Citruscide
Elite Mentor
Excerpt taken from Dave Tate:
Zercher Squats: This movement was first introduced to me when I first came to Westside. I remember thinking what the hell is this going to do for me. It wasn’t until years later that I found out. The Zercher Squat is preformed cradling the barbell in your arm and performing a barbell squat. Since the movement is best preformed off the floor, many will find they will have to do it out of a power rack. The key to making this work is to concentrate on flexing the abdominal as hard as possible. The version I like best and the one I found to be the most effective is the seated version. With this version you sit on the end of a bench and cradle the barbell in your arm and bend over at the waist so the bar falls out in front of you. Pull yourself back into the starting position by flexing you abs. My favorite way to do this is with a heavy medicine ball for sets of 8 to 12.
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When I do Zerchers... I haven't gone over 275 on them as of yet...
I bring my elbows down a few inches below my knees... I find I get a REALLY good strech that way... also... I tend to have a wider stance on them...
I also have to wrap the bar with a t-shirt or sweatshirt... whatever I have handy... just so the grip on the bar doesn't dig into my arms... I can, hold the bar up to 185 without any real problems... however...
I find that these squats REALLY hammer my glutes and hamms... especially with the much wider stance... a perfect compliment to a closer stance front or back squat.
C-ditty -- it's one of my most favorite squats.
Zercher Squats: This movement was first introduced to me when I first came to Westside. I remember thinking what the hell is this going to do for me. It wasn’t until years later that I found out. The Zercher Squat is preformed cradling the barbell in your arm and performing a barbell squat. Since the movement is best preformed off the floor, many will find they will have to do it out of a power rack. The key to making this work is to concentrate on flexing the abdominal as hard as possible. The version I like best and the one I found to be the most effective is the seated version. With this version you sit on the end of a bench and cradle the barbell in your arm and bend over at the waist so the bar falls out in front of you. Pull yourself back into the starting position by flexing you abs. My favorite way to do this is with a heavy medicine ball for sets of 8 to 12.
-----
When I do Zerchers... I haven't gone over 275 on them as of yet...
I bring my elbows down a few inches below my knees... I find I get a REALLY good strech that way... also... I tend to have a wider stance on them...
I also have to wrap the bar with a t-shirt or sweatshirt... whatever I have handy... just so the grip on the bar doesn't dig into my arms... I can, hold the bar up to 185 without any real problems... however...
I find that these squats REALLY hammer my glutes and hamms... especially with the much wider stance... a perfect compliment to a closer stance front or back squat.
C-ditty -- it's one of my most favorite squats.
