No Leg Extension Machine? No Problem! Isolate Your Quads with These Trainer-Approved Alternatives 

Leg extensions are very popular. Unlike compound exercises like squats, leg presses, and lunges, leg extensions isolate your quadriceps, making them ideal for developing this muscle group without also working your glutes and hamstrings.

Research published on PubMed supports the effectiveness of leg extensions, especially for training three out of the four quads, namely vastus lateralis, vastus medialis, and vastus intermedius (1).

You can also use leg extensions to work the longest quad muscle, the rectus femoris. This involves leaning back, as revealed by bodybuilding legend Arnold Schwarzenegger and shared in this article.

But what if your gym doesn’t have a leg extension, or you train at home and don’t have the space or budget to buy a leg extension machine for personal use?

As a veteran personal trainer with over 30 years of experience, I train clients in many different places, some of which have leg extensions while others do not. Consequently, I often need to provide alternatives to this popular machine.

In this article, I share my TEN favorite quad-emphasizing leg extension alternatives!

The 10 Best Trainer-Approved Leg Extension Alternatives

These are my favorite leg extension machine alternatives for emphasizing the quadriceps. Use any of these exercises when your program calls for leg extensions, but you want a different movement.

1. Seated Straight Leg Raise

Leg extension alternatives don’t come much simpler than the seated straight leg raise. But don’t let this simplicity fool you – seated leg extensions can be a very effective exercise. I recently used them to maintain quads mass during a knee injury. Despite not being able to squat for a few weeks, I lost no muscle size and maintained most of my strength.

Steps:

1. Sit on the floor with one leg straight and the other bent, foot planted firmly on the floor.
2. Hold your bent knee or place your hands behind you on the floor for support as preferred.
3. Keeping your extended leg perfectly straight, use your quads to lift your leg a few inches off the floor.
4. Lower it back down and repeat.
5. Do the same number of reps on both legs.

Tips:

• Make this exercise harder with ankle weights or by putting a mini band around your knees.
• Turn your leg in or out to target your outer and inner quads, respectively.
• Pull your toes up toward your shin to maximize quads engagement.

2. Reverse Nordics

Reverse Nordics are a low-tech but high-effect bodyweight exercise that isolates your quads using just your body weight for resistance. However, don’t mistake this for an easy exercise – like regular Nordic curls, which target your hamstrings instead of your quads, this is a very challenging movement.

Steps:

1. Kneel down so your thighs and torso are vertical. Brace your core and press your feet into the floor.
2. Keeping your hips extended, lean back and lower your butt toward your heels. Descend as far as your knee health, flexibility, and strength allow.
3. Push yourself back upright and repeat.

Tips:

• Kneel on a folded gym mat or foam pad for comfort.
• The further back you lean, the more demanding this exercise becomes.
• Use a resistance band for assistance if necessary:

3. Dumbbell Leg Extensions

Before leg extension machines were invented, this exercise is how old-school lifters isolated their quadriceps. This movement is especially effective for building your vastus medialis, also known as the VMO or teardrop quad. This quad is critical for stable, healthy knees.

Steps:

1. Sit on a bench with your legs bent and the backs of your knees against the edge of the seat.
2. Clamp a dumbbell between your ankles.
3. Extend your legs and lift the weight forward and up until your knees are straight.
4. Lower the dumbbell and repeat.

Tips:

• Strap your ankles together to make holding heavier weights easier.
• Raise your bench to ensure your feet are clear of the floor.
• You can also do this exercise with ankle weights instead of a dumbbell.

4. Banded Quadruped Leg Extension

The banded quadruped leg extension is a great workout twofer. On the one hand, it is an excellent low-tech quadriceps exercise. Conversely, it’s a fantastic way to stretch your hamstrings and mobilize your lumbar spine and shoulders. While you will need a loop-type resistance band for this exercise, it’s the perfect quads exercise for home workouts.

Steps:

1. Kneel on all fours with your hips directly above your knees and your shoulders above your hands. Brace your core and pull your shoulders back and down.
2. Place a resistance band around your hands and the backs of your knees.
3. Drive your toes into the floor, lift your hips, and straighten your knees against the resistance offered by the band.
4. Bend your legs, drop your hips, and lower your knees to within an inch of the floor.
5. Extend your legs and perform another rep.

5. Cable/Resistance Band Leg Extension

Not having a leg extension machine doesn’t mean you can’t isolate your quadriceps with leg extensions. You can achieve a similar effect with a low cable machine and even an ordinary resistance band. While not quite as convenient or effective as conventional leg extensions, these variations come a close second.

Steps:

1. Place a bench in front of a low cable machine. Put on an ankle strap.
2. Sit on the bench with your back to the machine and attach the low cable to the ankle strap.
3. Extend your leg until your knee is straight. Bend it again and repeat.
4. Switch legs and do the same number of reps on the opposite side.

Tips:

• No ankle strap? Attach the cable to a knee wrap tied around your ankle.
• Pull your toes up as you extend your legs to maximize muscle engagement.
• You can also do this exercise with a resistance band:

6. Sissy Squats

Sissy squats are an old-school exercise that hammers your quadriceps. This movement involves lots of simultaneous knee flexion and hip extension, which increases rectus femoris engagement. The rectus femoris is usually shortened and relaxed during leg extensions, and sissy squats are one of the most effective ways to develop this crucial quad muscle.

Steps:

1. Stand next to a sturdy object for balance, e.g., a squat rack, handrail, etc.
2. Rise up onto your tiptoes.
3. Bend your legs, push your knees forward, lean back, and squat down as deeply as your knee health and flexibility allow.
4. Drive the balls of your feet into the floor and stand back up.
5. Continue for the desired number of reps.

Tips:

• Keep your knees, hips, and shoulders in a straight line throughout. Bending your hips makes this exercise easier and less effective.
• The deeper you squat, the more you stretch your quads, and the more challenging this exercise becomes.
• You can also do Smith machine sissy squats or hold a dumbbell in one hand:

7. Goblet Cyclist Squat

Cyclists, especially track sprinters, have incredibly well-developed quadriceps. In some cases, their leg size often matches that of a bodybuilder. You can experience similar gains with the aptly named cyclist squat. While this exercise doesn’t completely isolate your quads, it does emphasize them, making this a very quad-dominant squat variation.

Steps:

1. Stand with your feet together and your heels on a raised surface, e.g., a weight plate.
2. Hold a kettlebell or dumbbell in front of your chest, just below your chin.
3. Bend your legs and squat down as deep as possible. Let knees travel forward beyond your toes.
4. Drive the balls of your feet into the floor and stand back up. However, do not fully straighten your legs, as doing so takes tension away from the target muscles.

Tips:

• Keep your torso as upright as possible to ensure your quads do most of the work. Leaning forward increases glutes and hamstring engagement.
• You can also do this exercise with a barbell on your back or dumbbells in your hands.
• No weights? Give cyclist air squats a try.

8. Reverse Sled Drag

Weighted sleds are often seen as conditioning tools when, in fact, you can use one to build muscle and strength. The reverse sled drag is a knee-friendly alternative to leg extensions and one of my favorite ways to pump up and strengthen the quadriceps. Superset this exercise with forward sled drags for a complete leg workout without squats.

Steps:

1. Stand facing your sled and grab the towing handles.
2. Brace your core and pull your shoulders down and back.
3. Bend your legs and descend into a quarter-depth squat.
4. Without rising up, extend your knees and walk backward.
5. Continue for a predetermined distance, time, or number of steps.

Tips:

• Keep your torso upright or lean back slightly – avoid leaning forward.
• Do not round your lower back.
• Drive your toes into the floor to maximize quads engagement – try not to step with your heels.

9. Reverse Deadmill Walk

No, deadmill is not a misspelling of treadmill! Rather, it refers to using a treadmill without turning it on. This exercise feels a lot like reverse sled drags, with the added benefit of not requiring a weighted sled or a whole lot of space. Reverse deadmill walks are a favorite exercise of the Knees Over Toes Guy, also known as functional fitness expert Ben Patrick.

Steps:

1. Turn the power off to your treadmill.
2. Stand on the belt with your back against the console.
3. Bend your legs and adopt a quarter-depth squat.
4. Without rising up, extend your knees and push the belt away from you.
5. Continue for the desired number of steps or time.

Tips:

• Push through your toes and not your heels to maximize quads engagement.
• Make this exercise harder by setting your treadmill to a steep incline.
• No treadmill? Try walking backward up a steep hill.

10. Kickstand Squat

Kickstand squats are a quads-centric exercise that’s ideal for intense home workouts. While not quite as hard as pistols, this semi-unilateral squatting exercise shifts most of your weight onto one leg, forcing you to work harder for your reps. In addition to being a great strength and muscle builder, this exercise is also good for mobility and balance.

Steps:

1. Stand with your feet together and your arms by your sides.
2. Take a small step out and back and rest the ball of your foot on the floor behind you.
3. Keeping most of your weight on your front leg, bend your knees and squat down until your front thigh is parallel to the floor.
4. Raise your arms forward for balance if required.
5. Drive down through your front foot and stand back up.
6. Repeat for the desired number of reps and then switch sides.

Tips:

• Keep your torso as upright as possible to maximize quads engagement while minimizing work from your glutes and hamstring.
• Hold dumbbells to make this exercise harder.
• Try to rely less on your rear leg as you get stronger. Progress to single-leg shrimp squats when you are ready.

Closing Thoughts

You don’t need access to a leg extension machine to build strong, toned, or muscular quadriceps. In fact, there are plenty of exercises you can do instead, each of which is just as effective.

Whether you train at home or are just bored of leg extensions, use the tried-and-tested exercises in this article to breathe new life into your quads workouts.

References:

1. Zabaleta-Korta A, Fernández-Peña E, Torres-Unda J, Garbisu-Hualde A, Santos-Concejero J. The role of exercise selection in regional Muscle Hypertrophy: A randomized controlled trial. J Sports Sci. 2021 Oct;39(20):2298-2304. doi: 10.1080/02640414.2021.1929736. Epub 2021 Jul 10. PMID: 34743671.

Featured image via @FunctionalBodybuilding via YouTube!

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