For quad growth
For quad growth, leg extension rates higher on our research criteria: easier to progress, more of the work on the quads.
Heels-elevated goblet squat gives more stretch.
Both are good choices, and they train the quads differently. Using both across your week covers more of the muscle than either alone: in studies, varied exercises grew parts of a muscle that one exercise missed. (Fonseca et al., 2014; Costa et al., 2021)
The research score comes from these, scored by hand from the studies. Lifter scores appear once an exercise has 10 ratings. How scores work
Heels-Elevated Goblet Squat. Raised heels let the knees travel forward for a deep quad bend. The goblet hold caps how heavy it gets.
Leg Extension. The only exercise that fully loads the rectus femoris: it grew all three of its regions in one trial, where Smith squats didn’t. Lean back to stretch it more.
For quad growth, leg extension rates higher on our research criteria: easier to progress, more of the work on the quads. Heels-elevated goblet squat gives more stretch. Both are good choices, and they train the quads differently. Using both across your week covers more of the muscle than either alone: in studies, varied exercises grew parts of a muscle that one exercise missed.
About the same: both are easy to learn.
Heels-elevated goblet squat needs dumbbells and a weight plate, so a home gym covers it. Leg extension needs a machine, so for most people it’s a gym exercise.
Heels-elevated goblet squat: it rates Excellent for joint and recovery cost in our research rubric, against Strong for leg extension.