deadlifts

1. Back arched, chest spread, head up, and a slight flexion at the knees. Lock them in.
2. Lower the resistance (barbell, dumbbell, or machine arms) by pushing the buttocks backward and keeping the implement near the thighs.
3. Look up and lower yourself to a position where the back is parallel to the ground.
4. Do not flex the knees (i.e., squat) when performing the exercise.
5. Think “pull” with the hamstrings when returning to the starting position.

Proper Quadriceps Training

The quads. Yes, they extend the knee joint. But wait, one of those four muscles also flexes the hip. It’s the rectus femoris. The rectus femoris originates at the iliac crest (pelvis) and inserts on the tibia (lower leg), thus it crosses two joints. The vastus medialis, vastus intermedius, and vastus lateralis originate on the femur (thigh) and insert on the tibia, thus making them single-joint muscles.

To maximally target the TJM rectus femoris as a lower leg extensor, the ideal exercise is the sissy squat (hips extended, knee flexion emphasis). I believe the rectus femoris is discriminated against because most leg extension machines have an upright (or slightly declined) back rest which puts the hips in flexion while knee extension is attempted. Ideally, the leg extension would be done lying complete supine (torso parallel to the ground), but these devices are extinct. Because three of the four quadriceps muscles are single joint, the upright leg extension exercise is a moot point for these knee flexing-only muscles. The majority rules, unfortunately, for the hip-flexing rectus femoris.

Proper Gastrocnemius Training

Want to work the calves? Think heel raises or toe presses. It’s simple stuff, but there’s a bit more to it. The gastroc originates on the condyles of the femur and inserts via the Achilles tendon on the heel, hence, its two-jointed nature. Rise up on your toes (ankle plantar flexion) and you work the gastroc. However, this also flexes the knee so there are other steps to take in order to maximize its functions.

Related: The Best Leg Workouts

To maximize the gastroc’s ankle plantar flexion function, perform heel raises or toe presses (on a leg press machine) with the knee extended (removing the gastroc from its role in knee flexion). Standing heel raises on a calf machine or with a barbell or dumbbell are perfect for this.

What about calf raises on a seated calf machine? Well, let’s do the math: the knees are flexed so the gastroc is compromised as a plantar flexor. So, the seated calf raise is primarily a soleus event. The soleus is single-joint, originating on the tibia and fibula and inserting with the gastroc on the heel.

Well, there you have it. Now you know a bit more about your muscular system and how to maximally target TJM. In this article I address the TJM of the upper body.

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What does that mean? Pretty simple. Place a cannon (or other projectile device) in a canoe (or other lightweight water vessel) in a body of water. Shoot it and see what happens. BOOM. Because the water provided a poor base of support to maximally launch the projectile, only minimal distance will be achieved. Hence, you can’t shoot a cannon out of a canoe.

Now, place the cannon on land and let it rip. Greater distance will be obtained due to a more stable launching support. It’s simple physics and the cannon-canoe example has implications for most athletics events. Possessing a weak base results in less than optimal performance results.

A Lesson From Isaac Newton

Isaac Newton’s third law of motion states, “For every action, there is an equal and opposite reaction.” With that in mind, we can further analyze the cannon-canoe situation. Shoot a cannon out of a canoe and it will be a dud because the force of the cannon shot (the action) will not be countered by the weak opposing force of the canoe and water (opposite reaction.) Launching a cannon shot from solid ground will create a better result due to the greater opposing force supplied by the stable ground.

Here’s what you most likely know by now. A stronger base of support (launching pad) improves your potential to exhibit a better end result (opposite reaction). So the message for you athletes is to improve the strength of your lower body to optimize your launching ability regardless of your sport or event.

Sports and Actions Improved With a Better Launch Pad

Here is a list of sports and activities, along with the specific actions that can be improved with a stronger lower body. (So many examples!)

• American football – Planting and cutting, tackling, passing, punting, kicking
• Baseball – Hitting, pitching, throwing, base running
• Basketball – Jumping, shooting, planting and cutting, rebounding
• Bowling – Applying force to the bowling ball upon release
• Boxing – Putting force behind the punches
• Cycling – Applying force to the down stroke
• Discus throwing – Applying force to the ground at release
• Field hockey – Applying force with the stick to the ball
• Golf – Driving for maximum distance
• Gymnastics – Applying force to the vault, balance beam, or the floor
• High jumping – Applying force to the ground on takeoff
• Ice hockey – Applying force to the puck or applying force to an opponent
• Long jumping – Applying force at the takeoff board
• Mountaineering – Climbing and maneuvering with the legs
• Rowing – Performing repetitive pushes with the legs
• Shot putting – Applying force to the ground at release
• Softball – Hitting, pitching, throwing, base running
• Sprinting – Applying force against the starting blocks and the ground during strides
• Swimming – Driving off the side of the pool
• Tennis – Applying force in a serve or in any return, single or double arm
• Volleyball – Applying force in a serve or a jump
• Weightlifting – Applying force to the platform to raise the resistance from the ground to the chest (clean) or overhead (snatch), as well as applying force to move the resistance overhead (jerk)
• Wrestling – Applying force during a takedown

Remember, legs are a man’s (and woman’s) best friends when getting from point A to point B. To optimally shoot a cannon out of a canoe, strengthen your lower body.

Illustrations courtesy of Shutterstock.

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