Exercise Comparison
All Fours Quad Stretch vs Weighted Squat




Side-by-Side
Muscle Analysis
Shared
Only in All Fours Quad Stretch
Only in Weighted Squat
Instructions
All Fours Quad Stretch
Start off on your hands and knees, then lift your leg off the floor and hold the foot with your hand.
Use your hand to hold the foot or ankle, keeping the knee fully flexed, stretching the quadriceps and hip flexors.
Focus on extending your hips, thrusting them towards the floor. Hold for 10-20 seconds and then switch sides.
Weighted Squat
Start by positioning two flat benches shoulder width apart from each other. Stand on top of them and wrap the weighted belt around your waist with the amount of weight you feel comfortable with. Make sure your toes are facing out.
Once you are standing straight up with the weight hanging in between your legs, position your arms so that they are fully extended to the side of your body. This is the starting position.
Begin by bending the knees as you maintain a straight posture with the head up. Continue down until the angle between the upper leg and the calves becomes slightly less than 90-degrees (which is the point in which the upper legs are below parallel to the floor). Inhale as you perform this portion of the movement. Tip: If you performed the exercise correctly, the front of the knees should make an imaginary straight line with the toes that are perpendicular to the front. If your knees are past that imaginary line (if they are past your toes) then you are placing undue stress on the knee and the exercise has been performed incorrectly.
Begin to move the body back up by pushing the floor of the flat bench with the ball of your foot mainly as you straighten the legs again and go back to the starting position. Exhale as you perform this portion of the exercise.
Repeat for the recommended amount of repetitions.
Verdict
Both exercises target the quadriceps. All Fours Quad Stretch is a intermediate exercise using bodyweight, while Weighted Squat is intermediate and uses other. Choose All Fours Quad Stretch if you have access to bodyweight, or Weighted Squat if you prefer other.