The hack squat is a lower-body train involving a hack squat machine.
It’s a go-to train for a lot of gym-goers as a result of it trains your whole decrease physique with out stressing your knees and again as a lot as different free-weight squatting workouts.
What’s extra, it helps you develop lower-body power, energy, pace, and agility, making it a wonderful choice for athletes.
On this article, you’ll study what the hack squat (and hack squat machine) is, why it’s helpful, the muscle mass labored by the hack squat, the right way to carry out correct hack squat kind, the most effective hack squat
What Is A Hack Squat?
The hack squat is a lower-body power coaching train.
Initially, weightlifters carried out the hack squat by putting a loaded barbell behind their heels, squatting down, gripping the barbell, then standing up. In reality, that is how the train obtained its identify—”hack” comes from the German phrase “hacke,” which interprets to “heel.”
These days, nonetheless, most individuals want the machine hack squat to the barbell hack squat. As such, the machine hack squat is the variation we’ll deal with on this article.
The machine hack squat entails a hack squat machine, which is a bit of exercise tools that helps your again whilst you carry out the train and makes including weight extra simple.
Hack Squat vs. Leg Press: Which Is Higher?
It relies upon.
The hack squat trains your quads by means of a higher vary of movement, which implies it’s doubtless barely higher for coaching your quads than the leg press.
Nevertheless, the leg press is much less taxing in your decrease again and usually much less fatiguing total. This makes it extra appropriate for individuals with lower-back points and for coaching your legs on the finish of a exercise whenever you’re already feeling ragged.
After all, there’s no cause to incorporate simply considered one of these workouts in your program—the most effective resolution for most individuals is to do each (or to do the leg press or hack squat and one other squat variation).
A great way to do that is to incorporate the hack squat in your program for 8-to-10 weeks of coaching, take a deload, then change the hack squat with the leg press for the next 8-to-10 weeks of coaching.
Then, you’ll be able to both proceed alternating between the workouts each few months like this or follow the one you like.
That is how I personally like to arrange my coaching, and it’s just like the tactic I advocate in my health books for women and men, Greater Leaner Stronger and Thinner Leaner Stronger.
(And in case you’d like much more particular recommendation about what workouts to incorporate in your coaching program to succeed in your well being and health objectives, take the Legion Power Coaching Quiz, and in lower than a minute, you’ll know the proper power coaching program for you. Click on right here to test it out.)
Hack Squat vs. Squat: Which Is Higher?
It relies upon.
The hack squat and again squat are each efficient workouts for coaching all of the muscle mass of the legs, although the barbell squat is probably going higher at coaching stabilizer muscle mass throughout your whole physique and secondary muscle teams such because the decrease again.
That stated, some individuals lack the mobility to carry out the again squat correctly or can’t carry out it due to preexisting accidents that make it unsafe or uncomfortable.
For these individuals, the hack squat is a greater choice, at the least till they develop the mobility to carry out the again squat with correct kind or get better from their harm.
Usually, there’s no cause to decide on simply considered one of these workouts, although. The perfect resolution for most individuals is to incorporate each workouts of their program.
A great way to do that is to begin your leg exercise with the again squat, then carry out the hack squat later in your exercise when supporting muscle mass like your decrease again are bushed, however your legs can nonetheless handle one other few units.
Hack Squat: Advantages
1. It trains your whole decrease physique.
Many individuals suppose you carry out the hack squat for quads.
Whereas it’s true that the hack squat is a extremely efficient quad train, it additionally trains your whole decrease physique, together with the glutes, hamstrings, and calves. It additionally trains your core and decrease again to a lesser diploma, too.
2. It’s extra joint-friendly than different lower-body workouts.
Analysis reveals that the hack squat locations much less stress in your backbone and knees than different lower-body workouts, together with the entrance, again, and sumo squat.
As such, the hack squat is a superb lower-body train for people who find themselves coaching round or attempting to keep away from reaggravating a again or knee harm and discover different free-weight squatting workouts uncomfortable.
3. It could enhance athletic efficiency.
Analysis reveals that the hack squat helps you develop lower-body power, energy, pace, and agility, which makes it a wonderful train for athletes who play sports activities that require you to leap, dash, or change path at pace.
Hack Squat: Foot Placement
Many individuals consider that altering your foot placement on the hack squat machine tremendously influences which lower-body muscle mass the hack squat emphasizes.
There could also be a kernel of reality to this concept, nevertheless it’s nonetheless extra unsuitable than proper.
There’s no analysis investigating how hack squat ft place impacts muscle progress particularly. Nevertheless, scientists have checked out how altering your foot place through the leg press and squat impacts muscle activation.
For the reason that hack squat, leg press, and squat are related lower-body workouts, we will doubtless use the outcomes of those research to grasp the impact of adjusting your foot placement on the hack squat.
As an illustration, analysis reveals that putting your ft excessive on the leg press machine’s footplate (so your toes virtually dangle off the highest) will increase glute and hamstring activation, and putting your ft low on the footplate (so your heels virtually dangle off the underside) will increase quad activation.
In each circumstances, nonetheless, the distinction in activation is slight. And since extra muscle activation doesn’t at all times imply extra muscle progress, it isn’t clear how a lot altering the peak of your foot placement impacts your long-term outcomes.
Issues are much more ambiguous in the case of stance width and foot orientation.
Whereas most leg press analysis reveals that muscle activation in your legs is identical no matter how large your stance is or the way you level your toes, some squat research present that taking a wider stance emphasizes your glutes and hamstrings, taking a narrower stance preferentially trains your quads, and pointing your toes out will increase activation in your adductor longus (inside thigh muscle mass).
Once more, although, these research solely measure muscle activation, not muscle progress, which makes it troublesome to say whether or not tinkering together with your stance width and foot orientation has a significant impact on long-term muscle good points.
With this in thoughts, essentially the most secure, efficient, and comfy hack squat foot placement for most individuals will probably be one which locations your ft midway up the footplate, a bit of wider than shoulder-width aside, and together with your toes pointing barely outward.
Hack Squat: Muscle tissues Labored
The principle muscle mass labored by the hack squat are the . . .
- Quadriceps
- Hamstrings
- Glutes
- Calves
It additionally trains the core and decrease again to a lesser extent, too.
Right here’s how the primary muscle mass labored by the hack squat look in your physique:
Hack Squat: Type
One of the best ways to study the right way to hack squat is to separate the train into three components: arrange, descend, and squat.
1. Arrange
Load the hack squat machine with the specified quantity of weight, then place your ft shoulder-width aside on the footplate together with your toes pointed barely outward, your shoulders towards the shoulder pads, and your again towards the backrest.
Seize the protection handles, then straighten your knees and use the handles to launch the burden.
2. Descend
Take a deep breath into your abdomen and brace your abs, then whereas holding your again pressed towards the backrest, decrease your physique by bending your knees. Permit your knees to maneuver ahead in the identical path as your toes.
Maintain decreasing your physique till the angle between your calves and thighs is 90 levels or barely much less.
3. Ascent
Drive your ft into the footplate and straighten your knees to return to the beginning place. It is a mirror picture of what you probably did through the descent.
Right here’s how correct hack squat kind ought to look whenever you put all of this collectively:
The Greatest Hack Squat Alternate options
1. Reverse Hack Squat
The reverse hack squat is identical because the common hack squat, besides you carry out the train going through the machine relatively than away from it.
By performing the train whereas going through the machine you shift the emphasis to your posterior chain (the muscle mass on the again of your physique), which makes the reverse hack squat a superb different for these trying to develop their glutes and hamstrings greater than their quads.
2. Barbell Hack Squat
The barbell hack squat means that you can prepare the identical muscle mass to an analogous diploma because the machine hack squat, making it a wonderful hack squat substitute whenever you don’t have entry to a hack squat machine.
3. Landmine Hack Squat
The landmine hack squat is a hack squat variation that makes use of a landmine attachment and barbell instead of a hack squat machine. Equally to the common hack squat, the landmine hack squat trains your entire lower-body muscle mass, which makes it a viable different if you wish to change up your coaching.
4. Smith Machine Hack Squat
In case your health club doesn’t have a hack squat machine, the Smith machine hack squat is a worthy different. That’s as a result of it means that you can prepare the identical muscle mass to a comparable diploma. Moreover, since you use a Smith machine, it’s as secure and simple to regulate because the common model.
5. Entrance Squat
The entrance squat isn’t a hack squat variation, per se, however a free-weight different to the hack squat that trains the identical muscle mass.
FAQ #1: Are you able to do a hack squat with out a machine?
Sure.
The perfect different to the hack squat that doesn’t require a hack squat machine is the barbell hack squat.
To carry out the barbell hack squat, place a loaded barbell behind your legs, squat down and grip the barbell, then get up.
FAQ #2: The place can I study the right way to use a hack squat machine?
To study the right way to use a hack squat machine, observe the directions above.
Or, in case you’d want extra hands-on instruction, communicate to a coach at your health club. They need to be capable of present you the right way to use your health club’s hack squat machine and clarify the right way to use correct hack squat kind.
FAQ #3: Pendulum Squat vs. Hack Squat: What’s the Distinction?
The pendulum squat is a lower-body train that makes use of the pendulum squat machine.
The principle distinction between the pendulum squat and hack squat is the pendulum squat machine is configured in order that the train is most difficult on the high of every rep and best on the backside.
That is the alternative of the hack squat (and all different squat workouts), which implies the pendulum squat trains your decrease physique barely in another way.
That’s to not say the pendulum squat is healthier—each workouts prepare the identical muscle mass equally nicely, so when you have entry to a pendulum squat machine, it’s wise to incorporate each workouts in your program.
+ Scientific References
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