The quadriceps are one of the most important muscles in the legs, helping to give you stability and flexibility . In this sense, they intervene in your daily activities when you walk, run, jump, ride a bicycle, get up or stand. For this reason, it is important to exercise them to strengthen them and improve your mobility . Learn about the best quadriceps exercises you can do at home without buying special materials!
Best Quad Exercises You Can Do At Home
The quadriceps are the strongest and largest muscles in the body. In the same way, they are made up of 4 types of muscles that you can exercise from home, such as the rectus femoris and the lateral, medial and intermediate vastus .
Squats
Squats are one of the best quad exercises you can do at home as they are simple and you will only use your body weight to exercise.
Steps to squat
- Stand with your back straight and your butt slightly back.
- Extend your hands and keep them parallel to the ground.
- Bend your knees and hips until your thighs are parallel to the floor. Also, there should be an angle of approximately 90 degrees between your knees and hips.
- Hold the position for a few seconds, trying to keep your balance.
- Return to the starting position and repeat.
Muscles exercised in squats
Quadriceps, adductors, hamstrings, glutes, hip flexors, calves, soleus, and hamstrings.
Repetitions
3 sets of 12 repetitions.
Recommendations for doing squats
- To avoid possible injuries, it is important that your back is straight and you keep your eyes straight ahead . In this way, you will avoid applying unnecessary loads that can generate stress or injury.
- If squats are initially difficult for you , you can use a chair or bench and slowly lower yourself into a sitting position .
- If you want to increase the demand of the exercise, you can bend your knees and hips a little more. In this sense, the hips should be in a lower position than the knees when flexing them. Also, you can jump or put your heels on a surface to raise them a bit. Likewise, you can increase the time the body is flexed to work the muscles more .
Isometric Squats
Isometric squats are exercises that will help you exercise your quadriceps in a dynamic and efficient way . In this type of squat, the quadriceps will remain active throughout the exercise.
Steps to do isometric squats
- Stand with your back to a sturdy wall or support. The distance between your body and the wall should be similar to that between your knees and hips.
- Keep your feet on the ground and lean your body back, keeping it against the wall.
- Drop your arms and keep them parallel to the wall, supporting them off the surface.
- Lower yourself slowly, leaning against the wall, until your thighs are parallel to the floor. Between your knees and hips there should be an angle of approximately 90 degrees.
- Hold the position for a few minutes and slowly rise until you keep your body straight, with the ankles slightly bent.
- Repeat from step 2.
Muscles exercised in isometric squats
Quadriceps, adductors, hamstrings, glutes, hip flexors, calves, soleus, hamstrings, lumbar and rectus abdominis.
Repetitions
3 sets of 10 reps.
Recommendations for doing isometric squats
- To avoid applying unnecessary loads that could cause injury, it is important that your back is kept straight at all times . Also, you should keep your gaze straight ahead to avoid stressing your muscles.
- If you want to increase the level of demand of this type of squat, you can bend your knees and hips a little more. In this way, the hips should be in a lower position than the knees to increase the intensity when climbing. In addition, you can do the exercise with only one leg, keeping the other extended, but without touching the ground .
Lunges or lunges
Lunges are one of the quadriceps exercises that you can do at home easily and easily.
Steps to Stride
- Stand up straight.
- Drop your arms, extending them so that they are parallel to the ground or bring them to your neck.
- Keep one foot on the ground and slide the other one long step forward.
- Bend one knee up and the other down, bringing it to the ground, but not touching it to avoid injury.
- Hold the position for a few seconds and extend your legs until your body is up and your knees are not bent.
- Repeat from the starting position, but swap your feet so that the exercise is homogeneous.
Muscles exercised in the stride
Quadriceps, adductors, hamstrings, glutes, hip flexors, calves, soleus, and hamstrings.
Repetitions
3 sets of 10 reps.
Recommendations for making strides
- To avoid injuries, you should perform the exercise in an open space and free of objects that could cause you damage . Similarly, you should keep your back straight and your head facing forward to avoid generating muscle tension or unnecessary loads.
- If you find it difficult or lose your balance, you can do this exercise without swapping legs . In this sense, you must divide the exercises into two series and perform the same number of repetitions in each one.
- If you want to increase the demand for exercise, you can do them by walking or jumping when climbing . However, you will need more space to work your quads with these variants.
Bulgarian squats
Bulgarian squats are one of the best quadriceps exercises that you can do at home without the need for expensive equipment , as you will be using your body weight.
Steps to do the Bulgarian squats
- Stand with your back to a chair, bench, step, or surface that is about the same height as your knees. The distance between the support surface and your body should be approximately 1 meter.
- Slightly bend one of your knees and place the top of your foot on the support. The other foot should remain immobile on the ground.
- Bend your knees, bringing the one of the foot in the support towards the floor, but without touching it. The other knee should be brought upwards and the thigh of this leg should be parallel to the ground.
- Hold the position for a few seconds and extend your knees until your body comes up. The knee of the support should be slightly bent.
- Repeat from the beginning and swap the position of the feet.
Muscles exercised in the Bulgarian squats
Quadriceps, adductors, hamstrings, glutes, hip flexors, calves, soleus, and hamstrings.
Repetitions
3 sets of 12 repetitions.
Recommendations for doing the Bulgarian squats
- To avoid injury, it is important that the support is stable and the floor has non-slip properties . In addition, it is important that you evaluate the distance between the support and your body to avoid that your knees touch the ground when bending them.
- If this exercise is difficult for you, you can rest the balls of your feet on the support .
- If you want to increase the demand of the exercise, you can use a higher support and vary the distance between it and your body .
Vertical jumps
This is one of the quadriceps exercises that you can do at home that will help you the most to increase your metabolism . However, you should do it with caution if you live in a building, as it can generate vibrations that annoy your neighbors.
Steps to do the vertical jump
- Stand with your back straight and your gaze straight ahead.
- Bend your knees and hips a little to gain momentum and jump towards extending your legs and bringing your arms up.
- Bend your knees again to cushion the fall.
- Repeat from the initial step.
Muscles exercised in the vertical jump
Quads, adductors, hamstrings, glutes, hip flexors, calves, soleus, hamstrings, and abdominals.
Repetitions
3 sets of 10 reps.
Recommendations for doing the vertical jump
- To avoid injury, you should perform this exercise in an open space with no objects around .
- If you want to increase the demand of the exercise, you can jump to the front or to your sides, but you must have more space . Similarly, you can squat and jump up to increase the intensity of the exercise.
