Pendulum Squat

Potentially the most Quad bias squat exercise. A good pendulum allows you to get full knee flexion and load the lengthen range of the quadriceps. It can be very demanding and the best ones allow you to change the resistance profile. For individuals who are new to resistance training, pendulums can be challenging even without any additional load added to the machine. Good personal trainers will use counter loads and bands to help modify the machine to suit everyone’s needs and goals.

One of the best on the market:

Featured above is the Atlantis Strength, another great option with more versatility is the Predator Strength

And one of our least favourites you will find in gyms:

The original Watson Pendulum, however, they have now made significant improvements with their new design

Hack Squat

One of Project 23 Coaching’s favourite machines in the gym. A good Hack Squat can be easy for everyone to bias their quads in a very stable environment. Compared to other free weight exercises, the Hack allows you to focus on output and really take the quads to a high fatigue. The best versions will be really smooth and have adjustable footplates to allow full knee flexion. Utilising bands can change the resistance profile giving personal trainers more tools to use on their clients.

The best on the market is:

The Coach Kassem designed Atlantis Strength Hack Squat Pro

Featured above is the Hack Squat Pro from the N1 Education HQ in Colorado

Project 23 Coaching is the only Warwick and Leamington gym to have this machine. Another great Hack Squat that you more commonly find in gyms is the Cybex Hack

Heel Elevated Barbell Squats

Squats are one of the most commonly performed exercises in the gym however they’re not necessarily very quad dominant. Depending on an individual’s biomechanics, the amount of load on the quads will differ. Majority of the time it is more of a glute dominant exercise however, with a degree of heel elevation you can achieve full knee flexion and create more bias towards the quads. The execution, set up and science behind this can be found in more detail on the N1 Training website and the N1 Training Facebook

Split Squats

There are many variations of split squats however, one of our favourites we do at Project 23 Coaching is the N1 Split Squat. This combination of the front foot and back foot elevated enables full knee flexion on the front leg and a fully lengthened rectus femoris on the back leg. Not many exercises allow the muscles to be trained within these ranges. The minimal equipment required is also beneficial for personal trainers wanting to push clients in or outside a gym.

Leg Extensions

Every gym should have a leg extension! One of the most important machines because it trains the fully shortened quads in a very stable environment, unlike any other exercise. The machine is simple to use and for personal trainers with new clients who struggle to push themselves on the bigger compound lifts, then they can get great output on here. One of the very best on the market is from Prime Fitness and we are the only gym in Warwick and Leamington Spa to have one. With the different loading arms, skilled personal trainers can manipulate the resistance profiles to achieve more specific sort after adaptations.

Leg press

Not every leg press will significantly load the quads however most can be used to create a large quad bias with correct set up. For a standard linear leg press we can use different foot positions to target different muscles. For the quads we will use a lower foot position to create more knee flexion. More information on this topic can be found on the N1 Training website. The Linear leg press will never give the same quad loading as a Pendulum or a good Hack Squat however, if your gym doesn’t have one of these then you can still achieve a lot with a leg press. Better options can be some none linear presses like the Cybex Squat Press which uses a pivot to assists with more knee flexion, resulting with more loading on the quads.

Our Top 6 Quad exercises