Zercher Squat
A squat with the barbell cradled in the crooks of the elbows, which forces an upright torso under load.
How to do it
- Set the barbell in a rack at about waist height and step close to it.
- Cradle the bar in the crooks of your elbows with your elbows around shoulder width.
- Interlace your fingers with the knuckles facing up and stand tall with the bar close to your body.
- Step back and take a stance slightly wider than your usual squat.
- Break at the hips and descend with your chest up until your elbows reach the inside of your thighs.
- Drive through the whole foot and stand back up, keeping the bar centered and tight to your torso.
Key technique cue
Keep the bar against your torso, chest up, or it pulls on the lower back.
Common mistakes
- ✕ Setting the bar off center, which makes it slide sideways in the elbows under load.
- ✕ Holding the bar away from the body, which loads the lower back instead of the legs.
- ✕ Placing the elbows too narrow or too wide, which loses the shelf that holds the bar.
- ✕ Training the lift while fatigued, since a failed rep with the bar in the elbows is hard to dump safely.
Benefits
- ✓ Keeps a heavy squat pattern while the bar sits in front of the body rather than on the back.
- ✓ Forces an upright torso, which suits lifters who tend to pitch forward in a back squat.
- ✓ Produces lower knee compressive force than an equivalent posterior loaded squat.
Progression: from easier to harder
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Step 1 -
Step 2 -
Step 3 You are here - Zercher Squat
- Front Squat
About the exercise
The Zercher squat carries the bar in the crease of the elbows in front of the body. That front loading forces the torso upright and lets the lifter reach a deep knee bend, so the quadriceps and glutes take the drive while the trunk, upper back, and biceps work continuously to keep the bar from sliding forward.
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