Hack Squat | Ultimate How to Hack Squat Guide

The hack squat machine is a staple in most commercial gyms, and they are more widely available for home gym owners as well. A lot of bodybuilders rely on it to help build or maintain muscle mass in the lower body while beginners and recreational fitness enthusiasts consider it a safe machine movment to train the legs.

If you're reading this, then there is a good chance that you're looking to add it to your routine or are already doing it and want tips to get better. The good news is we got you all covered with this guide on the benefits of the movement, proper hack squat form, bonus tips, what not to do, and alternatives that may also help you. Grab your Transparent Labs preworkout of choice, head to the gym, and get ready to make some great leg day gains.

Hack Squat Benefits

The hack squat can be a safe movement that allows you to build muscle and strength in the lower body, specifically the quadriceps. The traditional barbell squat would still be considered best for getting stronger, especially with trunk muscle activation (1), but when it comes to hypertrophy, the results with free weights and machines can be comparable (2). Therefore, if you want to do the hack squat for quad development, then you can do so with confidence as long as you put in the proper effort and maintain correct form.

Beginners or people that may not be comfortable doing back squats can use the hack squat as a suitable replacement to help them maximize the potential of their lower body muscles. It can also be a great accessory for those looking to get stronger for a sport or as an assistant exercise to improve the squat if you compete in powerlifting.

Who Should Use This Exercise

Most lifters and fitness enthusiasts that want to add the hack squat into their routine can do so. It can be beneficial for those looking to lose weight, build muscle, or improve leg strength. It can be a key lower body movement for beginners and advanced lifters alike.

People that are dealing with lower back issues or knee pain may want to avoid it until they recover or get clearance from a doctor or physical therapist to resume training with the exercise.

How to Do The Machine Hack Squat

As with any exercise, proper form matters so you can train the desired muscle groups. There are a variety of hack squat machines on the market and accessible in many gyms. The setups for individual machines may vary, but these instructions will serve as a universal guide on how to perform the hack squat safely and effectively.

Starting Position

Apply the desired weight to the machine, and place the settings so you can fit comfortably on the machine and use a full range of motion. You should be able to maintain a neutral spine on the machine while your head is between the shoulder pads and your shoulders are against those pads. Keep feet shoulder width apart on the foot plate for even weight distribution. Adjust the machine so you have control of the weight and maintain straight legs without locking out the knees. Hold the handles on the machine before you begin. This is the starting position.

Form Performance

Take a deep breath and lower your hips as far as you safely can to descend into the bottom of the movement. You should aim for making a 90-degree angle with your legs by the end of the concentric portion of the movement.

Using your leg muscles, push your feet into the foot plate to extend your legs and push your upper body back up to the starting position. Breathe out as you perform this phase of the movement. Once you return to the starting position, you have completed one rep. Repeat for the desired reps.

Extra Tips

The instructions above are the simple steps to performing the hack squat, but these tips can help you master the exercise so you can get the most out of it.

Pay Attention to Ankle Mobility

Many athletes don't know that the weakness in their leg training may not be a lack of strength, but rather a lack of flexibility. Ankle mobility is very important on any squatting or leg pressing exercise, and you should prepare the ankles for the training to come by working on your mobility. Proper mobility can help you go lower into the movement without increasing the risk of injury.

Warm-ups are Important

If you intend to make the hack squat the opening exercise in your routine, then you should begin with multiple warmup sets with light weights so you can prepare the muscles, joints, and tendons for the work to come. It can also help you gauge your strength and improve muscle coordination. Even if you intend to do the hack squat machine later in the routine, you should do at least one warmup set before adding more weight plates.

Core Activation

Even though this is a machine exercise, brace your core and lower back as you would for a traditional back squat. This step never hurts and can protect you if you do happen to get stuck on that last rep. Bonus tip here: don't do this without a spotter, even if it is a machine.

Recover Well

It can also go without saying, but reminders never hurt, pay attention to recovery as well. Stretching, cool-downs, and quality protein will serve you well after you finish training. The better you recover, the more potential you have down the road.

Mistakes to Avoid

Knowing what not to do matters just as much as knowing what you should do. So, don't make these mistakes if you want to keep training and making progress.

Too Heavy Too Fast

Even if you're completely warmed up and have performed exercises like leg extensions and regular squats first, you should not go all-out and load the machine up for your first set. The risks that come with this are similar to doing the same with a heavy barbell. Start with a weight that you know you can do for the desired reps before adding more. Heavier weights can be great, but no one grows while sitting at the house recovering from an injury. The time it takes to do at least one lighter set will be well worth it.

Using Momentum

Performing slow and controlled reps are safer and can be more effective than generating momentum and bouncing at the bottom of the rep. The negative is actually where you are stronger and can get even stronger, anyway. Take your time going down, and explode up to the top when it comes time to go back up. If you really want to emphasize power and control, pause at the bottom for a count of "one thousand one" before you come up out of the hole.

Looking Down

It may be tempting to look down at your feet, but keeping a neutral spine would be best. Looking down could place your neck at risk and will shift your body weight, which could make the exercise more challenging for no good reason.

How to Add The Hack Squat to Your Workout Routine

Now that you know how to do the hack squat, when can you do it? The hack squat can be a very versatile exercise that suits multiple needs for all strength and fitness disciplines. It is also a compound exercise that requires multiple joints to be active.

Therefore, using it early in the routine when you have more energy would be a wise choice. If you are looking for quad improvement, then you could do it first or second in the routine. If power and strength is the goal, then it would also be wise to get it in early after you do your squat rack work.

If you think your quads are already solid and want to focus on hamstrings and glutes, then save the hack squat for the end of the routine. The quads will be forced to do more work while the hamstrings and glutes are exhausted from the earlier work you put them through.

Rep ranges can vary as well. Lower rep ranges in the neighborhood of 5-8 can be great for strength. If size is the prize, then 10-20 reps would be optimal. Reps beyond 20 will help with endurance, but be prepared for a short cardio workout as well.

Alternative Exercises

Some commercial gyms don't have hack squat machines, and not every home gym has the room for a machine of that size. Fear not, because there are several alternatives for you to choose from so you can see comparable results.

Barbell Hack Squat

This is the free weight alternative to the regular hack squat, and some old school lifters will tell you that this is the original. Wrestling and strength legend George Hackenschmidt used the barbell hack squat to improve lower body strength.

In its simplest form, this exercise is a deadlift with the barbell behind you. The weight position in relation to your body places more emphasis on the quadriceps. You simply grab the loaded barbell behind you with a proper overhand grip, push through your feet, and stand tall with the weight. If you go to try this alternative, use lifting straps and a weight belt for safety and effectiveness.

Front Squat

Advanced lifters that don't have access to a hack squat machine can use front squats with a barbell to achieve similar results. This version will challenge the core more, and you will use less weight than the machine hack squat, but you can still focus on the front of the thighs more since the barbell is in front of you and more over the quads.

Be advised that you very likely will not be as strong on the front squat as you would be the back squat, and you will be working your core much more to stabilize the weight. That said, it can still help you build bigger and stronger thighs.

Goblet Squat

If you are limited to dumbbells, then the goblet squat could be a good choice to add into your routine. The goal is to hold the dumbbell at shoulder height in front of you and maintain balance while squatting. You can place your feet wider to perform a sumo squat if you want to focus more on the adductors.

Leg Press

The leg press machine is the more popular exercise, and it can also serve all fitness enthusiasts well. You are pushing the weight while the upper body is stationary and in a seated position, but it will still help you train the quadriceps effectively.

Some athletes may prefer to have their feet high on the foot plate while others prefer them lower. Studies have concluded that foot placement on this exercise is not that important. Muscle activation was similar whether lifters used a wide or narrow stance. (3) The same principle may be applied to the hack squat as well, but this could be determined by the individual training. You could play it safe and do both if you are capable.

Smith Machine Hack Squat

If you've done a Smith Machine squat, then you can do the hack version. All you do is set your feet a few inches further forward. You don't want to be completely leaning on the bar of the machine, but this position will help you target the quads more effectively. Having a spotter on standby would be wise.

Reverse Hack Squat

The reverse hack squat is an advanced movement that will help shift the focus on the glutes and hamstrings. The lifter would sit with the chest on the pads of the machine instead of lying on it traditionally. Not all hack squat machines allow you to do this, and it should not be forced because of the injury risk. Some gyms have machines specifically designed for this purpose.

Conclusion

The hack squat machine is a great movement for targeted quad development, but it can also benefit the glutes and hamstrings to a secondary degree. It would be worth adding to your lower body workout if you are looking to achieve improvement in leg development or add an accessory to improve strength in the legs and for the traditional squat. Add it into your routine now so you can see results now and later.

References

1. Trunk Muscle Activation in the Back and Hack Squat at the Same Relative Loads. David R Clark 1, Michael I Lambert 2, Angus M Hunter 1 https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/28704312/

2. A Comparison of Machine versus Free-Weight Squats for the Enhancement of Lower-Body Power, Speed, and Change-of-Direction Ability during an Initial Training Phase of Recreationally-Active Women. Neil A Schwarz 1,*, Sean P Harper 1, Andy Waldhelm 2, Sarah K McKinley-Barnard 1, Shelley L Holden 1, John E Kovaleski 1 https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC6835729/

3. Martín-Fuentes, I., Oliva-Lozano, J.M. and Muyor, J.M. (2020) Evaluation of the lower limb muscles’ electromyographic activity during the leg press exercise and its variants: A systematic review, MDPI. Available at: https://www.mdpi.com/1660-4601/17/13/4626.