Barbell hack squats holy shit!!!

[EMW14]

The other day, someone asked Mountain Man in his log if he was doing barbell or machine hack squats. This prompted me to go looking for how to do barbell hacks, as I have been thinking about this already.

I am doing them for the first time right now, and HOLY SHIT!!! Now, I should say that I just completed some heavy "normal", or "back" squats, so my legs are fatigued. But, I'm struggling to do 6 reps with 205!!

This is supposedly a very quad specific exercise, and I certainly do feel it in my quads, big time. But also in my hams. MUCH LESS gluten than a normal squat.

I'll be including these in my leg workouts regularly!!

Finished these off at 225 for 4 reps (total 5 sets, starting at 135 to get the feel of it). For context, my heaviest squat set (immediately prior to the hacks) was 395 for 4 reps.

I have to say, I feel the results where you're supposed to feel hack squats - in the "teardrop" - FAR MORE than I ever did on any hack squat machine! This is a fucking awesome exercise.

 

[beachbody]

I have never heard of barbell "hack squats". Hack squats are done on an incline. How do you do this with a barbell? Do you have a pic of someone doing this?

 

[EMW14]

Apparently the machines were made to mimic the effects of barbell hack squats. Here's a link to a bodybuilding.com video showing how to do them.

Barbell Hack Squat Exercise Guide and Video - Bodybuilding.com


http://m.youtube.com/watch?v=EdtaJRBqwes

And here's a YouTube vid.

Hack squats were named for their inventor, George Hackenschmidt, an early 20th century strongman and wrestler. The machines came along much later.

 

[EMW14]

They basically look like a deadlift with the bar behind your legs. It's a little awkward at first, but it feels completely different from a deadlift. It feels like a hack squat. Lol! I am guessing the machines were designed with the angle to keep the weight behind the body, which is what a barbell hack squat does.

 

[EMW14]

Just did these for the 2nd time, this time much heavier than last time. I've read opposing ideas about how to do these: One side says to push through the heels. The other says to push through the balls of the feet. It feels more natural for me to push through my heels, which is what I'm doing. I feel this exercise very strongly in both quads and hamstrings. What I've read says it's focus is mainly quads, but it feels about equal parts quads and hams to me. Not sure if that's because of how I'm doing the exercise, or if that's how it should be! Either way, this seems like a great addition to my leg training.

 

[Presser]

<iframe width="560" height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/EdtaJRBqwes" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe>

 

[first blood]

I'm gonna have to try these asap! Although I can use more hamstring work these look like. Agreat addition to my leg routine cause I can do them in my home gym and my gym I belong to doest have a hack squat

 

[EMW14]

I'm gonna have to try these asap! Although I can use more hamstring work these look like. Agreat addition to my leg routine cause I can do them in my home gym and my gym I belong to doest have a hack squat

I have been doing them regularly both with a barbell and on a smith machine. Very effective and zero knee pain, which had been an issue for me in the past on some hack squat machines.

 

[Muscle mechanic]

Just did these for the 2nd time, this time much heavier than last time. I've read opposing ideas about how to do these: One side says to push through the heels. The other says to push through the balls of the feet. It feels more natural for me to push through my heels, which is what I'm doing. I feel this exercise very strongly in both quads and hamstrings. What I've read says it's focus is mainly quads, but it feels about equal parts quads and hams to me. Not sure if that's because of how I'm doing the exercise, or if that's how it should be! Either way, this seems like a great addition to my leg training.

I have done these with a 2-1/2 lb weight under either under heal or ball of foot. It's been awhile I adjusted it this way and felt it more in quads. I have done same with dead lifts to help make clearance hips getting poppy.

 

[first blood]

Yeah knee pain is an issue for me now. with a hack you may be driving the knee too far out over the toes. This cN happen with squats too.. nowadays my feet have to be out in front bit.
My knee issue is a recent problem. Knees were always great but I chewed up my left knee doing smith machine lunges. Whenever my left leg was behind me , it put a stress on the joint. Damn thing is stiff all the time now.

 

[EMW14]

Yeah knee pain is an issue for me now. with a hack you may be driving the knee too far out over the toes. This cN happen with squats too.. nowadays my feet have to be out in front bit.
My knee issue is a recent problem. Knees were always great but I chewed up my left knee doing smith machine lunges. Whenever my left leg was behind me , it put a stress on the joint. Damn thing is stiff all the time now.

You may know this already, but a chiropractor who is also a fitness enthusiast turned me on to this fact: leg extensions are an excellent exercise for knee stability. Zero impact and zero stress to the knee joint because the knee doesn't bear any weight. Unlike squats, lunges, etc. So if your knee (s) bother you, try high volume leg extensions for a while. They will also help get some natural lubrication in the knee.

 

[Vision]

I do these with my shrug bar, more comfortable with the grip and motion..I stand on a small stable wooden platform I made..

 

[Muscle mechanic]

Yeah knee pain is an issue for me now. with a hack you may be driving the knee too far out over the toes. This cN happen with squats too.. nowadays my feet have to be out in front bit.
My knee issue is a recent problem. Knees were always great but I chewed up my left knee doing smith machine lunges. Whenever my left leg was behind me , it put a stress on the joint. Damn thing is stiff all the time now.

On squats I get pain, almost like pressure on knees when going to 90' or under. They feel like they will pop out. I haven't squared about 315 in a couple years because of this. Maybe I should get brace or wrap for support but I am fine with the backoff in weight.
I do leg extensions every leg workout. Also leg curls.
I avoid dead lifts but use the shrug bar and heavy dumbells instead.

 

[Vision]

Yeah knee pain is an issue for me now. with a hack you may be driving the knee too far out over the toes. This cN happen with squats too.. nowadays my feet have to be out in front bit.
My knee issue is a recent problem. Knees were always great but I chewed up my left knee doing smith machine lunges. Whenever my left leg was behind me , it put a stress on the joint. Damn thing is stiff all the time now.

Have you ever considered incorporating reverse step dumbbell lunges? Your leg will actually be a true 90 degree, in lieu of what they claim with a front step lunge that actually stresses your knee with a 70 degree angle...

 

[first blood]

I do these with my shrug bar, more comfortable with the grip and motion..I stand on a small stable wooden platform I made..

I have a shrug bar and use a wooden platform as well. Do you find this comparable to a hack squat though?

 

[EMW14]

I have a shrug bar and use a wooden platform as well. Do you find this comparable to a hack squat though?

Keep in mind that I am not speaking from experience with a shrug bar, but I highly doubt this is equivalent. I am assuming that by "shrug bar" what is meant is one of those hexagonal bars that you stand inside amd grip at your sides. This places the weight more or less on the centerline of your body, really no different than holding a pair of dumbbells at your sides.

Doing this movement in this configuration is more closely related to a back squat than either a deadlift or a hack squat. Having the weight behind the body is what makes a hack squat a hack squat. It completely changes which muscles are loaded and when as compared to a back (normal, with barbell on your traps) squat or a squat with weight held at your sides.

Back squat heavily involves the glutes, hamstrings, lower back, and of course quads. But I find that the upper quads and the - I'm going to have a hard time with the correct terminology here - "side glutes" are the "prime movers" as I reach the top of the squat movement. By "side glutes" I'm talking about the glutes that wrap around and are located at the hip.

Hack squats (barbell hacks) engage the quadriceps from the very beginning of the movement, and seem to engage the quads all the way down to the knee. This makes sense to me, as I was told by Joe Dodd, the owner of Man's World Gym amd a prominent bodybuilder in the late 60's and early 70's when I first started training that hack squats develop the "teardrop".

Of course, barbell hacks also engage much of your back muscles, but it's totally different from a deadlift and totally different from a back squat.

Try it with a faily light weight to get the feel for it. I found it quite challenging with even 155 the first time I did it; at the time I was topping out at 385 on regular squats (I finished my leg workout with the hacks, after squats and leg press - but before stiff leg deads for hamstrings). I advanced pretty quickly: last time I did barbell hacks, I did it with 325. It felt pretty strange to me at first, but I've gotten pretty comfortable with it with a little practice.