Quads Exercises

Browse illustrated quads exercises. Every movement is shown with a picture, the muscles it works, the equipment you need, and how to perform it. Filter further by equipment or level once you find the muscle group you want to train.

Showing 48 of 215 quads exercises.

Illustrated guide to the Kettlebell One Arm Squat Clean exercise

Kettlebell One Arm Squat Clean

Single-kettlebell squat clean — pull from floor with full front-squat catch, brutal asymmetric fron…

Advanced
Illustrated guide to the Kettlebell One Arm Squat Snatch exercise

Kettlebell One Arm Squat Snatch

Single-kettlebell snatch with full overhead-squat catch — extreme mobility and unilateral overhead …

Advanced
Illustrated guide to the Kettlebell Piston Single Leg Squats exercise

Kettlebell Piston Single Leg Squats

Single-leg squat (pistol) with a kettlebell in the rack — extreme unilateral lower-body strength.

Elite
Illustrated guide to the Kettlebell Side Lunge exercise

Kettlebell Side Lunge

Lateral kettlebell lunge — frontal-plane lower-body work with adductor stretch on the straight leg.

Intermediate
Illustrated guide to the Kettlebell Sissy Squats exercise

Kettlebell Sissy Squats

Goblet kettlebell sissy squat — knees-forward quad-isolator with the bell at the chest.

Foundation
Illustrated guide to the Kettlebell Wall Sits with Overhead Press exercise

Kettlebell Wall Sits with Overhead Press

Wall sit with single-arm kettlebell overhead press — combined isometric leg endurance and overhead …

Intermediate
Illustrated guide to the Lateral Lunge exercise

Lateral Lunge

Lateral lunge stepping out wide — frontal-plane lower-body work with adductor stretch on the straig…

Beginner
Illustrated guide to the L-Sits exercise

L-Sits

A demanding gymnastics hold supporting the whole body on locked arms with the legs raised straight …

Advanced
Illustrated guide to the Lunges exercise

Lunges

Standard bodyweight lunge — fundamental single-leg pattern, accessible to everyone, foundation for …

Beginner
Illustrated guide to the Lunge Step Up exercise

Lunge Step Up

Step-up onto a box combined with a reverse lunge on the same side — bodyweight version of the dual-…

Foundation
Illustrated guide to the Mace Barbarian Squats exercise

Mace Barbarian Squats

The quads and glutes drive a squat while the shoulders and core hold a steel mace tight at the ches…

Foundation
Illustrated guide to the Machine Leg Extensions exercise

Machine Leg Extensions

Seated machine leg extension — direct quadriceps isolation through pure knee extension.

Foundation
Illustrated guide to the Machine Leg Press exercise

Machine Leg Press

Seated machine leg press — heavy bilateral leg loading without spinal compression, accessible for h…

Foundation
Illustrated guide to the Machine Squats exercise

Machine Squats

Machine squat — fixed-path squat with shoulder pads, accessible heavy lower-body loading.

Foundation
Illustrated guide to the Medicine Ball Heartbeat Squat exercise

Medicine Ball Heartbeat Squat

Squat with simultaneous medicine ball front-press and pull — adds shoulder and trunk demand to the …

Foundation
Illustrated guide to the Medicine Ball Power Deck Squat exercise

Medicine Ball Power Deck Squat

Roll-back-into-squat with overhead medicine ball press — combines deep squat, rolling, and pressing.

Foundation
Illustrated guide to the Plank Jump Ins exercise

Plank Jump Ins

A high plank with an explosive jump of both feet toward the hands and back out, training core compr…

Foundation
Illustrated guide to the Plate Lateral Lunge with Press exercise

Plate Lateral Lunge with Press

A lateral lunge combined with a plate press-out, training frontal-plane leg strength and the should…

Intermediate
Illustrated guide to the Plate Lunges exercise

Plate Lunges

A forward or reverse lunge holding a plate at the chest, building single-leg strength in the quads …

Foundation
Illustrated guide to the Plate Sissy Squat exercise

Plate Sissy Squat

Plate-loaded sissy squat — quad-isolator with a plate held at the chest as counter-balance.

Foundation
Illustrated guide to the Plate Squat Reach exercise

Plate Squat Reach

A squat finished with an overhead plate reach, combining lower-body strength with shoulder mobility…

Foundation
Illustrated guide to the Plate Squats exercise

Plate Squats

A goblet-style squat holding a plate at the chest, building the quads and glutes while the front lo…

Foundation
Illustrated guide to the Plate V-Ups exercise

Plate V-Ups

A V-up holding a plate overhead, lifting the torso and legs to meet while the added load drives a s…

Intermediate
Illustrated guide to the RAM Alternating Dragon Squats exercise

RAM Alternating Dragon Squats

A cross-behind dragon squat alternating sides while holding the RAM, demanding single-leg strength,…

Advanced
Illustrated guide to the RAM Alternating Lunges exercise

RAM Alternating Lunges

Alternating forward or reverse lunges holding the RAM at the chest, building single-leg strength an…

Foundation
Illustrated guide to the RAM Burpee exercise

RAM Burpee

A burpee performed with hands on the RAM, adding load and stability demand to a brutal full-body co…

Intermediate
Illustrated guide to the RAM Clean to Back Lunge exercise

RAM Clean to Back Lunge

An explosive RAM clean chained into a reverse lunge — a full-body combo building power, single-leg …

Advanced
Illustrated guide to the RAM Clean to Squat exercise

RAM Clean to Squat

A RAM clean flowing into a front squat — a powerful full-body combo linking explosive pulling with …

Advanced
Illustrated guide to the RAM Goblet Squat exercise

RAM Goblet Squat

A front-loaded squat holding the RAM at the chest, building the quads and glutes while reinforcing …

Foundation
Illustrated guide to the RAM Side to Side Split Jumps exercise

RAM Side to Side Split Jumps

Explosive split jumps shifting side to side while holding the RAM, training leg power, agility and …

Intermediate
Illustrated guide to the RAM Side to Side Squat Press exercise

RAM Side to Side Squat Press

A lateral squat shifting side to side combined with a RAM press — a full-body conditioning and stre…

Intermediate
Illustrated guide to the RAM Split Squat exercise

RAM Split Squat

A stationary split squat holding the RAM at the chest, building single-leg strength, balance and mo…

Foundation
Illustrated guide to the RAM Split Squat Press exercise

RAM Split Squat Press

A split squat combined with a RAM press, training single-leg strength, balance and the shoulders to…

Intermediate
Illustrated guide to the RAM Split Squat with Jump exercise

RAM Split Squat with Jump

An explosive jumping split squat holding the RAM, building single-leg power and conditioning.

Intermediate
Illustrated guide to the Resistance Band Bulgarian Squats exercise

Resistance Band Bulgarian Squats

Bulgarian split squat with band tension — adds variable resistance to the unilateral squat.

Intermediate
Illustrated guide to the Resistance Band Lunge exercise

Resistance Band Lunge

Forward lunge with band tension at the shoulders — variable-resistance single-leg work.

Foundation
Illustrated guide to the Resistance Band Squat exercise

Resistance Band Squat

Bodyweight squat with band tension at shoulders — variable-resistance squat.

Foundation
Illustrated guide to the Reverse Lunge to Knee Up exercise

Reverse Lunge to Knee Up

Reverse lunge with explosive knee drive at the top — combined single-leg strength with explosive hi…

Foundation
Illustrated guide to the Sandbag Back Squats exercise

Sandbag Back Squats

Quad-dominant back squat with a sandbag racked across the traps, where the shifting filler forces t…

Intermediate
Illustrated guide to the Sandbag Bear Hug Squats exercise

Sandbag Bear Hug Squats

Quad-focused squat hugging the sandbag to the chest, where the forward load forces the upper back a…

Foundation
Illustrated guide to the Sandbag Clean and Press exercise

Sandbag Clean and Press

Full-body power-endurance lift cleaning the sandbag from the floor to the chest, then pressing it o…

Advanced
Illustrated guide to the Sandbag Crawl with Pull Through exercise

Sandbag Crawl with Pull Through

Full-body animal-flow crawl that drags the sandbag under the torso each rep, taxing the shoulders, …

Advanced
Illustrated guide to the Sandbag Duck Under Lunge exercise

Sandbag Duck Under Lunge

Deep loaded lunge where you sink low and pass the sandbag under the lead thigh, blending single-leg…

Intermediate
Illustrated guide to the Sandbag Forward Lunge exercise

Sandbag Forward Lunge

Quad-focused forward-stepping lunge holding the sandbag at the chest, returning to the start each r…

Foundation
Illustrated guide to the Sandbag Front Squat exercise

Sandbag Front Squat

Quad-dominant front squat with the sandbag cradled across the chest and shoulders, where the front …

Intermediate
Illustrated guide to the Sandbag Lunge exercise

Sandbag Lunge

Quad-loading walking lunge carrying the sandbag, travelling forward step after step to build single…

Foundation
Illustrated guide to the Sandbag Press Out Squat exercise

Sandbag Press Out Squat

The quads drive this squat while the sandbag presses out front, the long lever forcing the core and…

Foundation
Illustrated guide to the Sandbag Shoulder Squat exercise

Sandbag Shoulder Squat

A squat with the sandbag loaded on one shoulder, the offset weight forcing the trunk to resist tipp…

Intermediate