The best quad exercises will do wonders for those thigh muscles. You shouldn't waste your time on isolation exercises for the quadriceps.


You should put all of your foucs on the best compound quadricep exercises. This page will show you the best exercises for building muscle throughout the entire thigh region!


I'm a huge believer in free weight exercises, so you'll never find very many machine exercises on this website. I will always recommend free weights over machines!


Let's get straight to the exercises...

Best Quad Exercises

In no particular order... Barbell Squats Front Squats Barbell Hack Squats Bulgarian Squats Hip Belt Squats Zercher Squats Lunges The links above are quick links to the exercises further down this page.

Barbell Squats

Barbell Squats are an absolute must for beginners. Squats are the king of all exercises! You can use the videos below to give you a good idea of how to perform squats properly, but you'll need more than that!


Read more about Starting Strength to give you everything you need to know to learn how to perform Squats the correct way! Now on to the videos...

Front Squats

The front squat is probably the best pure quad exercise. The back squat works not only the quadriceps, but the entire body. The front squat allows you to put a little more emphasis on the quadriceps and still get the benefits of the squat movement!


Front squats are a very tough exercise to learn how to do properly and comfortably! You'll need lots of practice with this quad exercise.




Front squats are definitely one of the best quad exercises. If you've never given them a shot, you need to start working on them today!

Barbell Hack Squats

Barbell Hack Squats are one of my personal favorites. The quads really get worked during this exercise. Let me make clear that I never recommend you elevate your heels during the exercise. There's really no need!




Doing different variations in the Squat will only help your Squat get better! You'll get stronger on the regular barbell squat by doing all of these different squat variations.

Bulgarian Squats

Bulgarian squats are a very tough variation of the Squat. Bulgarian squats are also called split squats. The Bulgarian squat is one of the best quad exercises, but you only perform the exercise one leg at a time.

Hip Belt Squats

The hip belt squat is a squat variation that many people know nothing about! And that's great for you because this is an exercise that you can benefit from in terms of muscle and strength...

Zercher Squats

Zercher squats are another one of the best quad exercises available. This variation can be a little awkward at first since your arms are supporting the weights...

Lunges

Lunges can be done with a barbell or dumbbells. I prefer a barbell because you don't have to rely on your grip strength to sustain the set.





If you're looking for weight lifting exercises for other major muscle groups, use the links below to find the absolute best exercises for each muscle group.

Weightlifting Exercises by Major Muscle Group
		Lower Body Muscle Groups Quad Exercises Hamstring Exercises Calf Exercises Upper Body Muscle Groups Chest Exercises Back Exercises Shoulder Exercises Tricep Exercises Bicep Exercises Forearm Exercises Trap Exercises Ab Exercises

Other Weight Lifting Exercises

	Best Butt Exercises You can find the best exercises for working the all important glutes here. Are you including the right exercises to get a great butt?
	Rotator Cuff Exercises Healthy shoulders are important for everyone. Bad shoulders can lead to a painful life! Keep your shoulders strong and healthy with these exercises.
	Knee Strengthening Exercises Knee pain is a very common problem. You can fix knee pain by doing the right knee exercises. Learn more about the best knee exercises here.

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