This exercise is going to hammer your deep core muscles in a way they've never been hammered before.
I apologize in advance for this one...it's absolutely a BEAST on the deep core muscles.
First off, if you do decide to try this one, start light and work your way up slowly, especially if you haven't done anything like this before. It's an awkward position movement from start to finish and if you've never worked in awkward positions, you could hurt yourself.
If you focus on bracing your core and not losing tension in the midsection, you'll be fine. As well, you could also have a spotter place the bar for you in the top standing position or start with it on a bench.
To do this one, you'll need an EZ curl bar and some weight. Now, a regular straight bar can work, too, but I like the EZ bar better for Zerchers because you hook into the bend of the bar so it doesn't roll.
I also recommend using a thin bar pad or towel for this one, to save your skin (or a long-sleeved shirt).
I've got 75 lbs loaded onto one end of the bar...the offset loading is what's going to really crush your core here.
To get into position, set your right leg forward and tilt your upper body down to get your left arm under the bar.
Honestly, even just getting the bar into position is a challenge for this one.
Scoop the bar up the elbow. That's the bottom position.
Now stand up. You can see I've got the bar tilted a bit here...that's totally fine. Trust me, it doesn't make it any easier, especially as you get into heavier weight like this.
Now come back down into a reverse lunge.
And repeat for as many reps as you either can get or want to do. I found hitting lower rep sets of 3-5 reps was perfect for this because the goal is building deep core strength.
This allows you to use enough weight to decently work the legs as well.
When you've done your reps, at the bottom position, just tilt the bar down and set the end on the floor.
Swing it around and repeat on the other side.
You can really see the lean in the whole body here. This is helpful for balance.
When you're done with your set, again just set the bar end on the floor.
Now, fair warning, this one will REALLY hit the obliques with anti flexion loading, especially at the bottom.
That means the bar is trying to tip you over and your abs have to work to counterbalance that force. Holding the bar in the Zercher position makes this even tougher to do.
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Want 90 more unique and challenging exercises to SHRED your core? Check out The Best Core Exercises You've Never Heard Of!
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