Zercher Squat
Squat with the bar in the elbow crooks. Extreme core and strength demands. It works mainly the quads, glutes and adductors, with help from the lower back, biceps and abs.
In Flawless, a man aged 23–39 reaches Gold, the third of eight ranks, at 1.3× bodyweight (105 kg at 80 kg). For a woman it is 0.9× (55 kg at 60 kg).
How to do Zercher Squat
- Set the bar in the rack just below elbow height and pick it up in the crooks of your elbows, hands clasped, elbows tight to the body.
- Step back, brace your core and squat down as you would normally, keeping the chest up.
- Go as deep as the back stays flat; the bar in front pulls you forward, so the core works hard to keep you upright.
- Stand up through the mid-foot and keep the elbows pulled in; a bar pad helps until the forearms get used to it.
These are the same steps you see in the exercise guide in the Flawless app.
Muscles worked
| Role | Muscle | Anatomical name |
|---|---|---|
| Primary | Quads | Quadriceps femoris |
| Primary | Glutes | Gluteus maximus |
| Primary | Adductors | Adductores |
| Secondary | Lower back | Erector spinae |
| Secondary | Biceps | Biceps brachii |
| Secondary | Abs | Rectus abdominis |
Muscle data from StrengthLog.
Why do it
- Quads loaded with an upright torso
- Less lower-back shear than back squats
- Brutal core and upper-back demand
Strength standards for Zercher Squat
| Rank | Men | Women | Man, 80 kg | Woman, 60 kg |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Bronze | start | start | – | – |
| Silver | 0.9× | 0.6× | 72.5 kg | 35 kg |
| Gold | 1.3× | 0.9× | 105 kg | 55 kg |
| Platinum | 1.75× | 1.25× | 140 kg | 75 kg |
| Diamond | 2.2× | 1.55× | 175 kg | 92.5 kg |
| Obsidian | 2.75× | 1.95× | 220 kg | 117.5 kg |
| Painite | 3.3× | 2.3× | 265 kg | 137.5 kg |
| Antimatter | 4.4× | 3.1× | 352.5 kg | 185 kg |
Ratios are one-rep max ÷ bodyweight for ages 23–39; kilograms are rounded to 2.5 kg.
Flawless takes your best set of Zercher Squat, estimates your one-rep max with the Brzycki formula (reps are capped at 12) and divides it by the bodyweight in your profile, so you never have to test a true max. Women’s limits are 30 % lower than men’s. For other ages the app lowers every limit: by 8 % under 23 and from 40 to 49, by 18 % in your 50s, 28 % in your 60s and 38 % from 70.
Similar exercises
Questions
What muscles does Zercher Squat work?
It works mainly the quads, glutes and adductors, with help from the lower back, biceps and abs.
How do you do Zercher Squat?
Set the bar in the rack just below elbow height and pick it up in the crooks of your elbows, hands clasped, elbows tight to the body. Step back, brace your core and squat down as you would normally, keeping the chest up. Go as deep as the back stays flat; the bar in front pulls you forward, so the core works hard to keep you upright. Stand up through the mid-foot and keep the elbows pulled in; a bar pad helps until the forearms get used to it.
What is a good Zercher Squat for my bodyweight?
In Flawless, Gold starts at 1.3× bodyweight for men aged 23–39 and 0.9× for women, Diamond at 2.2× and 1.55×. For an 80 kg man that is a 105 kg and a 175 kg one-rep max.
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