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Zercher Squats
- Thread starter hangclean
- Start date
musketeer
New member
Yeah but it looks like noody else knows what these are!
They are squats where you hold the barbel in the crooks of your arms (inside the bent elbow).
I find that they agrivate my arms too much to hit my core. 250lbs is enoughto blast my elbows, whereas the rest of me - legs and midsection - is just peachy. Got any sugestions as to how you stop this?
They are squats where you hold the barbel in the crooks of your arms (inside the bent elbow).
I find that they agrivate my arms too much to hit my core. 250lbs is enoughto blast my elbows, whereas the rest of me - legs and midsection - is just peachy. Got any sugestions as to how you stop this?
You can wrap a towel or one of those foam pads around the bar . If you want to take even more pressure off your joints, some people lay a 2x4 between their elbow and the bar.
bignate73
New member
not quite a front squat. (yes the bar is in front) its a wide stance squat where your elbows dip a bit between your legs.
i do these up to 2-3RM and i'm smoked the next day. my whole body is tired.
Zercher deadlifts are an experience too. very light weight but your whole posterior chain is tired!
i do these up to 2-3RM and i'm smoked the next day. my whole body is tired.
Zercher deadlifts are an experience too. very light weight but your whole posterior chain is tired!
here is a link if anyone wants to see a demo...
http://asp.elitefts.com/qa/default.asp?qid=33903&tid=51
http://asp.elitefts.com/qa/default.asp?qid=33903&tid=51
MsBeverlyHills
New member
anthrax said:
good question. I tried these when I first read about them on here & I was un-impressed. Stick w/traditional front squats.
bignate73
New member
the benefit is that you are cradling a bar, so your upper back stability is challenged. those who deadlift will see the benefit. cosmetic athletes probably won't see a purpose since it doesnt "target" anything specifically. basically its an exercise that hammers your core, works alot of muscles at once and requires some pain tolerance.
Im not saying you should replace front squats with these. Front squats and zercher squats should be completely different. My description was a little confusing in my second post, but what I was trying to describe is that I keep my upper arms horizantal to the floor. In doing this you are forced to use your core to stabalize your body during the movement. Therefore you're using different muscles than front squats. Also it helps you on your back squat because it forces you to lean back while squatting.
MsBeverlyHills
New member
hangclean said:
I know what your saying- even with that arm position- I cant handle heavy loads becaue my arms cradling the bar will give out b4 my legs so it turns into a hi-rep/low weight endurance workout. I much prefer the deep front squat for quad size & strength.
bignate73
New member
zerchers shouldnt be looked at for quad size and strength in the first place. Its a wide based squat that mimics the mechanics of a PL squat. its heavy on the posterior chain and brings the upper body and core into the movement. generally speaking, its not a struggle to hold up the bar on a front squat if your form is right. its always a challenge to hold the bar with a zercher which is where the challenge to the body lies. of course your legs shouldnt give out, but the logic is the same as someone who leg presses 800lbs...should they be able to squat 800 too? but their legs dont get tired....
the point is, to challenge that movement to the point where SOMETHING gets tired and breaks down. I regularly do these up to 2-3RM and where my legs dont get tired, I may discover that my glutes are lacking or my hams start to buckle, or my erectors are wrecked....somewhere there is a point to doing the exercise that will help.
its the movement itself and the emphasis on weakpoints that makes the difference in why the weight is lower. put the body in a weak position and force it to adapt. when you get strong at these, i guarantee...the carryover functionally is great!
the point is, to challenge that movement to the point where SOMETHING gets tired and breaks down. I regularly do these up to 2-3RM and where my legs dont get tired, I may discover that my glutes are lacking or my hams start to buckle, or my erectors are wrecked....somewhere there is a point to doing the exercise that will help.
its the movement itself and the emphasis on weakpoints that makes the difference in why the weight is lower. put the body in a weak position and force it to adapt. when you get strong at these, i guarantee...the carryover functionally is great!
Jim Ouini
New member
I tried these today with some 30lb kettlebells. Actually I started with fronts and then switched over to Zerchers. Luckily my yakisoba noodle arms are small enough to fit into the KB handles, so I just slid them up about halfway up my forearms and went to town - took a relatively wide stance and just held the KB's infront of me like the guy in the pic.
I must say they do seem to work the core pretty well, couldn't get as low as on my front's but that was probably just the wider stance.
I think I'll keep in the rotation, looking forward to trying them with some appreciable weights.
Also did some swings and I guess whatever one calls a squat clean and press. I love these kb's as an alternative workout, so many things you can do with them.
I must say they do seem to work the core pretty well, couldn't get as low as on my front's but that was probably just the wider stance.
I think I'll keep in the rotation, looking forward to trying them with some appreciable weights.
Also did some swings and I guess whatever one calls a squat clean and press. I love these kb's as an alternative workout, so many things you can do with them.
wnt2bBeast
New member
try doing these concentric only from a low setting
awesome for your deadlift
awesome for your deadlift
wnt2bBeast
New member
i bet my gut is biggerhangclean said:
.I 'm not a strongman, but I think Zerchers would be great for that type of training. At least for me, it zeros in on the way I pick up bulky, irregularly shaped objects.
