Zercher squats don't work your legs 😤 (275lbs for 15 reps!)

[@EnkiriElite]

Zercher squats or front squats?

[@macanthecreator.]

I do both

[@chamoy2864]

For martial artists zercher squats are king. And it is the best variation(and only safe one) to do with no rack. For me it feels best.

[@kingofkows9777]

Zerchers 🗿

[@Be_Greateful_For_Everything]

Front ofc hands down has more benefits stays up more and doesn’t kill your tendons

[@oatmealie]

​@@Be_Greateful_For_Everythingzercher doesn't kill your tendons

[@angryskeleton5676]

One thing of note is that the zercher position is a pretty widely applicable way of holding certain objects irl, almost like a sandbag. I think zercher carries are where it's at for this.

[@matthewk5109]

Great for carrying your drunk friends around😂

[@CJ-vq5tg]

These are great for grapplers, judo, bjj, wrestling, this is pure overall body tension right there

[@chamoy2864]

I train at home and have no rack so zercher squats are the only variation I can do. My barbell maxes out at 280 lbs. I will train till I can do that weight paused atg for 8 reps and then start 20 rep zercher squats. Imagine someone that could do 20 reps atg paused zercher squats with 280 lbs. For me , I have short femurs so the zercher squat actually hammers my quads and they fail first(for example I feel no difference between having heel elevation and not). As a martial artist the zercher squat is a must. Would love to see what numbers you could get(with some specialization) for 8 reps and for 20 reps(but atg and paused; welcome to squat hell :). Love your vids! Thanks to you I’ve been doing more planks, weighted jumps, carries and sprints.

[@EnkiriElite]

part of the problem for me is that I CAN'T do an ATG zercher squat! I wish I could! But the bar hits my thighs several inches before I reach my max squat mobility and it sort of leaves me feeling unsatisfied haha. 280x20 paused is big work though man! Good stuff.

[@joaqu7002]

@@EnkiriEliteyou should elevate your heels, even me with long legs can get ATG that way and it actually works the legs that way.

[@chamoy2864]

@@EnkiriElite You’ve had a great influence on my training. Thanks!

[@jahimuddin2306]

Just started doing these. Humbled me.

[@Mks25932]

They are supposed to be easier than a back squat.

[@jahimuddin2306]

@, The weight was not a challenge for my legs as I could have back squatted it for 20, it was the pressure in the arms and that I was far more upright than usual.

[@luisnunez5017]

I do Zercher Squats for strengthening my lower back! A while back, I skipped leg day for like 2 months, I did Zercher Deadlifts and my quads blew up like crazy!!! Dont worry, I do leg day now! :)

[@penumbramine]

i do a bit wider stance to it hits my adductors and glutes quite well but yeah, its not a lot of quads. ive found sandbag box squars to be more quads honestly because its dumb easy to stay totally upright and leaning over often makes the arms the limiting factor.

[@harleyzeth]

I'm on the opposite side. I do Zerchers because my legs limit the lift anyways.

[@lekamma]

Try to do it as 1 move and not lifting legs and then straightening your back and reassess the results. Shift your weight back and just lift with legs

[@evilryutaropro]

Zerchers are good for what Dan John calls armor building. It’s more for back strength than leg strength tbh

[@Sikorsky1111]

Aleksandr Karelin used to do these and zercher deadlifts

[@Abdullah-cj2mh]

Im gonna keep doing them until I stop feeling them in my legs lol. It’s the only variation I can go full ATG with.

[@zercherking2761]

Man, sometimes I feel my erectors and back (and core) being worked more than my legs on Zercher squats, so that’s what I thought you where going to be getting at. It’s easy for their to be so much hinge on a Zercher squat. I try to stay upright and hit the quads but on max effort sets I find myself hinging more

[@EnkiriElite]

That's basically what happens too. My mid back definitely takes the brunt of it when I do these, my legs don't even get tired lol. But the couple times I've tried going heavy on it the only limiting factor was my ability to hold the bar. Hips, back, legs, none of those even came close to their limit.

[@dddigler.89]

good content man!

[@WH0OPER]

What do you do for cardio these days? I can barley hit 10 reps without gassing out

[@fittyfrenk]

I experience the same thing with zerchers, taking sets to failure and feeling nothing in the legs the day after. I suspect that this is due to a long femurs leverage

[@kingofkows9777]

Did my zerchers today after a bit more than a week away from the gym and my quads are dead and my core is jelly 😄

[@EnkiriElite]

Good work!

[@cjparkeffaking4551]

I haven't given them a go yet because I haven't met my squat goals yet.

[@roundup1253]

Very nice work. My very best was 120 kg for 12 and 150 for 6

[@AhmedRaza-lv3id]

Which one is better Good mornings or Back extensions Both work similar muscles I'm think of doing both

[@EnkiriElite]

Do both! Neither is better, 2 of my faves. They both hit the posterior chain in slightly different ways.

[@CeroAshura]

Arms crossed and wider stance will allow for ATG for most people. The unlucky few who have + ape index and little hip external rotation are fucked.

[@noone-pg4lr]

That exercise doesn’t hurt your back

[@Leo-dv7xb]

I can t see your hands in the video, but at 99% they re not crossed. Try to cross your hands and you ll see that your only limit will be the pain of the barbell on your elbow crocks (but you can get used tò it) and not the strenght of your arms

[@Gnarly1212]

Do you train zercher carries with a yoke? Aka, the Conan’s wheel at home?

[@EnkiriElite]

I don't own a yoke, but i done them with the spud swing straps before. Brutal shit

[@Gnarly1212]

@@EnkiriElite Nice! I think I remember seeing training footage on your channel with that. it did look brutal!

[@111kino]

Opposite for me, unlike a back squat i actually feel it in my legs and its easier to hold than a front rack or zombie style. Atm I've been trying a high volume low rest brutal zercher squat scheme thats been absolutely destroying my quads and glutes. 9 sets of 10 reps with a 1 min rest time between sets followed by 5-6 min rest then 3 sets of 20 reps with same rest periods between sets at about half of my 1rm, increasing 10bs per week then slowly gonna titrate that down when the fatigue starts accumulating too high. I did 255lbs this week, about the 4th week and its been brutal but fun. Also i go hams to calves and dont care too much about what my upper body is doing as long as the weight is still being held. It looks like you try too hard to stay upright, which can mess your ability to go deeper or even focus on squatting to begin with. Or maybe its just the camera angle

[@111kino]

I also prefer doing it beltless cuz I feel the belt getting the way of my arms and the bar so that might also change the dynamics a bit.

[@EnkiriElite]

I was trying to stay upright here to keep some of the tension on my legs. When I go heavy on it I don't worry about that though and I let the hips take over more. I don't find that the belt gets in the way for me. My issue is that i can hit an ATG on these because the bar rests on my thighs well before I bottom out depth. I deliberately cut the ROM to keep the tension active on this set.

[@111kino]

@@EnkiriElite I noticed for myself and others who prefer to do zerchers like atlaspowershrugged and thezercherway that trying to stay upright is either pointless or straight up counterintuitive and we all have it hit our legs pretty well, but that could just be an anatomy thing. It also lets you hit depth while keeping the hips pretty neutral as your torso angle stays fixed at a curve meaning your legs are doing more of the work than a hybrid squat/deadlift, kinda like doing belt or hatfield squats. I personally just bend enough to where its comfortable then focus on what my legs and hips are doing, it seems to work well enough to keep the tension on the quads and the glutes get worked by proxy cuz squats. I don't fully stand up, but I focus on getting atg which feels like the more active portions of the quads for the lift. In short: fully embrace the fact that its a rounded back lift rather than try to turn it into what other things are then take from that what's there IMO. The long rants are unintentional.

[@raymondsmith2040]

I'll be honest i don't really like Zerchers that much

[@AhmedRaza-lv3id]

Have u tired sandbags?

[@EnkiriElite]

Yes, I have. Mostly with carries, but also sandbag to shoulder work.

[@angelotartaglione3901]

​@@EnkiriElitewhat s your PR??

[@AhmedRaza-lv3id]

Can u make a vedio on sand bags​@@EnkiriElite

[@leinekenugelvondoofenfocke1002]

Try it with your farmers walk handle.

[@EnkiriElite]

Wait, what do you mean?

[@leinekenugelvondoofenfocke1002]

@@EnkiriElite the farmers walks handles are thicker so they don't bite in as much with the zercher position. Mine can actually hold just as many plates as a barbell though, if yours are too short it might not work.