1. Barbell Cursing Lunges
The purpose of this exercise is to put a HARD contraction on your quadriceps, similar to what you get with a Leg Extension but without the torque that Leg Extension puts on your knee joints.
Unconventional Training with Nick Nilsson
Quadricep Exercises
Don't just work your upper body...big, strong legs are critical for overall strength and physique balance. These quadricep exercises will push your quads with a variety of movement patterns and loading methods.
2. Barbell Cursing Walking Lunges
For real...this one is awesome for the quads and all you need is a barbell...and you'll find out pretty quick why I call it a "cursing" Walking Lunge.
3. Crook Squats
This exercise looks absolutely insane. And it's INCREDIBLY tough and effective. This one would be comparable to a Goblet Squat in terms of execution as well as how it loads the core, shoulders and upper back in addition to the legs.
4. Dumbbell Switch Leg Split Squats
This is a great leg exercise that really forces the muscles to do the work by taking away any hint of elastic/rebound help out of the bottom of the split squat position.
5. Frankenstein Plus Dumbbell Squats
This is a phenomenal exercise for developing strength in the muscles that help prevent the torso from tilting forward during a Front Squat.
6. Burn Your Quads and Glutes With Pass-Under Walking Lunges
This version of the Walking Lunge is going to light up your quads, glutes and hams, as well as hit your core strongly, too. It's a very dynamic movement that will involve coordination with your upper body and lower body, as well as balance.
7. Two Bench Hip Belt Split Squats For Single-Leg, Heavy Quadricep Training
This split squat setup puts you in the best possible position for maximum range of motion with maximum weight. This is a fantastic, focused quad-building exercise.
8. Dumbbell Leg Extensions for Quad Isolation and Contraction
This is a simple setup of a common quadricep isolation exercise...and it's actually more effective than the machine version, as well as being easier on the knees.
9. Quad Stretch Walking Lunges For Quad Activation and Mass
This one is going to DESTROY your quads...in a good way. It does it by putting a MASSIVE stretch on the quads on every single rep and step, followed by what is essentially a leg extension. This gives you stretch AND contraction.
10. A Fix For Leg Extensions To Reduce Knee Pain and Torque
If you get knee pain from Leg Extensions and have given up on the exercise, this is a viable (and weird) way to biomechanically balance the forces in your knees and get the benefits of the exercise for the quads without the pain.
11. Barbell Leg Extensions for Quadricep Isolation in a Home Gym
This is a simple barbell setup of the most common quadricep isolation exercise...leg extensions. All you need is a bench, a barbell and (ideally) a barbell pad.
12. Barbell Rotating Reverse Lunges For Quads and Core
This is a fantastic total lower body exercise that also brings in the deep core muscles to help tighten the waist and strengthen the connection of the core to the lower body.
13. Total Leg Split Squats of Death For Quads, Hamstrings and Glutes
This leg exercise is murder... it's going to HAMMER all three of the big muscle groups of your lower body (quadriceps, hamstrings and glutes) in an in-set superset type of movement that shifts muscle focus from the positive to the negative.
14. Replicate the Pendulum Squat Machine with The Incline Bench and a Dumbbell
The Pendulum Squat Machine is a nice piece of equipment for performing knee-friendly squats. This free-weight version uses an incline bench and a dumbbell to get the exact same movement pattern and benefits, without the machine.
15. Hatfield Bulgarian Split Squats for Heavy Single Leg Training
This exercise setup allows you to stabilize your body while doing a Bulgarian Split Squat, allowing you to use maximum weight for a heavy, single-leg exercise.
16. Hatfield Pendulum Squats for Heavy Quad Training
This simple setup mimics the Pendulum Squat machine very accurately, allowing you to put maximum loading on the quads in a squat movement with minimal knee and back stress.
17. Cable Quad Burner..A Safer Alternative to Leg Extensions
This one looks weird...but it's a FANTASTIC alternative to leg extensions, especially if you either don't have a machine or the leg extension exercise bothers your knees. You'll get a strong peak contraction from it and it gives you an incredible burn-out as a finisher to your leg training.
18. Forward and Backward Explosive Cross-Body Lunges For Quads and Glutes
This an explosive exercise to hit your entire lower body in one shot, in addition to challenging your cardio capacity. It's a fantastic explosive power and metabolic conditioning exercise.
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About Nick Nilsson
Flying in the face of conventional wisdom, he’s known around the world as the "Mad Scientist of Muscle” for a reason.
An expert in kinesiology, physiology and anatomy, Nick helps people just like YOU create the body you want, especially when nothing else seems to do the trick.
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