How to do it
- Set your feet low and shoulder-width on the platform with your back flat on the pad.
- Lower under control until the hips break parallel.
- Press back up through the whole foot, stopping just short of lockout.
Cues that matter
- The fixed path lets you push closer to failure than a free squat.
- Keep the heels planted; if they lift, widen the stance.
Common mistakes
- Letting the lower back peel off the pad at depth.
- Half-repping heavy weight.
Muscles worked
Primary
- Quads
- Vastus lateralis
- Vastus medialis
Also works
- Glutes
Sets and reps
What to do with it depends on what you are training for. These are the ranges MuscleMap uses when it puts Hack Squat in a session, with 150 seconds between sets.
- Strength
- 4–6 reps
- Build muscle
- 6–10 reps
- Endurance
- 12–20 reps
Same muscle, different kit
Movements that train the same part of the quads with different equipment — for a day the machine is taken, or a gym that does not have one.