Quads: exercises and how to train them
The quads — the front of your thigh — grow from deep knee bending under load: squats, leg press, lunges. Leg extensions add work without loading your back.
What these muscles do
The quadriceps straighten the knee, and the rectus femoris also flexes the hip. The further your knee travels forward and the deeper you squat, the more work they get: front squats and hack squats hit them harder than a back squat. Single-leg work — lunges and split squats — evens out your legs and needs less weight.
Exercises with technique breakdowns
19 more exercises in the catalog
- Smith Machine Squat
- Bodyweight Squat
- Barbell Walking Lunge
- Barbell Full Squat
- Box Squat
- Dumbbell Squat
- Wide-Stance Barbell Squat
- Narrow-Stance Barbell Squat
- Barbell Hack Squat
- Narrow-Stance Leg Press
- Dumbbell Rear Lunge
- Barbell Step-Ups
- Smith Machine Split Squat
- Dumbbell Squat to a Bench
- Single-Leg Leg Extension
- Narrow-Stance Hack Squat Machine
- Elevated Barbell Rear Lunge
- Bodyweight Walking Lunge
- Step-Up With Knee Raise
They're all in the diary: find one by name in the bot or the app, and I'll remember the weight and reps.
How to train them
- Squat as deep as you can with a flat back — for the quads, deeper is better.
- Knees track over your toes and can travel past them — that's fine.
- Add a single-leg exercise: lunges or split squats show which leg is lagging.
- The leg press is a good way to add volume when your back is tired from squats.
Programs and sets for this group
| Program | Sets per cycle | Days per cycle |
|---|---|---|
| Glutes & Legs — 3 Days | 16 | 3 |
| Strength 5×5 — A/B | 10 | 2 |
| Upper / Lower | 7 | 2 |
| Push / Pull / Legs | 7 | 3 |
| 3-Day Split | 7 | 3 |
| Full Body — 3 Days | 6 | 3 |
| Full Body — 2 Days | 3 | 2 |
Sets for one pass through all of the program's days, by its own schemes. A deadlift set is split in half between back and hamstrings — the way the diary counts it.
Exercise comparisons
Log your workouts — I'll show how many sets a week you give this group.