The Zercher squat exercise involve holding a barbell in the crooks of the elbows. To perform the Zercher squat, an individual has to first place the barbell into the crooks of they elbows and then perform a squat movement in that position, squatting downward and upward. Ed Zercher develop it and named the exercise after himself.
During the exercise, an individual has to maintain a specific posture. The position of the barbell force an individual to engage their core and upper back muscles to maintain there posture. Compared to other squat exercises, the Zercher squat involve a different movement in performing the exercise.
How to Do the Zercher Squat
For one, when an individual performs a Zercher squat, their torso will remain upright. This is because of the way the barbell is positioned against the body. An individual will find that their knee will move forward more when they perform the Zercher squat than when they perform a low-bar back squat.
This will result in more emphasis on the quadriceps. The quadriceps is the muscles located in the front of the thighs. An individual will also engage their glutes and erector spinae muscle to stabilize their body during the exercise.
Additionally, the abdominal and biceps muscle will have to provide some stability in supporting the weight of the barbell during the Zercher squat. The strength level for performing a Zercher squat involve measuring how much weight an individual can lift relative to their body weight. For beginners in strength training who has less than six months of experience, approximately half of their body weight can be lifted for one repetition.
For those who have trained for about one year, approximately 85 percent of their body weight can be lifted for one repetition. For individuals who have trained for a few years, their strength level can lift their body weight or more. For advanced lifters, double their body weight can be lifted for one repetition.
For the elite group of lifters, they can lift even more than double their body weight. These strength levels is used to track the individual’s strength and to compare it to others. One of the physical qualities that makes the Zercher squat different from other squat exercises is their capacity to hold the given weight.
For a Zercher squat, an individual can lift about 75 percent of their back squat maximum. For front squats, an individual can lift 85 percent of their back squat maximum. For goblet squats, an individual can lift 55 percent of their back squat maximum.
Due to the requirement of an individual to utilize their core and upper back muscle during a Zercher squat, they are unlikely to be able to lift as much weight as they could during a back squat exercise. However, since an individual can maintain their torso in an upright position during the exercise and does not require the use of a squat rack, an individual who has injuries in they shoulders can perform this exercise. An individual should perform the Zercher squat with proper form to avoid injuring themself.
To perform the exercise correctly, place the barbell at around hip height within the weight rack. Place the bar into the crooks of your elbows. Unrack the barbell, take a step backward with one foot to establish your feet at shoulder-width apart.
Take a deep breath to engage your core muscle. Squat down by moving your hips backward and your knees outward while keeping your elbows high and your feet on the ground. When you reach the bottom of the squat, your elbows should be high and forward from your body so that you can stand back up.
You should touch a position parallel to the ground before you stand back up on your heels. Dropping your elbows will cause the barbell to roll toward your wrists which could cause pain in your wrists. Caving in your knee will put stress on your joint.
Rounding your upper back will shift the loading in your upper body incorrect. Depending on the strength level of an individual, there are various adjustment that can be made to an individual’s training program. For beginners, an individual can perform three sets of eight to ten repetition of the exercise using 55 to 65 percent of their maximum weight.
Additionally, five-pound increment can be added to the barbell during each session. For intermediate lifters, four to six repetition of the exercise can be used with 72 to 80 percent of their maximum weight. Additionally, the exercise can be performed once or twice every week.
For elite lifters, performing the exercise with single repetition using 95 percent of their maximum weight can be performed. Three to five minute of rest should be allowed between each set. The rate of perceived exertion (RPE) during the exercise should be between seven and nine.
Foam bar pad can be used to provide comfortly for the elbows during the exercise.
