The quads are a group of four large muscles on the front of your upper legs. They are responsible for extending your leg at the knee joint. A well-balanced training routine will include some aspects of heavy compound exercises and explosive movements, in order to build both power and strength. If you're looking to build stronger and more powerful legs, here’s a killer lower body workout that focuses on targeting your quads.

1 - Goblet Squats

The goblet squat is performed by holding a Dumbbell at your chest with two hands. The anterior loading encourages a more upright and vertical torso when performing the squat, and therefore helps target the quadriceps muscle, more so than the other leg muscles. To get the most out of this exercise, focus on increasing time under tension per rep, and increasing the number of reps.

2 - Box Jumps

Box jumps are primarily a lower-body plyometric exercise that targets your quads, calves, hamstrings, and glutes. As you bend into a squat position, jump high into the air, and then land softly on the box in a squat before stepping down. Box jumps are important for increasing the power in the quadriceps.

3 - Weighted Squat Jumps

Weighted squat jumps are a very effective lower body plyometric exercise to improve power and explosiveness. Hold a dumbbell in each hand. In order to optimise this exercise, attempt to generate maximum acceleration during the concentric phase (jumping up) to ensure you recruit the fast-twitch muscle fibres in the quadriceps.

4 - Bodyweight Squat Jumps

Bodyweight squat jumps are also a good entry level plyometric exercise aimed to increase power and stamina in your quads. By doing these after the weighted squat jumps, the exercise will feel a lot lighter.

5 - Bulgarian Split Squats

A Bulgarian split squat involves elevating the rear foot onto a bench or Plyo Box, and is classed as a unilateral movement. In order to maximise the activation of the quadriceps, aim to keep an upright torso and forward shin angle. This will provide more knee flexion and therefore produce an increased demand on the quadriceps. The quads will experience a high amount of tension at the bottom of the movement. Bulgarian split squats are a great exercise to include in your training plan in order to increase your upper leg size and strength.

We really hope you enjoyed our intense quad workout. This workout aims to target your quadriceps, with the benefit of being able to perform this anywhere with minimal equipment. Now there’s no excuse to skip leg day!

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Tags: Equipment > Dumbbells ; Equipment > Kettlebells ; Equipment > Plyo Jump Boxes ; Exercise Type > Strength