Exercises for Medial Quad Muscle

The medial quad muscle is called the vastus medialis obliquus. This muscle is also known as the inner quadriceps. Its function is to extend your knee joint, similar to the other three quadriceps muscles -- rectus femoris, vastus lateralis and vastus intermedius. By tweaking some of the common quad exercises, you can shift more of the workload onto the vastus medialis obliquus to work the muscle to a larger extent. Do one to two VMO-specific variations per leg workout. Perform three sets of 10 to 15 repetitions for each set that you do.

  1. Vastus Medialis Obliquus

    • Before you learn some effective inner quad exercise, you must be aware of the anatomy of the vastus medialis obliquus, abbreviated VMO. This muscle attaches at the inner femur, or thigh bone, and inserts at the tibia, or shin bone. What makes this part of the quads unique is the orientation of its fibers, which are positioned in an oblique or slanted direction, hence the obliquus part in the name of the muscle. You can take advantage of this anatomical tidbit to better train this muscle. To do so, use a wide stance and point your toes outwardly while doing quadriceps exercises. Both of these tweaks in your stance put the VMO in a better alignment to contract.

    Seated Leg Extension

    • The simplest exercise for your VMO and other quadriceps muscles is the seated leg extension. You sit on the machine seat, slide your feet under the roll pads and then extend your knees fully. To better work your VMO, point your toes toward the outside and separate your legs so they are wider than shoulder-width apart.

    Wide Squat

    • Squats are a fundamental quadriceps exercise. For the VMO, use a really wide stance. This often referred to as a sumo squat. You should also point your toes toward the outside. Bend your hips and knees until your thighs are parallel to the ground and then extend these joints to return to the beginning position. Keep your back straight at all times during the wide-stance squat.

    Wide Lunge

    • Another fundamental exercise for your quadriceps is the lunge. For the VMO, you should do a wide lunge. Similar to a traditional lunge, stand with your body upright and feet shoulder-width apart. Then, take a step forward with your right leg and bend your hips and knees as you return your right foot to the ground. You should take a wide step forward but toward the right side to maximize the work of the VMO.