5 Simple Quad Strengthening Exercises for Beginners

When it comes to strength training and keeping your muscles toned, quads are an important muscle group to pay attention to.

It's easy to spot the quads — they're the large muscles that run down the front of each leg. Along with being a major muscle group, these upper leg muscles are also among the largest in the body.

If you’re a beginner, quad exercises can be intimidating, but they don’t have to be. These simple exercises aren’t just great for beginners — they can be effective for even the strongest of athletes.

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Best Simple Exercises for Quads

While there are many ways to build the quad muscles, the following five exercises are a great place to start. Remember that you don’t need to do everything on this list if you don’t have time; however, make sure not to skip out on anything.

You need to exercise every area of the body, especially the quads, to stay in peak condition. Let's get started:

1) Walking Lunge

The walking lunge is a great exercise to boost quad strength and core stability. You can make it easier by only lunging halfway down or make it more challenging by doing it with dumbbells.

How to do it?

• With feet shoulder-width apart, stand tall with your hands on your hips.
• Take a step forward with one foot, and lower yourself till your front knee is bent at a 90-degree angle, and your back leg is straight.
• Take a moment to pause before taking the next step.
• Continue changing sides as you lunge forward.

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2) Bulgarian Split Squat

If you want to work your quads and hamstrings more than you want to work your glutes, do Bulgarian split squats. You can make this move easier by going only halfway down.

To do this exercise:

• Stand with feet shoulder-width apart, and step back to a bench or box behind you.
• Put your front foot on the bench, and step forward tillyou can squat down without letting your knee go past your toes.
• Lean forward slightly, and slowly lower yourself as far as you can without letting your thigh come higher than parallel to the floor.

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3) Reverse Lunge

The reverse lunge is a variation of the traditional lunge that makes it easier to balance by giving you more stability in your lead leg. You can also make it easier by lunging only halfway down.

Here's how you do a reverse lunge

• Stand with your hands on your hips or holding a set of dumbbells at your sides.
• Step back with one foot, and sink down till the lead thigh is parallel to the floor.
• Bring your back knee toward the floor as you bend it.
• Return to the starting position by pushing through the front heel.

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4) Bodyweight Squat

Bodyweight squats are a great exercise for developing lower body and quad muscles. The deeper you squat, the more challenging the exercise becomes. If you find it difficult to perform the exercise in proper form initially, you can make it easier by only going down a few inches.

How to do it?

• Stand with your feet about shoulder-width apart, with the toes pointing slightly outward.
• Keep your arms at your sides, or clasp them in front of you.
• Tighten your abdominal muscles, and keep your chest up as you push your hips back, as if you’re sitting in a chair.
• Stop when your thighs are parallel to the floor; pause for a moment, and push through your heels till you return to the starting position.

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5) Box Jump

Box jumps are a great lower body exercise for developing quad strength. Do about five reps at a time, and rest frequently, as your risk of injury increases when you get tired.

It's done as follows:

• Place a box or another stable object about a foot away from you, with your feet shoulder-width apart.
• Move your knees and arms together till you're in a quarter squat.
• Powerfully swing your arms forward, and jump up onto the box.
• Keep your knees slightly bent.

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Key Takeaway

Improving quad strength doesn’t have to be difficult. If you commit to a regular exercise routine, you should be able to easily do more advanced workouts.

The aforementioned exercises can help strengthen the quads. Many of these sets can be done without any equipment. The key is not giving up on your exercise routine too easily. Building muscles takes time, so it’s important to be patient as you work to achieve your goal.