Let me just start by saying,
this is one of THE toughest exercises you'll ever do.
This is not for the faint of heart...but if you want to
really test your mettle, this is a good one to do it with!
If you're not familiar with
a Zercher Squat, it's where you hold the barbell in the
crook of your arms out in front of you (arms bent and
locked around the bar) instead holding it on your back
or shoulders (like back or front squats). It's excellent
for developing not only legs but great core strength as
well. It's brutal just on it's own.
It's most often done using
a rack, so all you have to do is get under the bar in
the rack and start the exercise.
THIS version of the Zercher
Squat is basically the same thing except you're NOT in
a rack- you have to get the bar off the floor, get it
into the crooks of your arms THEN do the exercise.
I saw Phil Stevens (yes,
THE Phil
Stevens from Staley Training...) doing this exercise
with more than 400 lbs a few months back...that was insane
- I think he said it was first time he had ever done the
exercise in this fashion (I know it was the first time
I had ever seen Zerchers done off the floor). To give
you an idea how strong he is, he has a personal best deadlift
of 700 lbs in competition (raw, ie. no lifting equipment).
I was in Phoenix and had
come by for a Saturday morning training sessiont at the
Bed &
Barbell (I have to say, if you haven't checked
that out, click the link right now - VERY cool stuff.
You can have a vacation AND train with Charles and Phil).
So anyway, I figured I'd
give this one a try - managed to work up to 225 lbs for
a couple of reps (that's included in the video below).
Have a look at this one
and try it with light weight the first time you do it
so you get an idea of how to wrangle the bar into position.
I like to use a bar pad
for this one, to help take pressure off the forearms when
doing the exercise.
Load up a bar (doesn't matter
if you're only using 10 lb plates or 45 lb plates here,
really) and stand in front of it with your feet out wide.
Bend down and grab the bar
with an overhand grip (on both hands), just outside the
barbell pad (this will be just outside the inner smooth
part of the bar, if you don't have a barbell pad).
Deadlift the bar up to your
thighs, keeping your knees bent.
Now squat down with the
bar resting completely on your thighs. You may have to
shift the bar towards your knees a bit to get your arms
under the bar.
Get your right arm under
the bar while maintaining a grip on the bar with your
left.
Then get your other arm
under the bar.
Bend your arms as much as
you can and lock them onto the bar.
Now the fun part...stand
up! The bar will be cradled in the crooks of your arms.
Come all the way up to the
full standing position and hold for a second. You'll really
feel this one in the core.
Now squat back down - stop
just short of putting the bar back down on your thighs
when using moderate weight for reps.
When using heavier weight
(as I mentioned with the 225 lbs I did), I actually set
the bar back down on my thighs between the reps for a
brief rest.
When you're done your set,
rest the bar on your thighs then reverse what you did
to get the bar into position...pull one arm from under
the bar then regrip the bar, then other arm. Then stand
up, holding the bar, then set it back down on the ground.
This is all shown in the
video, which is definitely the easiest way to learn the
technique for this one.
It's a good one!
