Hack squats in the simulator: what muscles work, technique of execution

Machine hack squats are a great alternative to barbell squats. There is an opinion that this exercise focuses on the quadriceps, however, this is a misconception. As in any other exercise that simulates a squat, and in the squats themselves with a barbell, the load on specific muscles is regulated by the position of the legs. The main advantage of this simulator is the absence of a strong axial load on the spine.

The benefits and harms of hack squats

Squats in the Hackenschmidt simulator have no negative effects on the musculoskeletal system and, if the exercise is performed correctly in compliance with the technique and safety rules, it is absolutely not dangerous and cannot harm the athlete. But this simulator brings enormous benefits to the development of an athlete’s muscles.

Firstly, it removes the load on the spine. This exercise will be an ideal training option for an athlete with a spinal injury.
Secondly, the hack machine can load any muscle in the thighs. You can emphasize the load by placing your feet on the platform of the simulator. You can also train your calf muscles using the Hackenschmidt simulator.
Thirdly, the hack machine is perfect for developing strength, thanks to minimizing the load on the spinal column and the presence of safety elements that allow you to stop the workload in an emergency.

Conclusion

If you are no longer a beginner and have no injuries, choose your favorite and native barbell squat!

The trajectory of the bar movement of an unsecured, free barbell is almost never straight - your body adapts to any strength work, promptly shifting the load from joint to joint or from muscle to muscle, in order to simultaneously simplify your task and prevent injury.

The barbell squat will force the body to move in an arc (and not in a straight line, as in Smith), reducing the negative load on the ligamentous and joint apparatus. Contrary to misconception, classic squats , being a heavier exercise, are safer for the lower back .

What muscles work in the hack machine?

Depending on the placement of the feet, the following muscles may be involved in the training process:

Quadriceps femoris muscle.
Biceps femoris and gastrocnemius (to a lesser extent).
Adductor muscles.
Gluteal muscles (major, medius and minimus).
Abdominal and lower back muscles.

Disadvantages of the exercise

Training in a hack machine has two significant disadvantages:

During the movement, regardless of the placement of the legs and body position, a large load is placed on the knee joint. For this reason, hack squats are not recommended for people with injuries in this area of the body, arthritis and arthrosis.
Unable to control the weight of the burden. Barbell squats prevent you from overloading. A beginner will not be able to perform a repetition with a weight significantly higher than his working weight. Since the athlete’s auxiliary and main muscles are not prepared for such a load, the risk of injury from the wrong choice of weight of the projectile is eliminated. The hack trainer makes it possible to work with heavy weights, since the role of stabilizers in the process of performing the movement is minimized.

Leg placement in hack squats

The positioning of the feet in the hack machine is identical to the positioning of the feet when performing the leg press in the machine.

Classic foot placement

Placing the feet wide provides an accentuated load on the adductor and gluteal muscles. In this embodiment, the socks need to be turned to the sides. This option will be an analogue of plie squats.
Placing the feet narrowly will give a powerful emphasis on the quadriceps, and the narrower the feet are positioned, the stronger the emphasis will be on the upper part of the quadriceps. Please note that this positioning of the legs may cause discomfort in both the knee and hip joints.
Placing your feet closer to the top edge of the platform allows you to increase the load on the gluteal muscles and hamstrings. With this placement of the feet, special attention should be paid to the lower back. Under no circumstances should it come off the back of the machine.
Placing your feet at the bottom edge of the platform provides maximum load on the quadriceps femoris muscle. In this version of the exercise, you should pay attention to the feet. The heels should not come off the platform of the exercise machine.

1. Wide stance 2. Narrow stance 3. Legs on top of the platform 4. Legs on the bottom of the platform

Tips for maximum efficiency

At the beginning of your workout, be sure to do a general warm-up of the whole body. Pay special attention to the knee joints.
For squats, it is best to use shoes with firm, non-slip soles. Weightlifters are perfect for such purposes.
Before you start training with weights. First, practice the technique of the exercise.
In order to increase the range of motion. You can use some kind of back support (foam rubber or a rolled up yoga mat). This way we will ensure a slight tilt of the torso forward, therefore, the straight head of the quadriceps will be able to stretch a little more. Giving us the opportunity to sit below parallel.
Before heavy working approaches, be sure to do 1-2 warm-up exercises.
The use of knee wraps and a weightlifting belt for hack squats is not required. Our back is already fixed. And with the correct technique, your knees will not experience much stress. Therefore, it is better to focus on execution technique.
In a hack machine, you can perform reverse squats. To do this, you need to stand facing the back. This will allow you to move your pelvis back at the lowest point and place a stronger load on your buttocks. But in terms of convenience, the exercise is inferior to working in a Smith machine.
At the end of your workout, be sure to do some stretching exercises for your lower extremities.

What conclusion can be drawn from all of the above? Yes, very simple. Hack squats do an excellent job as an isolated exercise. Of course, they are inferior in effectiveness to basic exercises, but their task is completely different. Therefore, it is not entirely correct to compare them. In order to get the most out of hacks, you need to master their execution technique well. And don't make mistakes.

Good luck to everyone in your training!

Hack machine squat technique

After the athlete has taken the starting position in the simulator, placing his feet shoulder-width apart in the center of the platform, he should press his back (shoulder blades and sacrum) to the back of the simulator and perform a downward movement, bending his knees (lower with the load).
At the moment of bending your legs, you need to inhale. The depth of the squat occurs up to a right angle at the knees.
After reaching the lowest point of the amplitude, we slowly, smoothly and without jerking return to the starting position with an exhalation.
Throughout the entire movement, your knees should be level with your feet and not “sink” inward.
Try to focus on your heels rather than your toes to maximize the use of your hamstrings.

Three important “NOTs”:

Keep your heels off the platform.
Keep your knees straight.
Do not lift your pelvis off the back of the machine.

Hack squat technique in video format

Features of working in a lever hack machine

The lever type of simulator can be called the most unsuccessful among modern hack machines.

Firstly, the movement is performed almost vertically; accordingly, the axial load on the spinal column is noticeably increased. The classic version of the shoulder supports also increases the load on the spine.
Another drawback is the load stabilization lever. It is too high and visually hidden from the athlete.
The space for placing weighted discs does not allow for working with large weights, so this type of exercise machine is most likely not suitable for professional athletes. All this combined makes this the worst hack machine model available to date.

Features of working in a hack machine with back support

Such a hack simulator can be called the crown of science and technology. It is ergonomic and relieves maximum stress on the spine. This exercise machine has a design feature - a protrusion on the platform for the feet when performing exercises on the calf muscles.

In principle, both the first and second versions of the hack machine do not have any features or differences in operation. They differ in design. This difference loads the spinal column with different forces, but there are no differences in the technique of execution.

Possible problems, their solutions during and after implementation

If you follow the exercise technique, warm up well, but still have any problems, read this section!

Not everyone knows that they have flat feet. If you seriously decide to take up squats, get checked and order special insoles for your workouts. It is important.
My knees hurt. Try wrapping them with elastic bandages. Don't over-tighten. If the pain has passed, practice wearing bandages. If not, try applying warming ointment to your knees and wrap them in bandages in the same way.
If your back hurts, put on an orthopedic belt and do hack squats in it. Just loosen it up between sets.
You can't even complete one rep with proper form. In this case, remove all the plates from the Gakka machine and practice the technique. When you can do everything correctly without weight, begin to gradually increase it. And if you notice that problems have started again, it means that you are increasing your working weights too quickly. The body can't keep up with you.

Reverse hack squats

This type of exercise can only be performed on those simulators that have shoulder supports in their design.

it is very important to bend your lower back and keep your back as straight as possible.

Legs should be placed wide, feet turned at 45 degrees. You can also perform the exercise with a narrow stance.

If in the first option (with a wide stance of the legs), the feet should be placed as close as possible to the upper edge of the platform;
then in the second option (with a narrow stance of the legs), the feet should be lowered lower, approximately to the level of the center of the platform.

Reverse squats in the Hackenschmidt simulator are just another “trend” in the modern sports world, and nothing more. This exercise involves engaging the gluteal muscles, hamstrings and stabilizers, while the quadriceps are less loaded. Thus, without providing a stable support for the back, the core muscles are forced to hold the torso in the correct position.

Basic errors during execution

Too much weight

This is a common problem for beginners who are just starting to learn exercise machines. Moving on to them after exercises with free weights. They discover that, even when they hang the same weight that they had on the barbell, it turns out to be light in the machine. As a result, athletes begin to weigh more and more. And over time, they don’t even notice that their technique has long since departed from the ideal. But the result, alas, never came. To avoid this, you need to place the main emphasis on the execution technique, and then on the working weight. And increase it gradually.

Bringing the knees inward

This error stems from the first one. When an athlete takes on too much weight, which is still difficult for him to work with. At the moment of exiting the squat, his knees are brought together. This happens because the muscles of the back of the thigh and adductors are not yet strong enough. And it is difficult for them to cope with heavy weight. Over time, this practice can cause knee injury.

Recommendations for performing the hack squat

The hack squat is considered a compound exercise and should be performed at the beginning of your workout. If an athlete has a back injury, then this type of squats should be made the main exercise, which will replace squats with a barbell.

Hack squats should be performed with classic feet (at shoulder level), as well as with narrow feet on the platform.

To work out muscles on a hack machine, the best option would be to use a classic training scheme, which consists of two warm-up and four working sets of eight to twelve repetitions each. To train the adductor muscles and hamstrings, you should add a leg press on the machine to your workout.

When using the hack machine, the better half of the gym should increase the emphasis on the gluteal muscles and hamstrings, placing the feet slightly wider than the shoulders, while pointing the toes to the sides. Feet should be placed as close to the top edge of the platform as possible. There can be from two to six approaches, depending on the type of training. Rep range: 20 to 25.

Benefit

Safety.
The fact that the bar moves along the guides, eliminating the very possibility of getting hit on the crown with a projectile, reassures beginners. Yes, and you can put the barbell on the clamps at any time during the exercise, simply by turning the bar with the force of your hands.
High level of insulation.
Due to the fact that the machine is equipped with guides, we do not need to stabilize the barbell with additional muscles (stabilizers). Therefore, it is easier for us to work the target muscle.
Explosive reps.
In our body, muscle fibers are divided into two types: fast muscle fibers (white) and slow muscle fibers (red). This division is not accidental; it is done so that movements of different severity can be performed. In practice, fast-twitch muscle fibers (FMF) do the heavy work, and slow-twitch muscle fibers (SMF) do the light work.
The most effective training is using two types of fibers. This type of training is called pumping .
Traditionally, pumping refers to performing an exercise for a large number of repetitions (provided that the muscle is previously tired with heavy, basic exercises), thus we fill the muscles with blood (“inflating” it), provided that the rest between approaches is very short. It is due to this that more blood enters the muscle than it can pump out, so the muscles swell and become huge. This feeling cannot be confused with something else.
Using this explosive repetition technique works well with the Smith Machine because... When pumping in squats with free weight, the risk of injury increases critically.
Performing unilateral (one arm or leg) exercises .
The ability to quickly master all the basic exercises and build a muscle frame and then move on to free weights.

An article on how to punch the gluteal muscle is here .

What mistakes do newbies most often make?

When performing hack squats with dumbbells, a barbell, or in a machine, many athletes often make common mistakes. To avoid them, familiarize yourself with the important nuances of technology:

Don't forget about warming up and stretching;
In the reverse version of the exercise, do not arch your back;
Don't bring your knees together;
Do not lift your heels off the surface;
Take adequate weight;
Move smoothly, without jerking, especially on the rise;
Breathe correctly: inhale down, exhale up;
Push off with your heels;
Always look forward.

What can be replaced?

To conclude the material, let's look at how to replace hack squats if you have contraindications to them. You can do any weighted squats, leg presses, Smith machine exercises. No less effective are lunges on one leg - Bulgarian and pistol. If you want to further pump up your inner thighs, pay attention to plie and sumo squats. Please note that the goal of hack squats is to pump up your legs without putting stress on your back; this is their main difference from the classic version of squats.

The hack trainer is a solution for athletes who are recovering from spinal injuries. They allow you to create a spectacular relief, making the figure ideal for both women and men. This is also a great way to work on your endurance - exercises in it will seem very difficult to an unprepared athlete. Be careful and follow safety precautions!

Tips for pumping up the quadriceps for girls

Anterior thigh training for women should be done using the split system. Since the lower part of the female body is more developed than the male body, a set of exercises for the quadriceps muscle should be selected according to the following principles.

They are:

Incorporating basic movements. Performing multi-joint exercises can bring good results to any athlete. But due to the fact that women’s legs are distinguished by a high degree of endurance, girls can only achieve results by doing hard training.
Maximum load in the middle rep range.
Alternating exercises in a training split. The high strength endurance of women's legs determines their rapid adaptability to a standard training program. You can avoid stagnation by constantly changing the exercises you use.