Anyone here use the hack squat machine?

Rock Lee

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I know machines are the tools of the devil and all but I really feel my quads working when I do these. Usually I'll follow my squats/front squats with the 45° leg press machine but someone was on it tonight and I, not wanting to wait for him to finish, saw that the hack squat machine was free and decided to try it. It reminded me of the feeling I get from doing front squats in that I feel almost all of the load being placed on the quads.

One question though for anyone who does these is where do you place your feet? Like straight out in front, making your whole body a straight line or a little bit in front of your upper torso, making a slight angle at your waist?
 

DieTrying

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Hack squats are good, but leg presses are better IMO. I would think that just like any leg exercise, the farther out you put your feet, the less quad you are using and more glute/ham...
 

Jcc

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I like it better than the leg press. I put my feet wide and forward a bit though, for a little more ham involvement.
 
BingeAndPurge

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I do hack squats for my quads on stiff leg dead days.
 
bigpetefox

bigpetefox

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Hack squats are up there with barbell squats, IMO.. My quads are coming along nicely, thanks to working sets of 5 plates on the bar, and 6 on the hack.. :)
 
ManBeast

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I enjoy using the Hack Squat machine as well, ours has one helluva heavy sled though.

ManBeast
 

msclbldrguy

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I like hack squats also....alot better than leg presses because I get a better range of motion..I usually place my feet up and about shoulder width or so. If i place my feet back, it doesnt feel right on the knees!
 

In-Human

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My fav exercise is Hacks, I love those damn things, ass in the grass is the only way to do those, they torture my Quads.

Last time for me on Hacks 545x12 then a set of 405x20, all the way to the bottom, none of this, "oh my knees will hurt if I go to the bottom", right, good excuse to do to much weight without getting the most from the exercise.

If you do 1/4 or 1/2 of any leg movement you are putting nothing but pressure on your patella, not your Quads...
 
Sir Foxx

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I use hack squats for one thing, the tear drop. I learned this from Rich Gaspari. I place my heels about 6-8 inches apart, point my toes towards the corners and slowly rep it out. I never go too heavy because of the precarious position my knees are in, but it really makes the tear drop stand out.
 

cjm8232

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The hack squat is very versatile.

I use it for quads, calf raises, and shrugs

Try it in place of shrugs sometime for something different@!!!
 

Sticks

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The hack squat is very versatile.

I use it for quads, calf raises, and shrugs

Try it in place of shrugs sometime for something different@!!!
I also love hack squats, but never thought of doing shrugs with the sled. I will have to give that a try.
 

Pec

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Try standing with your feet shoulder width apart and point toes out. This works great for the outer quads. Just my 2 cents. (hack squats)
 
BigVrunga

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You can also one arm 'row' the sled on back day. Looks kinda wierd, but if you're looking for something different...
 

weightlifting

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When doing regular squats, etc. the bar counts in total weight lifted. So does the weight of the bar count when using the hack squat machine?
 

DanOz

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Hack Squats are unkind on my knees due to the unnatural range of motion is my guess.
 

DanOz

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its like a standard squat, whats so unnatural about that???
The machine locks you into a movement pattern which is different to how your body moves with a free squat - similiar to a Smith Machine imo.

With a conventional squat, the movement should start with your arse moving backwards. With this machine, the arse cannot move backwards and additional load is taken on the knees imo.
 
geronimo542

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for focusing on teardrops i like loading up the leg press sled or machine with more weight than what I could normally do and then putting my feet regular width apart and only move so my legs are 90 degrees about a foot give or take and do ten reps with no pauses the burn is soo intense i cant walk from them
 
ABNRanger

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The hack squat is very versatile.

I use it for quads, calf raises, and shrugs

Try it in place of shrugs sometime for something different@!!!
You are the first person I have seen mention this. I do that as well. I always like to find innovative ways to use machines to do something other than what it was designed for. I especially like doing calves and shrugs with the hack squat.:thumbsup:
 
Aggravated

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I like it better than the leg press. I put my feet wide and forward a bit though, for a little more ham involvement.
If you put your feet up higher it involves more of the hams/glutes. Here is a table copied from some site I just went to.

FOOT PLACEMENT / MAJOR MUSCLE EMPHASIS

1. High----------Hamstrings; glutes
2. Low----------Quadriceps
3. Wide----------Vastus Medialis
4. Close----------Vastus Lateralis
 
ABNRanger

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If you put your feet up higher it involves more of the hams/glutes. Here is a table copied from some site I just went to.

FOOT PLACEMENT / MAJOR MUSCLE EMPHASIS

1. High----------Hamstrings; glutes
2. Low----------Quadriceps
3. Wide----------Vastus Medialis
4. Close----------Vastus Lateralis
Seems to me that if my feet are places lower, then it puts more stress on my knees, plus it feels awkward, and you can't go as low. And, even if you got low, your knees would extended way beyond your instep.
 
Aggravated

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Seems to me that if my feet are places lower, then it puts more stress on my knees, plus it feels awkward, and you can't go as low. And, even if you got low, your knees would extended way beyond your instep.
Yeah, I think it just puts more emphasis on that certain muscle. I go right in the middle, sometimes just a tad lower.
 
brk_nemesis

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machine lunges. You can overload more weight than DB lunges, and if you go deep as hell you can use your hands to help spot you with LOTS of weight.
 
pistonpump

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Seems to me that if my feet are places lower, then it puts more stress on my knees, plus it feels awkward, and you can't go as low. And, even if you got low, your knees would extended way beyond your instep.
it really works the separation on the outside quad and hamstring
 

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