Hack Squats
This Popular Leg Exercise is a Complete Lower Body Exercise—Learn all of its Benefits and Variations
Welcome to our Hack Squats exercise main page!
Here we’ve linked to all of our Leg Exercises that involve this popular movement and will explain some of its benefits.
Each page featuring a Hack Squat variation includes pictures, exercise instructions, and tips on how to get the most out of these and other weight training exercises. Afterwards, you’ll be able to immediately add to your Leg Workouts and other Weight Training Programs.
Continue reading to learn more about the benefits of this leg exercise and view our comparison to regular squats or skip directly to the exercise variations.
Hack Squat Exercise Benefits
The Hack Squat vs. Barbell Squats
Many people consider the Leg Press Exercise to be the best alternative to Barbell Squats. However, we prefer these. Like Barbell Squats, the Hack Squat Exercise primarily targets your quadriceps, but also work your glutes, hamstrings, calves, and lower back—It’s a complete lower body exercise.
We’re not dethroning the king here (see our Best Leg Exercises list for confirmation), but if your workout routines have become stale, try out one of these variations listed below.
Although they work the same muscles, Hack Squats place more of an emphasis on the lower, inside area of your quadriceps than regular squats. Also, if you are doing the barbell variation or smith machine variation of this leg exercise, you’ll also improve your grip strength because you’re forced to grip the bar and hold the weight behind you throughout the exercise. Doing so will secondarily target your forearms and traps as well.
Gain Muscle Mass and Burn Body Fat
As mentioned on our Compound Exercises page, compound exercises that work as many muscles as these variations burn more calories and trigger the release of more muscle building testosterone than isolation leg exercises like Leg Extensions. Therefore, we’ve included all of the variations listed below with our Strength Training Exercises as well as our Fat Burning Exercises. Make sure that your Muscle Building Workouts and Fat Loss Workouts are built around these compound exercises.