Muscle guide · Lower body

The Best Exercises for Quads

The best quad exercises are squats (back, front, goblet, hack), the leg press, lunges and the leg extension. Deep knee bending under load is what builds the quads, and the leg extension is the only common lift that trains the rectus femoris well at the knee.

Includes: Rectus Femoris, Vastus Lateralis, Vastus Medialis · also called Inner Quad Left, Inner Quad Right, Outer Quad Left, Outer Quad Right

Written by the FitStack training team. Last reviewed .

Front view: muscles worked by quads training. Primary: quads.
Back view: muscles worked by quads training. Primary: quads.
Primary

What the quads do

  • Straightens the knee.
  • The rectus femoris also bends the hip.
  • Controls the knee when landing and descending stairs.

The quadriceps are four muscles on the front of the thigh: vastus lateralis, vastus medialis, vastus intermedius and rectus femoris. The three vasti only cross the knee; the rectus femoris crosses the hip too, so it is less involved in squats and grows best with leg extensions.

7 best quad exercises

  1. Barbell back squat — Heaviest quad exercise.
  2. Front squat — Upright torso; more quad.
  3. Leg press — Train hard without balance limits.
  4. Hack squat — Very quad-dominant.
  5. Leg extension — Isolates the quads, including rectus femoris.
  6. Walking lunge — Single-leg.
  7. Goblet squat — Home option.

Sample quads workouts

Gym quad workout

Gym · Intermediate

Gym quad workout: exercises and sets × reps
Back squat 4 × 5–8
Leg press 3 × 10–12
Leg extension 3 × 12–15

Home quad workout

Home · Beginner

Home quad workout: exercises and sets × reps
Goblet squat 4 × 10–15
Split squat 3 × 10 per leg
Sissy squat 2 × 8–12

Sets × reps. Finish each set with one or two reps left in reserve, and rest 2 to 3 minutes after compound lifts and 1 to 2 minutes after isolation work.

How many sets for the quads?

Aim for 10 to 20 hard sets a week. Squats and lunges train the glutes too, so they count toward both.

Muscle growth rises with weekly volume: in a meta-analysis, 10 or more hard sets per muscle per week produced more growth than fewer than 5 (Schoenfeld et al., 2017), and training a muscle at least twice a week beat once a week when volume was matched (Schoenfeld et al., 2016). Start near the low end and add sets while you are still recovering between sessions.

More quads exercises by equipment

Body Weight

Barbell

Dumbbell

Smith Machine

Band

Bosu Ball

Assisted

Leverage Machine

Resistance Band

Rope

Weighted

Filter every quads exercise in the library →

Exercises that also work the quads (50)

Quads training FAQs

Do I need leg extensions if I squat?

They are optional but useful: squats barely lengthen the rectus femoris, and the leg extension trains it directly.

Can I build quads without squats?

Yes. The leg press, hack squat, lunges and leg extensions all build the quads.

Squat depth for quads?

Squatting to at least parallel trains the quads well; going deeper adds more glute and adductor work (Kubo et al., 2019).

Sources

  1. Kubo K, Ikebukuro T, Yata H. Effects of squat training with different depths on lower limb muscle volumes. Eur J Appl Physiol. 2019;119(9):1933-1942.
  2. Schoenfeld BJ, Ogborn D, Krieger JW. Dose-response relationship between weekly resistance training volume and increases in muscle mass. J Sports Sci. 2017;35(11):1073-1082.
  3. Schoenfeld BJ, Ogborn D, Krieger JW. Effects of resistance training frequency on measures of muscle hypertrophy: a systematic review and meta-analysis. Sports Med. 2016;46(11):1689-1697.

General fitness information, not medical advice. Speak to a doctor or physiotherapist about injuries or health conditions before starting a new programme.