All Things Zercher Squat: A Complete Guide
by Arryn Grogan
In early 2018, I made the Zercher Squat my primary squat variation and started a 12-week program. At the same time, I had my first DEXA Scan, which detailed my bone density, muscle mass, and body fat. I squatted twice weekly, staying in the 2-10 rep range. At the end of the cycle, I tested my squat and did another DEXA Scan.
Not only did my 5-rep max increase by 10 kilograms (whoop!), but I added a whole pound of muscle just to my midsection!
To clarify, that pound of meat was without any direct core work. Besides Zerchers, I was training bench presses, deadlifts, pull-ups, and other compound lifts. Also, I had been lifting consistently for six years, so it wasn’t newbie gains!
I had been practicing martial arts for a while and knew that having this resource to increase my strength and muscle mass in my midsection would prove invaluable. A weak, tired core on the Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu mats is frustrating and demoralizing. Having the ability not to tire out when someone is putting all their weight on your belly, trying to crush you, is so helpful, especially when you've been going round after round. It's not just BJJ or other martial arts, though. Most sports and activities that require movement can benefit from a stronger, meatier "core".
It’s 2023, and I still train Zerchers regularly. Out of all the types of squats I train, it’s my strongest variation. It continues to support my other physical endeavors in a very noticeable way. I have grown fond of it, as you can likely tell.
In this article, I will demystify the Zercher Squat, explain why it is the most versatile barbell squat, and why you may want to do it too.
Those reasons include, but are not limited to:
You're dealing with limited equipment,
You have limited mobility,
You're new to squatting in general,
You're an old-timer looking to change it up a bit,
Your wrist hurts with front and/or back squats,
You want the postural benefit from the upper-back work,
You want the functional carryover to moving heavy objects,
You're a combat athlete who has limited time in the gym - 'cause you'd rather be choking someone on the mats - and wants to gain strength and size in the core while working the legs,
Or you just think they're cool. ;)
What It Is
Where It Came From
Why It’s beneficial
How It's Done
Some Considerations
Other Ways to Use the Zercher Rack
When It's Not a Good Idea
Get My Squat Protocol!
What It Is
The Zercher Squat is a bilateral, front-loaded barbell squat where the bar snuggles up in the tender crooks of the elbows. It's a squat that is so versatile and extremely hard to screw up; it's a surprise that it's not the first type of barbell squat that coaches teach to beginner lifters. Zercher squats can be performed without a squat rack by deadlifting first, which is why it was invented, or it can be achieved by unracking it from a rack like a back squat.
Very Brief Origin Story
Ed Zercher, a competitive weightlifter and strongman from the 1930s & 40s, invented this lift to significantly challenge the lower body despite his gym not having a squat rack. Sure, you can get the bar on your back like Henry Steinborn, another lifting pioneer, but it's pretty challenging just to get the bar in position, thus limiting the overall weight that could be squatted. Good ol' Ed decided to deadlift the bar, then replace his hands with his elbow pits and start squatting. Simple yet ingenious!
Six Reasons Why It’s beneficial
Aside from intentionally using this squat as specialized variety to deviate from the back squat in Powerlifting or because you just like this variation (and are possibly a masochist) - both are good reasons - here are a few other Zercher Squat benefits:
1) Limited Equipment
Obviously, needing less equipment (a squat rack) to perform a barbell lift is a tremendous asset for those training at home or when all the racks are taken by other folks at the gym. My home gym setup consisted of many kettlebells, a couple of 20-kilo barbells, and bumper plates, but my actual training space was outside, where it was impossible to keep a squat rack from getting damaged by the elements. That forced me to get creative with movements and explore barbell variations I wouldn't have considered had I only ever trained in a fully-equipped gym.
Space was an issue for me, but I also recognize that the cost of a complete setup is prohibitive. Every movement pattern you can do with a squat rack can be achieved without one.
2) Teaches You How To Squat In General
If you don’t know how to barbell squat or are new to it, this is the one we’d recommend trying first. If you’ve learned a dumbbell or kettlebell front squat, this might be the most natural feeling barbell squat to graduate to. Placing the weight in the front of your body when standing or bending over reflexively contracts your abs hard to keep you from falling over. This is an excellent feature of Zerchers because it’s very obvious when you aren’t bracing your midsection enough (your torso will start to tip forward). Whereas with the back squat, it’s less obvious and you have to actively, versus reactively, brace your midsection.
3) Positional Variability
Unlike the Zercher Squat, the front or back squat has limited positional variability. With the Zercher, one can initiate the descent of the squat by pushing the hips back, focusing more on the posterior chain, and limiting the depth of the squat (like a back squat). Or by keeping the torso more vertical, one can emphasize the anterior chain (like a front squat). This is only possible because the bar is not fixed on your torso. Instead, it's held in your elbows where your arms are free to stay close to home or move away like your 19-year-old taking some time after high school to figure out what they want in their life.
4) A Movement Option for Those with Limited Mobility
As coaches who work with barbells and a wide variety of people, we need alternatives for folks who don’t have the requisite mobility to perform a back squat. Aside from those wishing to compete in Powerlifting, the back squat does not need to be the end goal. That goes for any lift. The Zercher Squat is a perfectly viable squat for those who can't (yet or ever) get into a solid back-loaded bar position. If someone can perform another kind of bilateral squat without pain or restriction, they can likely do a Zercher Squat.
5) Talk About “Functional”
You may be wondering what muscles get worked in the Zercher Squat (it's a "full-body" lift, so pretty much everything to some extent), but I would encourage you to think beyond aesthetics and consider the functional aspect instead. Any movement that makes you stronger, faster, more flexible, etc., can be "functional", as it is improving the function of our human machine. However, some cast a wider net across the spectrum of human movement and tasks. The Zercher Squat is one of those. Undeniably, it strengthens the legs, upper back, and midsection, but where it especially translates is to carrying heavy objects. In this squat, the arms are the direct link, keeping the body and weight moving in tandem. This directly correlates to one's ability to pick up and carry heavy things.
6) Did I Mention the “Core”?!
I keep mentioning how this lift challenges the midsection; I'm gonna do it again. The "core" is one of those casual fitness words tossed around like a game of hot potato. We know it's essential to "have a strong core" and "if I just strengthen my core, it'll fix my blah blah blah". A strong core has a bendable, twistable, foldable midsection (front, side, and back abs) that can support us through wide ranges of motion and resist imposed force. The Zercher Squat is one of the best squat variations (that I know of) for improving core strength.
How It's Done
There are two main ways to get the bar in position to perform a Zercher Squat. First, I'll explain from a deadlift (without a squat rack), and then I'll go over the few details that are different if performing from a squat rack.
From a Deadlift
To start, set up in your squat stance and grip the bar with your hands inside your legs. Remember that you can treat it like a back or front squat in terms of hip and torso position, so chose whichever squat stance that makes sense for your aim. Make sure your stance is wide enough to let your elbows pass inside your knees at the bottom of the squat. Some people prefer to do a conventional deadlift to start and then adjust to their squat stance, so you can try that too.
Whatever deadlift style you choose, pick it up! Once the bar is above your knees, you can complete a full deadlift rep (standing until your hips lock out) and lower the bar back down just above your knees before you get set. As you descend, your arms will hold the bar in position while you drop into a below-parallel squat position. If you don't, the bar will try to roll forward off your knees. Alternatively, you can skip the lockout and drop into a squat once the bar passes the top of your knees.
Once the bar is stationary, remove one hand from the bar while the other keeps it in position, and wrap the free arm's elbow around the bar, inside the knee. While that arm is holding the bar in place, release the grip of the other arm and wrap that elbow around the bar too. Your hands can make fists, interlace the fingers together, or one hand can cup the backside of the other. Whatever you choose, you want to engage your grip and not let your hands be open and loose. The position is set!
Time for liftoff. Take a biiiiig belly breath and press the floor away from you until you're standing tall. The timing of the hips and knees bending is dictated by the torso angle you're after. Squatting like a front squat will have your knees and hips bending at a similar rate at the start of the descent. If you’re squatting like a back squat, your hips will fold faster than your knees at the beginning. You'll descend as low as you’re able to control if squatting in a front squat position. However, if you're squatting in a back squat position, you'll likely descend until the bar rests on the top of your knees, like the start position.
Wanna do more reps? Great - I love your enthusiasm! You have two choices: 1) you could descend and immediately reverse the movement without a pause at the bottom - great if you're doing high reps. Or, 2) pause at the start position for a 2-count before ascending again. The latter is excellent for getting used to the hardness of the first rep. In a 90%+ 1-rep max set (for a Zercher Squat), the first rep can be as hard as the third or fourth.
When you're done, simply reverse the setup process. I omit standing up to lock out my hips again because I'm usually too tired, but that's up to you. Once the bar is situated on my knees, I release my elbow hooks (one at a time), re-grip the bar, and straighten my elbows as if I'm halfway into my descent of the deadlift - 'cause I am. Want extra time under tension? Slowly and with control, lower the bar to the floor as if trying not to make a sound. Or just pop the bar off your knees and guide it to the floor with a ba-boom!
From a Rack
The setup is the most significant difference, other than it now becomes a top-down squat versus a bottoms-up squat (like an Anderson Squat) with the deadlift start.
Set the bar in the j-hooks to roughly elbow-height. This should eliminate having to do a half squat or shrug the bar up just to un-rack it. Approach the bar, ensure you're centered on it, and wrap your elbows around it, one at a time or simultaneously. Scoot your feet forward so they're positioned under the bar lest you have to good morning the bar out of the rack… Ensure you're unracking the bar with your feet close-ish together (not in your squat stance) and standing up tall. Walk your feet straight back, then adjust them to your stance width and angle. Now squat. Adding the pause at the bottom isn't as impactful to the first rep as it is with the deadlift version, but it's up to you.
When you've had enough, walk straight into the rack with your eyes forward until you hear and feel both sides of the barbell connect with the upper part of the j-hooks. You're finished - go catch your breath.
Two Other Ways to Get Set up in the Zercher Position:
Zercher Deadlift
For fear of spinal explosions, most neutral-spine devotees would never try this, but you can bend over and grab the bar with the crooks of the elbows to deadlift it. That means deadlifting with massive amounts of lumbar flexion. 🤯 Any position can be safe if loaded progressively (more info from Dr. Greg Lehman). Likely, the legs can outperform the maximum weight lifted with this style, so doing it like this may hold you back. I suggest treating it as a separate exercise altogether or just using it in your warm-up sets.
Zercher Clean
Then there's the Tom Haviland Zercher Clean, where the pull is started like a power clean, but as the bar passes the hips, the hands let go and quickly pass under the bar so the elbows can catch the bar as it falls back down. Like the Zercher deadlift, this variation is very limited by the amount of weight you can clean, which is likely a lot less than what you can squat.
I often like and use both variations, but not for squats. I may Haviland Clean the bar from the ground to put it in a squat rack, or a few times, I was Holly's squat rack for front squats at home without an actual rack. But who knows, I may train these variations in the future.
Some Considerations
Elbow Ouchie
The biggest gripe is how much the Zercher Squat hurts the elbows and forearms. It absolutely sucks, I won't deny it. However, with most things, our bodies will adapt. For you kettlebell enthusiasts out there, remember how much pressure the kettlebell placed on the back of your wrist when you first started? You may have contemplated or even worn sweatbands to pad your wrists. Or barbell folks, how much did you hate doing front squats because the bar was so uncomfortable on your collarbones? For both groups, if you stuck with it for a month or so, you eventually got used to it and likely rarely think about it anymore. The same will happen in time for your elbows regarding Zercher Squats.
There are a couple of ways to build up your tolerance a bit easier than going full HAM with a power bar:
Use an axle bar. Because the diameter of an axle bar is roughly 2.5-3 times that of a 20kg / 45lb bar, the weight is much less concentrated and should feel significantly better. Not great, but better. Buuuuuut… With that greater weight distribution, the center of mass is displaced farther away from the elbow joint, which means there's a greater chance the bar will roll off the forearms when the going gets tough on the ascent.
Use Fat Gripz to simulate what the axle bar does. Because it's rubber versus steel, it should feel even cushier than the axle. Note: it's also more likely to roll forward, like the axle bar.
Folks with Large Chests and/or Bellies
For some, the bar in the Zercher rack position is uncomfortable or even painful if it has to rest on/against the body. Not every exercise is best suited for every type of body. That's okay; there are many other ways to lift, move, and get strong.
If you're without a rack, there are other viable options: the kettlebell or barbell goblet squat, along with a front squat if you can clean it. For the kettlebell goblet squat, the weight can be held farther from the body. In the barbell goblet squat, the weight is held at the upper chest level and even farther away from the torso, it will likely not need to rest on the body. The front squat is resting on the tops of the shoulders, again bypassing the chest/belly.
Lesser (But Legit) Reasons to Use the Zercher Rack
I don't know about you, but when I'm lazy and don't want to unload the bar but want it elsewhere, a Zercher carry is the easiest way to get it from point A to point B. Sure, I could pick it up with my hands and walk it over, but my thighs hit the bar, and I would have to almost shuffle my feet around to get there. Bleh.
I absolutely love the Zercher rack for things where grip is usually involved, and I don't want it holding me back or taxing me before I do another grip-intensive exercise. For example, say I'm going to superset pull-ups with split squats (and I don't have a rack). If I were to hold a pair of kettlebells for my split squats, my grip would be pre-fatigued going into my pull-ups. I don't want that. Zercher the bar for split squats. BAM! Problem solved.
People will think you're a maniac in the gym and naturally want to strike up a conversation about "why in the heck would you do that?" And just like that, you have a new friend, ready to wipe the sweat from your brow after your 20-rep max set of squats.
When to Use Other Barbell Squats
How could you have such a thought?! Abandoning ol' Zercher like that after everything it did for you! Pfft…
Actually, there are many reasons to move on from or skip this lift altogether.
It doesn't align with your sport. Say you're an Olympic-style weightlifter. Will the Zercher Squat benefit the clean & jerk or the snatch any more than a back squat? I doubt it. If anything, it may inhibit shoulder mobility and flexibility in the pecs due to the isometric contraction in the upper chest, squeezing everything tight to keep the bar in position. However, if there's a wrist or shoulder injury you're working around, the Zercher could be a fantastic way to still squat heavy.
You're a powerlifter and need the specificity of your sport. Using Zercher squats as specialized variety outside of a meet-prep cycle is okay and possibly highly beneficial. But it's probably not a good idea to be your primary squat for an extended period. Hurt wrist(s) and/or shoulder(s)? Again, this will still allow you to keep your legs pumped up.
As previously mentioned, if the bar in that position doesn't work for your body, find one that does.
Maybe it hurts too much in the elbows. It distracts you when you lift, and you can only think about getting it off your elbows.
You just don’t like it. Fine. No need to do something you hate.
Final Thoughts
In all its magnificence, the Zercher Squat is not the end-all, be-all of squats. It is, however, an excellent choice for these reasons and more. I hope this article gave you a new appreciation for this underrated variation and made you want to get up and Zercher Squat immediately.
Want to try the squat protocol I most recently used to increase my Zercher Squat from 145kg x 5RM to 160kg x 6RM in 10 weeks?!
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