Exercises to strengthen quads?

AlysonG2

Long story short: I've been having some knee problems (not pain, just weird sounds), I saw my doctor today, and he says it's because my quads are weak.

So I'm now looking for exercises to strengthen my quads. I already do squats and deadlifts 3x per week (3x8-10). For starters, should I maybe drops the number of reps to 5ish and up the weight on those? I usually try to lift just a comfortable amount of weight since I'm alone when I do it and I'm nervous about truly failing and hurting myself.

I don't have access to a gym, but I do have a bench and squat rack at my house. I also have an elliptical and I run (jog) 2-3 times per week.

I'm 5'6.5" and 177ish if that matters.

Has anybody else had this issue? Any ideas are greatly appreciated!

Leadfoot_Lewis

Front Squats
Walking Lunges
Wall Squats

If you can perform the lifts with good form, then you'll definitely gain more strength in a lower rep range (5-8 reps).

Cherimoose

I saw my doctor today, and he says it's because my quads are weak.
I already do squats and deadlifts 3x per week (3x8-10)

Ask your doctor - he's the one who thinks your squats aren't enough. Personally i think it's a questionable diagnosis given your exercise routine. See this article on the causes of knee cracking:

http://www.webmd.com/pain-management/knee-pain/features/knee-cracks-pops

Generally speaking, if there's no pain, it's not necessarily a cause for concern.

jlclabo

Front Squats
Walking Lunges
Wall Squats

If you can perform the lifts with good form, then you'll definitely gain more strength in a lower rep range (5-8 reps).

agree completely. stressing the good form part. bulgarian split squats work well too. also on the question of failing and injury.... you have a cage right. set the safety pins to just lower than your squat depth so if you do fail, all the bar has to do is roll off your back an inch or two.

DavPul

i'm reasonably certain she could get a lot stronger in her 8-10 just as she could if she lowered to 5 reps. i see the problem mostly in this sentence from the OP

..... I usually try to lift just a comfortable amount of weight since I'm alone when I do it and I'm nervous about truly failing and hurting myself.

safety first is an excellent priority to have, but i'm betting she's not pushing herself to advance the weight as much as she's capable of. heck, when it comes to squats, i wouldn't describe any working weight at that i'm using at any rep range as "comfortable"

i'd stick with squats as the primary exercise and work harder on increasing the weight. get a spotter if you need to.

ETA: it's probably just leg/hip weakness like the doc noted....but i still wouldn't start loading up on walking lunges and the like if i had suspect knees. i'd work up strength and confidence on something basic, see how it goes, and then advance as seen fit

AlysonG2

Thanks everybody! And DavPul, you're absolutely right . I'll work on stepping out of my comfort zone.

wonderbeard101

Terminal knee extensions... I usually do a (very small) amount of band resistance. These are generally done for exactly what you're having trouble with: rehabbing knee issues arising from weak quads.

And they make my quads super sore whenever I do them!

dixiewhiskey

I would continue doing the exercises you are doing now but start challenging yourself. My quads have come a long way after adding basic squats/deadlifts to my routine, adding 5lbs every week. Just a thought.

JoRocka

Thanks everybody! And DavPul, you're absolutely right . I'll work on stepping out of my comfort zone.

work on stepping out of the comfort zone inside a squat rack/power cage.

you do not NEED a spotter- you just need safety rails and knowing how to sit down safely without tipping forward or backward and bashing your head on the bar.

No_Finish_Line

Thanks everybody! And DavPul, you're absolutely right . I'll work on stepping out of my comfort zone.

work on stepping out of the comfort zone inside a squat rack/power cage.

you do not NEED a spotter- you just need safety rails and knowing how to sit down safely without tipping forward or backward and bashing your head on the bar.

ashamed to say that i've never gone down and not been able to come up on a squat. just always been affraid to push it i guess

JoRocka

nothing to be ashamed of- failing regularly is not a sign of success.

I trained on a program that was a lot of "to failure" training and while I really enjoyed pushing myself- I spent months spinning my wheels.

I'm on a program now that isn't anything over 80% of my 1 rep max.

So now half my weights feel like a joke- the other half are a joke because it's like 6 sets of 3 and it's exhausting.

No shame in it what so ever- but knowing how to fail is important... any time I teach barbell movement- I teach failure with the empty bar. it's super important.

bbb84

As someone who has had knee surgery twice and had to restrengthen her quads ... PT exercises that were given to me were one legged squats (essentially i stood on a box or step and let one leg hang off the side and would squat down as low as i could with the supporting leg) , Clam shells w/ resistance band (youtube it) it works the abductors but it's all connected. Crab Walk with resistance band (youtube) Loop the band around your ankles and shuffle laterally while keeping tension in the band.

Also , sometimes pain comes from tight IT band or Hamstrings... foam roll .... It hurts but is so worth it in the end.

No_Finish_Line

wait, are you saying you never/ almost never attempt a 1 rep max or your saying you don't go to failure on sets ever? meaning that after those there you could do more if you wanted?

AlysonG2

Thanks everybody! And DavPul, you're absolutely right . I'll work on stepping out of my comfort zone.

work on stepping out of the comfort zone inside a squat rack/power cage.

you do not NEED a spotter- you just need safety rails and knowing how to sit down safely without tipping forward or backward and bashing your head on the bar.

ashamed to say that i've never gone down and not been able to come up on a squat. just always been affraid to push it i guess

Ditto.

AlysonG2

As someone who has had knee surgery twice and had to restrengthen her quads ... PT exercises that were given to me were one legged squats (essentially i stood on a box or step and let one leg hang off the side and would squat down as low as i could with the supporting leg) , Clam shells w/ resistance band (youtube it) it works the abductors but it's all connected. Crab Walk with resistance band (youtube) Loop the band around your ankles and shuffle laterally while keeping tension in the band.

Also , sometimes pain comes from tight IT band or Hamstrings... foam roll .... It hurts but is so worth it in the end.

Thank you! I've been doing the one legged squats. I'll check the others out and get started