Best Exercises for your Quadriceps

The quadriceps or quads consist of four muscles located in the front of the thigh. These are the vastus medialis, vastus intercedes, vastus lateralis and the rectus femoris. The quads work to allow for the straightening of the knee and leg extension. It is very important to keep the quads strong for flexibility and also to prevent injury. Strong and healthy quads will keep one from being called “chicken legs”. Because of their size, working quads also help you burn a lot of calories.

Squats are the best known and probably the best exercise for your quads. Squats also help you tone your thighs as well as your buttocks. You can do squats without weights and slowly increase the weights, as you get stronger. With your feet shoulder width apart, lower yourself as if you are going to sit down on a chair and then rise up after your thighs are parallel to the floor.

Dead lifts are also a great quad exercise. Dead lifts are great for the whole body but especially work great for quads, hamstrings and thighs. To do a dead lift, you take a barbell and lift it off the ground from a squat, bent over position. It is not easy but the results are great for your quads, back, arms and shoulders.

Leg presses are also great for your quads. There are machines that are specifically for leg presses and it basically involves pushing weights away from you in a lying position with your legs.

Walking lunges are also great for your quads, hamstrings and thighs. You start by standing upright, and then lunge forward with one leg without letting your knee go further than your toe. When you get to the bottom of the lunge, you use the back leg to get back to a standing position. Just like squats, it is best to start without weights until you get used to them and then slowly start increasing weights.

When doing quadriceps training, you should also do the teardrop shaped muscles on the side of your thigh for overall leg development. Doing proper squats, hack squats and leg presses will make this easier for you. Your quads strength is very important especially for those using weight training for other athletics. Basketball players would greatly benefit from strong leg muscles, as they would be used for vertical lift as strength in post plays.

Upper body strength starts from your quads. It is also a great way to burn as many calories by concentrating on quads development. Strong legs mean that you are then able to work on your other body muscles without any fear of injury. Strong quads also help a great deal in protecting your knee joints.

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