The 3 best exercises for your quads

There are some great exercises you can do to train your quadriceps. Today we present to you our top exercises.

The quadriceps

Aufbau der Oberschenkelinnenseite — Structure of the quads

Your anterior thigh (quadriceps) is made up of 4 muscle groups:

The vastus lateralis muscle:
This part of the muscle is located in the outer area and contributes to the external rotation of your knee joint and provides extension in the knee joint.

The vastus medialis muscle:
This part is located in the inner area and contributes to the internal rotation of your knee joint and provides extension in the knee joint.

The rectus femoris muscle:
This part runs across your hip and helps flex your hip, as well as helping to extend the knee joint.

The vastus intermedius muscle:
This part is located in the medial region below the other parts of the muscle and provides extension in the knee joint. All tendons of all four parts of the muscle run into the tendon of the vastus intermedius muscle and form a common attachment tendon.

The main function of your quadriceps is to extend your legs. So exercises that involve leg extension are especially important for building strong quads.

Top 3 quadriceps exercises

Leg extensions

Evaluation

Range of Motion und Stabilität beim Beinstrecken — Leg extensions (evaluation)

During leg extensions, your quads are heavily stressed almost throughout the entire range of motion. Only in the lowest position are they only slightly stressed, as the pad limits your movement.

The load remains fairly constant throughout the exercise. You have no hip extension during leg extension. Thus, you equally stress all 4 parts of the quadriceps.

Furthermore, the exercise is very stable, so it's not your coordination skills or stabilizing muscles that are the limiting factor.

However, when doing leg extensions, be careful not to use too much weight. Since all parts of the quadriceps run over a tendon, the risk of injury is relatively high with too much training weight or improper form.

Execution

Ausführung beim Beinstrecken — Leg extensions (start and end position)

The leg pad is at the level of your ankle on the front of your lower leg.
Adjust the foot pad so that your quads are maximally stretched in the start position.
Move your lower legs up as far as possible and then lower them again.
The movement takes place exclusively through your knee joint.
Ideally, the foot pad does not rotate during execution.
During the exercise, be careful not to hyperextend your knees.

Front squats

Evaluation

Range of Motion und Stabilität bei Frontkniebeugen — Front squats (evaluation)

During front squats, your quads are heavily stressed almost throughout the entire range of motion. Only in the upper part of the range of motion is the load on the quads less.

The focus of front squats is less on the glutes than it is for classic squats.

A clear advantage of front squats is the stronger focus on the quads as compared with classic squats. However, classic squats are more stable.

Execution

Ausfürung beim Frontkniebeugen von vorne — Front squats (start and end position - front view)

Ausführung beim Frontkniebeugen von der Seite — Front squats (start and end position - side view)

Your shoulders point forward and your upper arms are parallel to the floor.
Place the barbell on the front of your shoulders with your arms crossed and touch the bar from above with your fingertips.
Alternatively, you can use the more challenging weightlifting grip. Here, your forearms are parallel to each other and bent back toward your body. Your palms face up and the bar rests on your fingertips.
Your stance is shoulder width or slightly wider and the tops of your feet point slightly outward.
Your knees point in the same direction as the tops of your feet.
Your back is straight or slightly arched.
Move your body down as low as possible and then back up to the start position.
Your heels stay on the floor and your upper body remains as upright as possible during the motion.
Ideally, you wear flat shoes or shoes with heel elevation. You can also wear a weightlifting belt.
Be careful not to extend your knees during the exercise, however.

Ideally, you wear flat shoes or shoes with heel elevation for this exercise. You can also wear a weightlifting belt.

Leg press

Evaluation

Range of Motion und Stabilität beim Beinpressen — Leg press (evaluation)

During the leg press, your quads are heavily stressed over almost the entire range of motion. Only in the upper part of the range of motion are they less intensely stressed.

However, you have maximum stability during the entire exercise. Although you also have a high level of stability with the alternative exercise sumo leg press, the focus there is more on the glutes. Therefore, your stance should not be too wide if you want to target the quads.

With the leg press you can effectively train all 4 parts of your quads. The high stability is also a great advantage.

Execution

Ausführung beim Beinpressen — Leg press (start and end position)

Your stance should be shoulder width.
The tops of your feet point forward or slightly outward and your knees point in the same direction as the tops of your feet.
Press your glutes firmly against the backrest.
Your back is straight or slightly arched.
In the start position your legs are very slightly bent.
Lower the platform as low as possible and then push it all the way up again.
Your heels stay on the platform.
During the exercise, be careful not to hyperextend your knees.

Conclusion

Good exercises for your quadriceps will put a stable load on your quads through a large range of motion.

It is important that the focus of the exercises is really on the quads. Furthermore, you extend your legs for all of the top quad exercises.

However, you should be careful not to hyperextend your knees during any of these exercises. This could lead to serious injury.

The 3 best exercises for the quads include:

Leg extensions
Front squats
Leg press