Zercher Squats and your Leg Routine

[FitCat]

I just started back to a 3 day training split (Back/Bi's, Chest/Tris/Delts, Legs), and am lifting 4 days a week, so that each grouping is getting worked more than once a week by months end. I am doing this after a few years of doing FB or Upper/Lower splits in the hopes of putting on some more muscle now that I have leaned out.

I was wondering, for those of you who do legs once a week, what kind of volume do you have on leg day? How many exercises does your leg routine consist of and are they mostly compound or are you throwing in leg extensions, ham curls, etc?

Also, I am rotating each BP workout so that the first leg workout, for example, is a strength focused workout (4-6 reps target) and the next workout is more hypertrophy focused with rep range of 8-12 (going back and forth like that for all BP's every week). I am looking for a compound exercise other than back squats for that hypertrophy workout. I like Zerchers (overall, they feel more comfortable to me than front squats) but how do you deal with the discomfort in the crook of your elbows once you really get up in weight? (I did about 115 lbs yesterday and my arms were toast)!

Thanks!
Cat

[dbroncofan]

I try to do compound moves as much as possible with each lifting session.

As for legs....if I do 2 per week I try to keep on quad dominant and the other hami/glute dominant.
Most of my lifts now are squats, lunges, deads, good mornings, step ups etc.
I don't do Zerchers, but do front squats. I use the safety bar at the gym for those because it really bothers my wrists otherwise.
I tend to add in one or 2 isolation moves the end of my lifts....so somethings like leg extensions, hamstring curls etc.

[talnaj]

I don't squat with a BB pad, but I do use one for zerchers. Try that or even a towel to alleviate that elbow stress.

[FitCat]

Originally Posted by talnaj

I don't squat with a BB pad, but I do use one for zerchers. Try that or even a towel to alleviate that elbow stress.

Do you prefer Zercher's to Front Squats? They feel different to me. I have an easier time feeling it in my quads on Zercher's but I feel that I will be able to progress more with heavier weight if I stick to Front squats (less awkward to hold the bar, esp. when I am using The StingRay that I bought).

[Nic902]

I have never done Zerchers, but I do Front Squats and they are killer on the quads!

I use a clean grip, but if that bothers your wrists you could use the crossover grip.

[talnaj]

I don't get as good of range of motion with front squats due to wrist pain and my lumbar back... so i prefer zerchers. I first started doing them after knee surgery because they were the least stressful on my knee

[FitCat]

Originally Posted by talnaj

I don't get as good of range of motion with front squats due to wrist pain and my lumbar back... so i prefer zerchers. I first started doing them after knee surgery because they were the least stressful on my knee

See, I feel that way too! When I do front squats, I feel like once I get the weight heavier, I almost feel like it is pulling me forward to much to really tax my quads (and I have the bar pretty high up on my top delts, with a cross over grip).

for some reason, when I do Zerchers, I can get a nice, deep squat. Problem is, once I got the weight up to 95 lbs, my inner elbows were killing me!!!!!!

[mattsmom]

I prefer zercher over front squat. Placement w/front squat is uncomfortable. I can go much heavier with zercher. I use a towel to elieviate elbow discomfort.

[FitCat]

Originally Posted by mattsmom

I prefer zercher over front squat. Placement w/front squat is uncomfortable. I can go much heavier with zercher. I use a towel to elieviate elbow discomfort.

How heavy can you go with your Zercher, as compared to your front squat?

[mattsmom]

I went 30lbs higher on zercher

[FitCat]

Originally Posted by mattsmom

I went 30lbs higher on zercher

Yeah...I think I might be able to do about the same....just need to find a comfortable position for that bar!