Zercher Squat
Trains the quadriceps, with help from the hamstrings and glutes. You need a barbell. None of our programs use it yet, but you can add it to any session you build.
Free to use. The app works out every weight and times your rest.
In the programs
None of our programs use the Zercher Squat
It is in the app, so you can add it to any session and log it like anything else. It is just not written into one of our 50 free programs. If you want a quadriceps exercise that is, there are 16 on the Quadriceps page.
Muscles worked
What Zercher Squat trains
Technique
How to do the Zercher Squat
- Set a barbell in a rack at about waist height. Hook your arms under the bar so it rests in the crooks of your elbows, and clasp your hands together in front of your chest.
- Lift the bar from the rack and step back, standing with your feet shoulder-width apart and your toes pointed slightly outward.
- Lower your body into a squat by bending your knees and pushing your hips back, keeping your chest up and your elbows high.
- Descend until your thighs are parallel to the floor, then push through your heels to return to the standing position. Repeat for the desired number of repetitions.
Form cues
Getting it right
- Keep your elbows high and your chest up to prevent the bar from rolling forward.
- Brace your core firmly throughout; the front-loaded position demands strong trunk stability.
- Wrap the bar in a pad or towel if the pressure on your arms is uncomfortable.
- Breathe in before you descend and exhale as you drive back up to standing.
Substitutes
Swap Zercher Squat for
The app's swap picker ranks these the same way: same muscles, similar movement, similar equipment.
Let the app run the Zercher Squat for you
Durata picks the weight, times your rest and adds load when you earn it. That works on any of our 50 free programs, or on a session you put together yourself.