Zercher Squat Hold

Also known as: Zercher Hold, Isometric Zercher Squat

StrengthIsometricCore

Track Zercher Squat Hold in SmartWorkout and watch your numbers go up

Log sets, weights and progress for free, with no workout limits.

Body Part: Legs

Description

A static version of the Zercher squat: you hold a barbell in the crooks of your elbows and stay in a squat with your thighs close to parallel to the floor for a set time. Your quads and glutes hold the position, while your upper back, core and arms keep the bar tight against your body.

How to Perform

Set a barbell in a rack at about waist height.
Bend your knees, place the bar in the crooks of your elbows and clasp your hands in front of your chest.
Stand up to lift the bar off the rack, step back and set your feet about shoulder-width apart, toes turned slightly out.
Brace your core, lift your chest and keep the bar pressed against your body.
Bend your hips and knees and lower until your thighs are close to parallel to the floor.
Hold this position for the set time with your heels down, knees in line with your toes and torso as upright as you can keep it.
Push through your whole foot to stand up, then walk the bar back into the rack.

What Muscles Work

Primary Muscle:

Secondary Muscles:

Tips

Start with a light bar and holds of 20 to 30 seconds, and add time before you add weight.
Wrap the bar in a pad or towel, or wear long sleeves, if it digs into your elbows.
Time the hold from the moment you reach the bottom position, not from when you lift the bar off the rack.
Take short breaths behind a braced core instead of holding your breath for the whole set.
If you can, hold inside a power rack with the safety pins just below the bar's height in the bottom position, so you can set the bar down if your legs give out.

Common Mistakes

Letting your clasped hands drop, so the bar slides out of your elbow crease toward your wrists
Rounding your upper back as the bar pulls your chest forward
Letting your knees cave inward during the hold
Shifting your weight onto your toes or lifting your heels
Slowly rising out of the squat as your legs tire instead of holding the same depth
Going deeper than you can hold with a neutral spine, so your pelvis tucks under