The hack squat is a squat on a fixed angled sled with your back against a pad, so the machine handles balance and your legs do nothing else. Compared with a leg press it keeps you closer to a real squat position with the hips travelling through a full range, and compared with a barbell squat it lets you push a set genuinely close to failure without needing a spotter.
How to do it
- Back flat against the pad, feet mid-platform, and stay in the machine throughout.
- Foot position changes the emphasis: higher for glutes and hamstrings, lower for quads.
Common mistakes
- Letting the lower back peel off the pad at the bottom.
What it trains
- Quads
- extend the knees against the sled — the prime mover, and more so the further forward your feet sit
- Glutes
- extend the hips, and take more of it with a higher foot placement and a deeper rep
- Hamstrings
- assist at the hip and stabilise the knee through the ascent
- Abs
- brace against the pad, though far less than in any free-weight squat
Variations and alternatives
Common questions
Where should my feet go on a hack squat?
Low and close together for maximum quad, higher and wider for more glute and hamstring. Start with feet around shoulder width in the middle of the platform and move from there — the machine changes character more with foot position than almost anything else in the gym.
Is a hack squat better than a leg press?
For quads they are close, but the hack squat has the edge because your hips travel further and you are loaded standing rather than seated. The leg press is easier on the lower back and lets you use more weight, so which one is better depends on what is limiting you.
Why do my knees hurt at the bottom?
Usually feet placed too low and too far back, which drives the knees hard over the toes with the pad pushing down from behind. Move your feet a few inches up the platform and stop short of the point where your hips start rolling off the back pad.
In StackUp. Logged as weight and reps per set, and your heaviest working set decides whether the weight goes up next time. Get the app.
Legs
