Building strong, muscular quadriceps is essential for overall leg development and functional strength. However, not all quad exercises are created equal. 

In this article, we rank 20 popular quad exercises from best to worst, helping you optimize your leg workouts for maximum growth.

Criteria for Ranking Quad Exercises

To rank these exercises, we used three main criteria:

High Quad Tension: The exercise must place high tension on the quads, especially in the stretched position.

Comfort and Safety: The exercise should not cause knee pain and should have a smooth resistance profile.

Simple Progression: The exercise should allow for progressive overload, meaning you can add weight or reps consistently.

Anatomy of the Quadriceps

The quadriceps consist of four heads:

Vastus Medialis: Located on the inside, known as the teardrop muscle.

Vastus Intermedius: Positioned in the middle.

Vastus Lateralis: Found on the outside.

Rectus Femoris: A long, flat head that runs down the middle on top of the other heads.

A recent anatomy paper suggested the existence of a potential fifth head, but this doesn’t significantly impact training.

Worst Quad Exercises (F Tier)

Squat Combination Exercises (Squat plus Press, Lunge plus Curl)

Reason: Your quads are much stronger than your shoulders or arms, causing your upper body to fatigue before your quads.

Bosu Ball Squats

Reason: The instability forces your ankles to stabilize, reducing quad tension and effectiveness for muscle growth.

Jump Squats

Reason: While they burn calories and build explosive power, they are less effective for hypertrophy compared to other exercises.

Best Quad Exercises (S Tier)

Barbell Back Squat

Benefits: Provides high tension on the quads, especially deep in the squat. Excellent for progressive overload. Proven effectiveness in building massive quads.

Hack Squat

Benefits: Offers consistent tension with less stabilization required. Highly effective for hypertrophy. The ability to adjust foot position enhances comfort and tension.

Pendulum Squat

Benefits: Similar to the hack squat but with a more natural resistance path. However, availability in gyms can be limited.

Smith Machine Squat

Benefits: Allows for pushing quads to failure safely without the fear of falling over. Similar movement pattern to the free-weight squat, making it highly effective for hypertrophy.

A Tier

Barbell Front Squat

Benefits: High quad activation due to the forward bar position, although some may find the bar position awkward.

Low Bar Back Squat

Benefits: Shifts some tension to the glutes but still offers high quad activation. Effective as long as you squat to a reasonable depth.

45° Leg Press

Benefits: High quad tension, though some machines limit depth. Effective for hypertrophy if you can achieve a deep range of motion.

Leg Extension

Benefits: Excellent for targeting the rectus femoris. Controversial regarding knee safety, but no evidence suggests it causes knee issues more than other exercises.

Reverse Nordic

Benefits: Provides a deep quad stretch and is accessible without needing a machine. Challenging for beginners and limited in progressive overload options.

B Tier

Lunges

Benefits: Better for glutes but still offers moderate quad activation. Effective with shallower steps to target quads more.

Goblet Squat

Benefits: Similar biomechanics to the front squat but limited by how much weight you can hold. Best for beginners or as a high-rep finisher.

Sissy Squats

Benefits: Provides an excellent stretch but can be awkward and difficult to overload.

C Tier

Horizontal Leg Press

Benefits: Limited range of motion compared to the 45° leg press, reducing quad tension.

Deadlifts

Benefits: Better for glutes and overall strength. Offers limited quad activation compared to squats.

Step-ups

Benefits: Effective for glutes but less stable and less effective for quads compared to other exercises.

Pistol Squats

Benefits: Impressive bodyweight exercise but unstable and hard to overload, making it less ideal for quad growth.

Special Mentions

Bulgarian Split Squats (S Tier)

Benefits: High stretch and effective for preventing muscle imbalances. Extremely fatiguing and challenging, but excellent for hypertrophy.

Exercises for Rectus Femoris

Highlight exercises like leg extensions and reverse Nordics that target the rectus femoris for balanced quad development.

Watch the Full Video:

Conclusion

Best Exercise: The hack squat stands out as the top exercise for quad growth due to its consistent tension and ease of use. If your gym lacks a hack squat machine, the high bar barbell back squat is an excellent alternative.

Worst Exercise: The Bosu ball squat is the least effective, as its instability reduces quad tension and effectiveness.