Zercher Squats

Posted by Dan on November 15th 2007 to Training

Here’s an exercise that honestly I had never heard of before, but they look like a killer! What you do is you load up the weights on the squat rack, but rather than putting the weight on your shoulders (regular squat) or doing front squats, you hold the weight with your elbows! That’s right, you hold the weight in front of you with the bar resting in the crook of your elbows.

I’ve never done these, and I can imagine that they must be somewhat uncomfortable. Tom Venuto talked about these squats recently on his Body Building Secrets Blog. He also included some pretty cool videos of some guys lifting some pretty serious weights in this style. So if you’re looking for a way to add a little variety to the way you do squats, check out Zercher Squats!

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  1. djahna
    November 22nd, 2007 | 10:12 am

    Isn’t that dangerous? How do you know you’re ready for something like that?..

  2. Dan
    November 26th, 2007 | 7:43 am

    djahna,

    As with any new exercise, if you want to give it a try you should probably go light so you know what you can and can’t handle. That’s probably the only way to really know how you like them or if you want to do them!

  3. Ed
    December 2nd, 2007 | 6:24 pm

    Ah ok after checking the link i get it. hmm yeah that looks pretty rough. what are the benefits of this over normal squats though? seems like it would be harder to keep good form and harder on your back.

  4. Dan
    December 3rd, 2007 | 8:49 am

    Hey Ed,
    According to Tom they are actually easier on your back, kinda like front squats. The question I have is how it feels on my elbows!

  5. Personal trainer
    April 1st, 2008 | 3:30 pm

    Hey,

    That looks like a great exercise and safer then doing squats, well at least just as safe! Knowing that exercise should be compulsary for every personal training qualification ahah :)

    Thanks, Sarah.

  6. Lipobind
    June 30th, 2008 | 12:56 pm

    I do normal squats and often get a bit bored - they are repetitive! I will give these new squats a try and let you know my results!

  7. Fat Loss 4 Idiots
    August 20th, 2008 | 9:20 am

    I hope Zercher Squats won’t heart my elbows. I have never done this exercise before but I will give it a try.

  8. Mass Bodybuilding
    October 20th, 2008 | 10:02 am

    Do these offer any benefits over front squats?

    I find front squats to be quite effective for my quads but i’m always looking for new exercises to build the tear drops.

  9. TOM
    October 24th, 2008 | 6:32 am

    That looks like a great exercise and safer then doing squats, well at least just as safe! Knowing that exercise should be compulsary.That’s probably the only way to really know how you like them or if you want to do them!

  10. Max Infoway
    October 25th, 2008 | 5:14 am

    That’s probably the only way to really know how you like them or if you want to do them! I have never done this exercise before but I will give it a try.

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