We use our quad muscles for countless activities, including running, squatting, walking, standing up, and jumping. Our quads are some of the strongest and largest muscles in our bodies. It’s important to strengthen this set of muscles to keep our bodies looking and feeling good.
There’s a reason why many fitness professionals say never to skip a leg day. Whether you want to improve your strength or bulk up, incorporating some of the best quad exercises is a great way to amp up your fitness routine. The type of quad exercise you choose to do depends on what part of the muscle you’re targeting.
This blog will cover our top seven quad workouts that you can utilize in your training schedule. We’ll go over the basics of each move and ways you can practice good form.
1. Heel-Elevated Goblet Squats
You can’t go wrong with a traditional squat. While they’re incredibly effective at building your glutes, you can also use them to strengthen your quads. The important thing to keep in mind is doing squats that focus on your quads.
One of our favorite ways to do squats is with the heel-elevated goblet squat. Elevating your heels while doing a basic squat puts more of the focus on your quads instead of other muscles, like your glutes.
Follow these instructions to perform this exercise:
- Put two weight plates on the floor and stand with your heels on them
- Have your feet around hip-width apart
- Hold a dumbbell or kettlebell at your chest
- Slowly lower your body by bending your knees and hinging your hips
- Stop when your thighs are parallel to the floor
- Drive your knees into a standing position
2. Step-Ups
Step-ups are unilateral and compound exercises that work multiple muscles, including the quads. Other muscles you can strengthen with this exercise include:
- Hamstrings
- Glutes
You can choose to use dumbells or kettlebells when doing step-ups. Another option is to do them solely using your body weight. You can use several things for stepping up, such as:
- Weightlifting bench
- Plyo box
- Step
This exercise is fairly straightforward to perform. While holding your dumbells in both hands, lift your right knee and step onto your chosen surface. Place most of your weight into that foot while raising your other foot.
Once both feet are up, rest for a moment before stepping back down one foot at a time.
3. Forward Lunges
Forward lunges are another quads-strengthening move that can be done with or without weights. Other benefits forward lunges provide in addition to building leg muscles include:
- Improving balance and posture
- Correcting muscle imbalances
Stand with your feet hip-width apart and have your core tight. Step forward with one foot before lowering both legs to a 90-degree angle. Pause for a second before stepping back to a standing position.
4. Leg Extensions
Leg extensions are a great choice for isolating the quad muscles. Many fitness professionals tack leg extensions onto the end of a workout for the perfect leg finisher. Keep in mind you’ll need to use a leg extension machine when performing this workout.
Follow these steps when incorporating leg extensions into your lower body workouts:
- Select the weight you want to use after you sit at the machine
- Sit with your back against the pad with your knees bent
- Press your ankles against the lower pads
- Straighten your legs until they’re fully extended
- Pause at the top before slowly lowering your legs
5. Pistol Squats
Another term for a pistol squat is a single-leg squat. While you may need a lot of coordination to perform them, they’re effective at improving your:
- Balance
- Hip mobility
- Ankle and quad strength
What’s great about these squats is you don’t need any equipment to perform them. All you have to do to get started is to stand and then lift your left leg in front of you. Slowly bring your hips back and bend your right knee as you descend.
Push your right heel into the ground as you squeeze your glutes to rise. You can complete all your reps on one side or alternate back and forth between your legs.
6. Leg Presses
Leg presses are similar to barbell squats with the main difference being you use a leg press machine. Where you place your feet on the machine alters how muscles get worked. We recommend placing your feet low on the footplate to build your quads.
Keep in mind that other muscles in your body will need to help you stabilize while you perform your exercises. You’ll also need to place your feet close together to ensure you work your quad muscles. You can also incorporate resistance bands to add more tension to your quads and work them even harder.
7. Sissy Squats
While the name of this exercise might be amusing, the sissy squat is one of the best moves you can do for your quads. You’ll lift onto your tiptoes while doing this squat, which puts all the focus into your quads. You’ll also need to drive your knees over your toes as you squat down.
Doing the move in this way takes the attention out of your hips and glutes and puts it directly in your quads. The sissy squat is an advanced exercise that’s not suited for those getting started on their workout journey. While it’s always great to push yourself, you’ll need to practice perfect form if you want to give it a try.
A great way to master this workout is to use a long resistance band to help. We recommend wrapping the band around a squat rack at the same height as your knees. You can loop in one leg inside each loop while you face the rig.
Adding a resistance band helps you learn how to balance. It also takes some pressure off your knees.
Incorporate the Best Quad Exercises Into Your Exercise Routine
We hope our best quad exercises give you different ideas on how to build strength in your lower body. Leg day exercises are great ways to build muscle while getting your heart rate up. No matter what types of exercises you choose, be sure to do them with proper form.
Are you ready to get started on the path to a healthier you? Click here to find a ChiroThin doctor in your area.