Hack Squat your Way to Leg Development
Monday, October 13th, 2008The regular barbell squat demands the entire body, so isolating and prioritizing your quads is often difficult. If you match the hack squat rep for rep with a squat, you’ll be on your way to developing quads, especially if they’re your stubborn body part.
Perform this exercise early in your routine, after your main squat or leg press exercise by doing 3-4 sets of 10-12 reps for size. Take a 90-120 second rest between sets, which is just long enough to recover. Powerlifters and strength athletes should load this exercise maximally and do four sets of five reps as deep and heavy as possible. If strength is your goal, give yourself adequate rest on this demanding exercise, perhaps 3-4 minutes between each set.
For a real challenge, get help from your training partner by doing a drop set on your last set. As you begin to fatigue, quickly reduce the weight by 25% and continue to rep out, trying to get 30 or more reps during this extended set for an intense burn.
Primary Muscles Involved: Quadriceps (vastus lateralis, vastus medialis, rectus femoris), Gluteus Maximus, Erector Spinae, Hamstrings (biceps femoris, semitendinosus, semmembranosus)
Secondary Muscles Involved: Gastrocnemius, Soleus.
Starting Position:
- Lie back against a hack machine and position yourself so you’re racked. Your shoulders should be pressed against the upper pad, back squarely pressed against the pad and your knees slightly bent (about shoulder width apart) in the middle of the rack.
- Stand up to unrack the weight and cross your arms in front of your chest. It’s common to want and use your arms for help by pressing up against the weight during the movement. Crossing your arms, however, will reduce the urge to recruit your arms into the movement.
- Keep your chest up and draw your belly in toward your back to tighten your torso.
- Keep your head neutrally aligned, don’t look up, down or to the sides, and your eyes should be focusing straight forward.
Execution Phase:
- Take a deep breath and slowly begin to descend under control, keeping your chest and head up. Don’t look down, as doing so will pull you out of position and force your lower back to handle more weight.
- Go as deep as you can comfortably, but try to break parallel (the point in which your thighs are in the same plane as the footplate). Greater depth means greater range and more muscle fiber activation, especially in the hamstrings and glutes. Lighten the load if you cannot go deep, but don’t sacrifice form and range of motion just for the sake of going heavier.
- Don’t bounce or jerk at the bottom of the movement. Come to a full stop and then quickly reverse direction.
- At the bottom, drive as if you’re pushing your feet hard into the floor, extending your hips and legs simultaneously. Breathe out forcefully to keep your torso tight toward the top of the rep.
- Finish your rep with a soft lockout, or just before lockout, to keep the tension on the quads (and not on the joint). Some individuals prefer to maintain the stress on the thighs by not going to lockout. Personally, I like to lift heavy, so a soft lock allows you to make a slight reposition. Both approaches are safe and equally effective.
