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Legs · Machine
Hack Squat
How to do the Hack Squat with good form: step-by-step technique, the muscles it works (quads), coaching cues and the mistakes to avoid.
Muscles worked
- Primary
- Quads
- Secondary
- Glutes, Adductors
How to do it
- Step onto the hack squat platform, placing your back and head flat against the pad and hooking your shoulders under the pads.
- Position your feet shoulder-width apart in the middle of the platform, with your toes pointed slightly outward.
- Stand up slightly to disengage the safety handles, taking the weight onto your body.
- Descend under control by bending your knees and dropping your hips, allowing your knees to track forward over your toes.
- Lower yourself until your thighs are parallel to the platform or your hip crease breaks parallel.
- Drive powerfully through your entire foot to push the sled back up to the starting position without locking out your knees.
Coaching cues
- Back glued completely to the pad
- Knees track over toes
- Drive through the mid-foot
Common mistakes
- Lifting the heels off the platform at the bottom of the movement
- Not going deep enough to achieve adequate knee flexion
- Violently locking out the knees at the top
Equipment and setup
Hack squat machine, weight plates
Standing on the angled platform with the back pressed flat against the backrest and shoulders under the shoulder pads.
Also known as: Machine Hack Squat, Standard Hack Squat
Track your Hack Squat in ROAN
ROAN fills in last session’s weight and reps, estimates your 1RM and keeps your best sets.
