Quadriceps strengthening exercises: Health Benefits, How to Do?, Variations

Quadriceps strengthening exercises is a great exercise to make your knee more powerful to perform all your day to day activity more easily. Quadriceps muscles located at the front side of the thigh and perform all your day to day activity such as walking, running, squatting, sit to stand. There are many health benefits if you are doing this exercise at regularly.

What are quadriceps strengthening exercises?

The quadriceps (or quads) are the four muscles located on the anterior of the thigh. They pull together to help flex the hip and extend (or straighten) the knee. It consists of four individual muscles rectus femoris, vastus lateralis, vastus medialis, and vastus intermedius. These muscles form the bulk of the thigh.
The quadriceps often become weak after an injury or surgery on the lower leg or thigh, So you have to strengthen the quadriceps.The person with certain conditions mostly has weakness in the quadriceps. These conditions include: Patellofemoral stress syndrome, Iliotibial band friction syndrome, Patellar tendonitis or tendinosis.

This article shows you simple exercises that you can do at your home to strengthen your quadriceps muscles.
Some quadriceps exercises place a lot of stress on your knee joint. Your Physio Therapist can show you ways to minimize joint stress while you strengthen your quadriceps.

Health benefits by doing a quadriceps strengthening exercise.

• Regularly ding quadriceps strengthening exercises may help to make it easier to extend your knee and flex your hip.
• Helps to strengthen your quadriceps muscles.
• Helps to improve the stability of your kneecap.
• Helps to protect your knee joint from injury.
• Helps to increase your jump height.
• Helps to improve your overall athletic ability.
• Helps to decrease your risk of developing knee osteoarthritis.
• Helps to improve your balance and stability.
• Stronger quadriceps make everyday movements easy such as walking, bending, and sitting, running.

There have different exercises to strengthen your quadriceps muscles.

Straight Leg Raises

How to do it?

• The straight leg raise is a simple exercise to get your quadriceps muscles working properly.
• For this exercise, you have to lie on your back on a flat surface. Fixed the right knee to a 90-degree angle.
• Your foot should be flat on the surface. your left leg should be straight, your toes pointing towards the ceilings.
• Slowly raise your left leg 12 to 15 inches off the ground by contracting your anterior thighs.
• Hold for 5 to 8 seconds then slowly lower it down.
• This is the one repetition.
• Do 10 to 15 repetitions on each leg for 2 to 3 sets.

Short Arc Quads

How to do it?

• For this exercise, you have to lie on your back. use a basketball to prop up your knee.
• Slowly extend your flexed knee until it was straight. tighten your quadriceps muscle with your toes pointed upward.
• Hold it tight for 6 to 8 seconds.
• Slowly lower down your leg.
• Do this 15 to 20 times for 1 to 3 sets on each leg.

Wall Slides

How to do it?

• This exercise utilizes multiple muscle groups in one exercise, including your quadriceps, glutes, and hamstrings.
• For this exercise, you have to stand upright with your back against the wall and shoulder feet width apart.
• Slowly flex your knees, sliding your back down the wall for a count of 5 to 10 until your knees are bent at a 45 to 50-degree angle.
• Don’t flex too much further than this, as it will put too much pressure on your knees.
• Hold this for 5 to 10 seconds. extend your knees by slowly sliding the wall until you are fully upright with your knee straight.
• Do this for 10 to 20 times.

Terminal Knee Extension

How to do it?

• Terminal knee extension (TKE) is a simple and effective exercise to strengthen your quadriceps muscle in a standing position.
• The TKE is considered a functional exercise. Your quadriceps will be working while supporting your body weight.

• For this exercise, you need a resistance band. place a resistance band around the steady object so it is anchored.it will be the same height as your knee.
• Now step into the resistance band and face the anchored point with the resistance band looped around the knee joint.
• Slightly flexed your knee joint. slowly extend your nee, placing tension on the band, the resistance band should provide some resistance as you try to fully extend your knee.
• Once your knee is fully extended and the band is tight, hold this position for 3 to 5 seconds then slowly flexed your knee.
• Do this exercise 10 to 20 times.

Body weight squat

How to do it?

• This is the best exercise to strengthen your lower limb and core muscles.
• For this exercise, you have to stand with shoulder feet width apart and toes pointing upward and outwards.
• Your arms should be by your side. your hands on the hips or clasped together. your core muscles should be tight and chest up, push your hip backward and knee flexed as like you are doing a sitting.
• Stop when your thighs are parallel to the ground and hold for a couple of seconds at that point.
• Push through your heels and return to the initial position.

Walking lunge

How to do it?

• These are very simple exercises to boost your leg and core muscles strong. you can do this in an easy way by doing lunge only or you make it challenging by using dumbbells.
• For this exercise, you have to stand tall with shoulder feet width apart.
• Your hands should be placed on your hips, or if you are using dumbbells then place your hands by your sides.
• Take forward step by right foot and sink down until your front knee is at 90 degrees and your back shin is parallel to the ground.
• Hold for 5 to 7 seconds at that point, now step forward from the left leg.
• Keep taking steps from the alternate leg as you lunge forward.

Step-up

How to do it?

• This is a great way to work on your knee stabilization. Using a lower box makes this exercise easy.
• For this exercise, you need one box or a step stool and any other object of just lower to knee height.
• Place right foot on the box and step up, your knee should be aligned with your ankle and not let it collapse inward.
• When you take a step up, focus on driving through heels and your posture should be tall when you push your left knee upward until it is at the same height as your hip.
• Now step backward and step-up gain with your opposite foot.

Bulgarian split squat

How to do it?

• This exercise put more put more emphasis on the stabilizing muscles of your knee and hip than traditional squats.
• You can make them easier by going only halfway down.
• For this exercise, you have to stand with your feet shoulder-width apart, about 2 steps away from a bench, a box, or another knee-high surface.
• Rest the top of your right foot on the bench behind you, and step your left foot forward far enough that you can squat without your knee going past your toes.
• Lean forward and lower down until your anterior thigh is almost parallel to the ground.
• Do 10 to 15 repetitions on each side.

Lateral lunge (side lunge)

How to do it?

• For this exercise, you have to stand with a shoulder hip-width apart and arms in front of you for balance.
• Take a big step to the left and start pushing your hips back as you bend your left knee to assume a squat position.
• Now squat down as far as is possible, or until your thigh is parallel to the ground.
• Return to the initial position and repeat this on another side.
• Do 10 to 15 repetitions on each side.

Squat jump

How to do it?

• Squat jumps are a great exercise to build your lower body power.
• For this exercise, you can start with 5 repetitions per set instead of 10.
• You have to take a basic squat position with your feet shoulder-width apart and your hands in front of you.
• Squatting down until your thighs are almost parallel to the ground and then do a powerful jump up.
• Now land softly with slightly flexed knees, before going to the next repetition.

Box jump

How to do it?

• For this exercise, you need one box and stand about one step away from the box with your feet shoulder-width apart.
• Flexed your knees and place your arms behind you until you are in a quarter squat.
• Now swing your arms forward, extend your hip joint and jump upward on the box. land with slight knee flexion.
• Step down and do again.

Single-leg squat (pistol squat)

How to do it?

• This exercise requires more strength, mobility, and balance.
• If you can not get into a full squat position, you can put a chair behind you to limit how far down you go.
• For this exercise, you have to stand with your foot together and arms in front of you. lift your right foot off the ground and keep it in front of your body with your leg straight.
• Now squat down on your left leg until your thigh is parallel to the ground. Return to the initial position and repeat it on the right leg.

When did you not do this exercise?

• If your doctor advised you to take a rest.
• If your leg bone is recently fractured.
• If you feel knee pain during any exercise explain above.
• Stop doing exercise if you feel any knee discomfort.
• Avoid performing box jumps if you have knee pain.
• Avoid stepping so far that you feel discomfort in your groin.
• Avoid touching your back knee to the ground.