10 Best Zercher Squats Alternatives for Quad Strength

Zercher Squats are done standing with a barbell. Ranked closest by our scoring: the Olympic Squat, Narrow Stance Squats and Jefferson Squats.

If your elbows and forearms give out before your quads do, the Zercher Squats hold is the problem, not your legs. The closest swap is the Olympic Squat, a standard back squat with the same barbell and the same quadriceps focus, just without the bar cutting into your arms. Front Squats With Two Kettlebells keeps the load in front, but racks a kettlebell at each shoulder instead of a bar across your elbows.

Zercher Squats

Each substitute is scored on movement pattern, muscles worked, equipment and body position. Read how we rank alternatives

How to Do Zercher Squats

The steps for Zercher Squats themselves, so you can judge how close each substitute below really is.

Quadriceps, with calves, glutes, hamstrings · Barbell · Advanced · Compound

  1. This exercise is best performed inside a squat rack for safety purposes. To begin, first set the bar on a rack that best matches your height. The correct height should be anywhere above the waist but below the chest. Once the correct height is chosen and the bar is loaded, lock your hands together and place the bar on top of your arms in between the forearm and upper arm.
  2. Lift the bar up so that it is resting on top of your forearms. If you are holding the bar properly, it should look as if you have your arms crossed but with a bar running across them.
  3. Step away from the rack and position your legs using a shoulder width medium stance with the toes slightly pointed out. Keep your head up at all times as looking down will get you off balance and also maintain a straight back. This will be your starting position. (Note: For the purposes of this discussion we will use the medium stance described above which targets overall development; however you can choose any of the three stances discussed in the foot stances section).
  4. Begin to lower the bar by bending the knees as you maintain a straight posture with the head up. Continue down until the angle between the upper leg and the calves becomes slightly less than 90-degrees (which is the point in which the upper legs are below parallel to the floor). Inhale as you perform this portion of the movement. Tip: If you performed the exercise correctly, the front of the knees should make an imaginary straight line with the toes that is perpendicular to the front. If your knees are past that imaginary line (if they are past your toes) then you are placing undue stress on the knee and the exercise has been performed incorrectly.
  5. Begin to raise the bar as you exhale by pushing the floor with the ball of your foot mainly as you straighten the legs again and go back to the starting position.
  6. Repeat for the recommended amount of repetitions.

The 10 Best Zercher Squats Alternatives

10 substitutes, ranked by how closely each one matches Zercher Squats on movement pattern, muscles worked, equipment and body position. The higher the score, the less you change. Cards with a "How to perform it" link open to show the steps; every card title links to that exercise's own alternatives page.

Each link re-ranks the list below for the kit it names. Pick one to hide the substitutes you cannot set up.

  1. Olympic Squat

    1. Olympic Squat

    85% match

    Quadriceps · Intermediate · Compound

    Pick this when you want an easier version that still works the quadriceps.

    • Barbell
    How to perform it
    1. Begin with a barbell supported on top of the traps. The chest should be up, and the head facing forward. Adopt a hip width stance with the feet turned out as needed.
    2. Descend by flexing the knees, refraining from moving the hips back as much as possible. This requires that the knees travel forward; ensure that they stay aligned with the feet. The goal is to keep the torso as upright as possible. Continue all the way down, keeping the weight on the front of the heel.
    3. At the moment the upper legs contact the lower, reverse the motion, driving the weight upward.

    Sets and reps: 3 or 4 sets of 6 to 10 reps.

    Why this matches
    • Primary muscle: quadriceps, the same as Zercher Squats
    • Equipment: free weights, the same as Zercher Squats
    • Body position: standing, the same as Zercher Squats
  3. Barbell Full Zercher SquatPlay demonstration

    3. Barbell Full Zercher Squat

    84% match

    Glutes · Advanced · Compound

    A looser match: it uses the same equipment, but it works the glutes rather than the quadriceps.

    • Barbell
    How to perform it
    1. Stand with your feet shoulder-width apart and toes slightly turned out.
    2. Hold the barbell in the crooks of your elbows, with your hands gripping the barbell for stability.
    3. Engage your core and keep your chest lifted as you lower your hips back and down into a squat position.
    4. Keep your knees in line with your toes and your weight in your heels.
    5. Lower until your thighs are parallel to the ground, or as low as you can comfortably go.
    6. Drive through your heels to stand back up, squeezing your glutes at the top of the movement.
    7. Repeat for the desired number of repetitions.

    Sets and reps: 3 to 5 sets of 5 to 8 reps.

    Why this matches
    • Primary muscle: glutes, not quadriceps
    • Equipment: free weights, the same as Zercher Squats
    • Body position: standing, the same as Zercher Squats
  7. Front Squats With Two Kettlebells

    7. Front Squats With Two Kettlebells

    84% match

    Quads · Intermediate · Compound

    A looser match: it works the quads rather than the quadriceps.

    • Kettlebell
    How to perform it
    1. Clean two kettlebells to your shoulders. Clean the kettlebells to your shoulders by extending through the legs and hips as you pull the kettlebells towards your shoulders. Rotate your wrists as you do so.
    2. Looking straight ahead at all times, squat as low as you can and pause at the bottom. As you squat down, push your knees out. You should squat between your legs, keeping an upright torso, with your head and chest up.
    3. Rise back up by driving through your heels and repeat.

    Sets and reps: 3 or 4 sets of 6 to 10 reps.

    Why this matches
    • Primary muscle: quads, not quadriceps
    • Equipment: free weights, the same as Zercher Squats
    • Body position: standing, the same as Zercher Squats

Why You Might Need a Zercher Squats Alternative

Zercher Squats ask you to lock your hands together and cradle a loaded bar in the crook of your elbows, and that hold is often the first thing to fail before your legs do. A busy squat rack also makes the Zercher setup harder, since you are fighting for a bar everyone else wants for a back squat. Most of these swaps move the bar onto your upper back, hang it from your hands at arm's length, or rack a pair of kettlebells at your shoulders, so your legs still do the squatting and your arms only have to hold on. Two of them put the bar across the back of your shoulders and set your feet closer or wider than the shoulder-width Zercher stance, and one drops the bar for kettlebells.

How to Choose the Right Zercher Squats Substitute

Start with the Olympic Squat if the front hold is your main problem. If your elbows are fine but you want a front-loaded feel without a bar across them, the Front Squats With Two Kettlebells racks one kettlebell at each shoulder, so the load stays in front without touching your arms. Narrow Stance Squats and Wide Stance Barbell Squat rack the bar across the back of your shoulders like the Olympic Squat and set your feet closer or wider, so pick whichever stance feels natural under load. The Barbell Full Zercher Squat still cradles the bar in the crooks of your elbows, with your hands on the bar instead of locked together, and has you sit your hips back and squeeze your glutes at the top, so treat it as a variation rather than an escape from the hold.

Zercher Squats FAQ

What is the easiest alternative for a beginner?

The Olympic Squat. It uses the same barbell as Zercher Squats, but the bar rests across your shoulders instead of your elbows, so there is no forearm or wrist skill to learn before you can load real weight. Narrow Stance Squats and Wide Stance Barbell Squat use the same back-rack hold and differ only in how wide you set your feet, so they are just as easy on your arms.

Which alternative shifts more work onto the glutes?

The Barbell Full Zercher Squat. The hold is nearly the same, but you sit your hips back and squeeze your glutes at the top, rather than driving off the ball of your foot as in Zercher Squats. The Frankenstein Squat holds the bar in front with straight arms and has you sit back as if into a chair, putting more effort into your hips than the knee-forward Zercher descent.

Do I need a squat rack for these alternatives?

Not always. The Olympic Squat, Narrow Stance Squats, Wide Stance Barbell Squat, Box Squat With Bands and Box Squat With Chains all step in under a racked bar, the same as Zercher Squats. Jefferson Squats sets the bar on the floor and lifts it into place instead, and the Front Squats With Two Kettlebells needs no rack at all.

Can I do Zercher Squats at home?

Not without weight. Zercher Squats and each of these alternatives load a barbell or a pair of kettlebells, so a home setup works only if you keep at least a bar and plates or two kettlebells around. The Front Squats With Two Kettlebells is the easiest to fit in a small space, since two kettlebells take up far less room than a barbell and a rack.

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