Zercher Squats - 225 to 515lbs

[perfectdiversion]

i put padding around the bar. cant fail then! best way to do it!

[egrijalva27]

this dude is seriously strong. much respect

[basquelion]

I can squat 500 (full -- once) but these always hurt my bicep tendons at 225 so I have to puss out. My work allows little time for training so I can only do compound movements and would love to encorporate these. Any ideas how to do these w/out too much tendon pain? Tried towels. BTW, this guy is wicked strong.

[spytechceo]

@basquelion First of all - thanks! Does it hurt the actual tendons, or is it just the flesh and muscle in the crook of your elbow aching? It took me a while to get used to doing them. Arms hurt quite a bit, for quite a while the first handful of times, but once I was acclimated I never had any issues. I've done 675 with the same setup in this vid and still no arm pains. Biggest issue, for me, when going that heavy is the movement tends to strain the occipitalis muscles (back of the head)...

[MrRossboss2010]

i got arthiritis in my lower back so i do these insted of regualar squats and i love them

[damianlionel]

i do these double reps, first rep deadstart, second from the top and down to knees and top again, and back to knees and floor. cause i have no rack, money or even space for anything as of now, lol. anyhow i must ask you (you seem like you may know as well as anyone)... if i am not doing back squats what else would be good to pair with the zerchers iam doing to hit the same muscles as a regular back squat and also deadlift? Zerchers and stiff leg deads? maybe good mornings? (if i get it up there)

[spytechceo]

@damianlionel zerchers are a great 'full body' movement in that they hit your legs, glutes,and entire back really well. If you are limited with what you can do I would throw in stiff legs for sure (sumo stance and conventional), and some strict round back gms. These are done with light weight (for obvious reasons) and higher reps, but are absolutely brutal. I usually do them seated. Strict standing gms are great, too (legs nearly locked, pushing your ass way back while bending at the hips).

[spytechceo]

@EddygPS3 Last time I maxed my full back squat it was 585 - probably north of 600 now. My parallel squat is in the low 600's. Life-time drug free.

[AlMamluk]

@spytechceo respect. i tried these for the first time today. havent felt the way i do in my legs in a loooooong time. above guy sounds like a n00b "muscle & fitness" reader.

[spytechceo]

@AlMamluk lol

[spytechceo]

@EddygPS3 What's your point? Zerchers are a completely different movement from regular back squats. Might as well say rows are 10x better than overhead presses...

[nikolatesla08]

i love this video, it gets me fired up to hit zerchers, i think its the music.

[rak000]

hey where does it hit the hardest? the hams or quads? I think quads because it looks like a modified frotn squat. lemme know

[spytechceo]

@rak000 mostly quads for me.

[WhoIsNe]

dude you are a beast.....

[edwinn0705]

long term elbow damage??

any feedback?

[spytechceo]

@edwinn0705 Never had any elbow problems from zerchers. If anything it tends to strain the traps and connective tissues around the collarbone the most.

[nikolatesla08]

@spytechceo yup, the only joint i feel it in is the shoulder

[Puissance]

Wait.... is that... is that a BEAST?!

[spytechceo]

@Puissance lmao

[spytechceo]

@nikolatesla08 upper and middle back, erectors, and hips/glutes for me.

[nikolatesla08]

what axillary work do you do? or is this all you do for max effort lower body?

[spytechceo]

@nikolatesla08 zerchers are an auxiliary/assistance lift for me. other lower body assistance work consists of GM variations, stiff leg deads, rdls, hypers, ghrs, hip work, etc.

[nikolatesla08]

@spytechceo so you do them after squats?

[spytechceo]

@nikolatesla08 usually yeah.

[Ne5k]

I really like these. I incorporated this zercher variant into my workout yesterday and I find the movement feels really natural. It almost feels like I'm lifting up the rear end of a truck or something like that. I'm gonna use them a lot now. Thanks for vid man. :D

[FlyWithMe88]

Strong man

[MEELATEHGRIL]

This is probably a great movement for explosive football strength.

[JimmyD0YLE]

outstanding. what kind of carryover to the squat and deadlift have u experienced by increasing the zercher squat?

[llrond]

damn, nice back, you keep it straight the whole time

[Nicolax777]

I dare you to do 515 zerkers with dead-start :D

Neah man, your strengh is impressive.

[spytechceo]

@Nicolax777 Thanks man. The heaviest I ever tried on dead-start Zerchers off the floor (zercher deadlift?) was 450 (shortly after doing this video). It wasn't particularly heavy or difficult, but my legs are pretty long and to get into that starting position I really have to compromise my back position quite a bit.

[Nicolax777]

@spytechceo I got the same problem to get in the starting position, last time I couldn't even do 400. But my personal opinion is that Zerkers are more for back and abs rather than legs, I mean we could the good old squat for that purpose.

[spytechceo]

@Nicolax777 exactly!

[plantera07]

interesting. ill have to try these out

[str94100]

i love zerchers. for me built some serious core

[yeagemk]

This exercise is a regular part of my training. For all those who talk shit on it, try it out.

[hotdude23]

why people who do strange training never get big.. ?

[spytechceo]

@hotdude23 5'10, 250, 10-11% bf, life-time drug-free. 10 years ago I was 135lbs. Try again.

[h4x0lZzz]

@hotdude23 What the fuck are you talking about, this guy is big.

[NonTimeboMa1a]

@hotdude23

Because their often Powerlifters who arent looking to get big. Though i wouldnt say this guy is small.

[MrLamotta86]

Aagh that must hurt like HELL

[mydogsnoopy]

These are some fucked up squats.....what happened to doing it the normal way??

[spytechceo]

@mydogsnoopy different exercises for different objectives. Zerchers off pins (for me) are more for the upper/middle back and hips.

[angrygunsmith]

respekt.

[clockhanded]

I can't wait to try this out. What song is that by the way?

[spytechceo]

The song is Track 5 from NIN's Ghosts 1 album.

[bsal219]

Does this movement bother the shoulders? I can't do back squats because I injured my right shoulder and it hurts when I put a bar across my back.

[spytechceo]

I've never noticed any shoulder strain. The load  is mostly on your traps and mid back. Maybe some rear delt recruitment, but not much.

[MajorKonig49]

@bsal219 im 5 months out of shoulder surgery(labrum tear) and it doesnt bother me at all. great life..bad as fuck to, i was doing these in the gym and i went to get some water and on my way back some dude tried to do one and he was rubbing the inside of his arms for like 30 minuets lol

[dlinechamp78]

Hey i would train the biceps before doing this theres a big chance to tear the bicep

[spytechceo]

not really

[dlinechamp78]

Ive known a few of people that tore and rupture there biceps because of that im jut looking out man your better doing front squats from the shoulder zerchers is garbage youll never need it that much in competition

[spytechceo]

Hey, I appreciate the looking out. :) I do have to wonder about those people's form, though. My arms are pretty relaxed and if anything would give, it would be my neck or traps before my biceps.

[heylookatmeok]

Yeahh, I won't stop doing them regardless, besides they make for some sweet bruises in my opinion lol. And usually they just hurt when I unrack them and after the set, during the set everything just kind of fazes out.

[heylookatmeok]

Have you tried wrapping a towel around the bar several times to kinda distribute the load? I just added Zercher's in myself and I'm thinking of trying that. They hurt like a bitch ha. In a good way.

[spytechceo]

When I first started doing them I wrapped the bar with a towel. Just got to be annoying and I found I could hold the bar better without it. They hurt more at the time, but once you do them consistently your forearms don't hurt much then on.

[SirGrixxly]

Wow man you're a beast.

[AceCobra1]

i have been trying to do this myself but i find that when I do fairly heavy weights (for me) I get sore joints - do u do anything to try to spread the weight more evenly on the elbow joints?

[spytechceo]

I've tried using elbow sleeves, but it just makes it harder to hold onto the bar. I know some people put a 2x4 in the crook of their elbows and lift with the bar on that. Haven't tried that one though! After you do them for a while your joints and forearms should get used to them.

[SD78]

Wouldn't Zercher Squats start from the rack, making these (techically) Zercher Deadlifts?

[spytechceo]

Guess you could call them either! The mechanics are more 'squat-like' I think, so that's what I called them. If I were to do 'Zercher Deadlifts' I think I would use a more stiff-legged approach and focus on using my back more.

[SD78]

Have you tried doing them out of the rack?

It might make it more challenging.

[spytechceo]

I do all sorts of Zercher variations. I think the Zercher 'grip' is phenomenal for core strength and development so I like to play around with it alot. Zercher deads from the floor, zercher squats from higher and lower pin settings than in these vids, atg zercher squats, etc.

[JONESYUSICK]

warrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr­rrr

[barrydope]

Great form! Most assholes doing these on youtube are dropping the weight hard enough to warp the bar.

[BRETZERR]

Nice bro...what's your 1 rep max on this now? I just did 525 lbs from 26" pins yesterday. The vid is posted...(I only did the concentric part of the lift)...check it out! I would be interested in your comments as you appear to do these a lot...

I think I can hit a bit more...but time will tell...my forearms were killing me! LOL

[spytechceo]

I really have no idea what my 1rm is. I did 605x2 pretty easily tonight after doing a bunch of heavy squat work. I haven't done them fresh in a long time.

[BRETZERR]

Right on bro...keep getting stronger. Great videos; you're a strong dude...keep it up!

[spytechceo]

Thanks man, you too!

[voodoofuzz13]

*****

[BRETZERR]

Great vid bro...good job. 5 stars.

[obesityrate]

Why aren't you going as deep on the heavy range squats like you did on the 245 x 16?

[spytechceo]

I use the heavier zerchers off pins to really hit my back hard. The high rep set I just randomly threw in at the end of my workout. When I use zerchers as a low body movement (as opposed to a back movement) I do more atg full-rom work.

[crazyironfist]

and your only 27? im jealous. I will be watching for you on ifsa or met-rx wsm.

[spytechceo]

haha, thanks for the encouragement, but I would have to gain quite a bit of mass to compete there, seeing as I am only 225-235lbs @ 5'10" and would be dwarfed by those guys weighing in at 300+.

[crazyironfist]

doesn't that hurt your arms like hell?

[spytechceo]

At first, but you get used to it pretty quick.

[ottorotciv]

Hmmm, not sure which I like better, the song or the exercise. That is some seriously strong shit though, dude. I might have to give these zerchers a go tomorrow.

[spytechceo]

Great song, great exercise - it is a toss-up. Thanks V.