5 Best Quad Exercises for Larger Quads

Quad exercises are essential for building strength in your legs, as quadricep muscles are needed for better athletic performance.

Big quads have benefits beyond their visual value. In fact, elderly people with weak quadriceps are three times more likely to experience cartilage loss in their knees.

Hence, perform a variety of quad exercises, including isolation and compound action with a range of reps to target the muscles from various angles.

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Which Quad Exercises Give You the Biggest Quads?

With your leg routines, the quads are not difficult to target. Anyone who exercises regularly will probably be using their quadriceps frequently because they are the primary muscles involved in the squat, which is arguably the most popular exercise.

A solid set of big, muscular quads is a need whether your objective in the gym is to increase strength, enhance athletic performance, or simply look better.

Quads are important for running, leaping, and daily activities. In addition, as you approach them, quads are one of the first things that people notice.

How then do you grow quadriceps that are massive in size? The solution is the following list of five quad exercises:

1) Banded single-leg squat

This is the best-banded quad exercise, as it's simple to set up, portable, requires little equipment, and lets you work each leg separately.

Here’s how to do it:

• Put your right foot under the middle of an exercise band so that it's in this position.
• If the workout band has a significant resistance, you may need to bend forward to grab the loose end and draw it over your shoulders while keeping it in place with your hands.
• With your left foot, take a large step back till the ball of your foot is on the ground. You should descend such that your right thigh is nearly parallel to the ground.
• Return to your starting posture by standing up.

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2) Squat jump

This plyometric variation of the popular quad exercise requires power, challenging your quadriceps and raising your heart rate.

How to:

• Start with your body straight and hands clasped in front of your chest in a squat position.
• Jump off the ground while lifting your legs straight up through your feet and swinging your arms straight behind your body.
• Squat down to the ground once more.
• Aim to complete 10-15 reps.

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3) Kneeling leg extension

Due to the fact that you must lift and lower your torso largely using the strength of your quads, this quad exercise truly stimulates those muscles.

Here’s how to do it:

• Kneel down, keeping your legs straight, hands on your hips, body tall, and knees hip distance apart.
• As you progressively lean backward till your butt is a few inches from your heels; keep your back level and your hips stretched.
• To get back to the starting position, pause, and carefully reverse the movement.
• Aim to complete 15-20 reps.

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4) Lateral lunge

Lateral lunges are a great quad exercise. Along with your quadriceps, butt, and inner thighs, this side-to-side lunge version also works the core and hamstrings.

Instructions:

• Place your hands at chest level or on your hips while standing with your feet shoulder-width apart. You can also choose to hold a dumbbell to make it more challenging.
• Put your right foot wide apart, and step to the right.
• Set yourself up for a lunge by pushing back with your butt, hinging forward at the hips, and bending your right knee.
• When you're ready to start again; pause for a little while, and push off your right foot.
• Swap sides once doing all of your reps on one side.

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5) Heels elevated goblet squat

A quick way to increase your range of motion during a squat is to lift your heels, especially if you have tight calf muscles.

Goblet squats with your heels lifted, often referred to as cyclist squats, enable you to go deep. They also stimulate more muscle fibers in your quads.

Instructions:

• Raise your heels, and keep your feet flat on the ground while you stand tall on a heavy plate or block that's approximately 3–4 inches high.
• Hold a kettlebell, and squat down till your knees cross your toes and hip crease passes below your knee, while keeping your body straight and feet close together.
• Quickly stand back up again.
• Repeat a few times.

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Takeaway

After a lower leg or thigh injury, or surgery, the quads frequently weaken. That makes learning how to develop this muscle group crucial for a full recovery.

You can design leg workouts to maximize the development of your quads using these quad exercises.