Tired of doing the same old leg exercises over and over? Are you looking for an quad exercise that sends you staggering home? Then reverse hack squats are the answer to your prayers!
For most bodybuilders and fitness athletes, regular squats (hey, you do do those, don’t you?), leg presses and leg extensions are the mainstay of their quad training. Variation zilch. Many athletes do not even do squats, because they have been told these are bad their knees and lower back, or that squats enlarge their buttocks.
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| Tom Platz |
Years ago I read a Tom Platz training article that described the reverse hack squat. I never considered doing these myself in those days, mostly since I never had a decent hack squat machine at my disposal.
Trainer of champions Charles Glass however showed this exercise in his Cut with Glass video series on Bodybuilding.com My old training partner Dennis thought it a good idea to try these during a workout, since the gym I worked out in at that time did have a separate hack squat machine.
Reverse hack squats are great for separation of the muscles in the quadriceps muscle group.
When you perform the reverse hack squat correctly, it will work your quadriceps (the muscles at the front of your thighs) more direct than regular squats enable you to do. When you perform the exercise with your feet far apart, like the Glass video shows you, it will mostly attack the inside of your quads. In this position, your glutes and hamstrings also get worked hard.
When you point your knees forward, you will mostly feel the bottom part of your quads working, right above your knees. In that position, the exercise has a similar effect as the front squat.
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| Reverse Hack Squats by Dennis | |
Depending on the machine you use, it will be difficult to go past the ninety degree mark when going down, since the machine might have a long backrest preventing that, like the machine in the pictures. When your gym has a squat machine with shoulder pads, this will most likely be no issue.
If you have back issues, you might want to wear a heavy weightlifters belt to lessen the pressure on your lower back.
The execution of the reverse hack squat is straight forward:
- Face the machine and place your shoulders under the shoulder pads. When you are not too tall or when the backrest is sticking out a lot, you might need to turn your head a bit to keep breathing a possibility…
- Place your feet close to each other or further apart, depending on the region of the quads you want to emphasize. Depending on the machine you have at your disposal, you might have to experiment a bit with feet placement
- Do not press your upper body against the backrest. Keep your back straight and, if necessary, wear a belt
- When you bend your legs, make sure your knees move in the same direction as your toes point. This will help you avoid knee problems due to torque in the knee joints
- Squat as deep as possible. Try to at least get to the 90 degrees mark, but when you can get lower than that without having to shift your body or get an awkward feeling in your joints, do that. It will help the overall development of your leg muscles, and especially your glutes and hams will be worked harder when you go deeper
- Press he weight back up until your legs are almost straight
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| Feet placement on the old machine |
If possible, make sure you have somebody to help you up when you get stuck halfway.
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| ... halfway... | ... and on top... | ...getting out of the hole... |
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| ... halfway again... | ... almost there... | relief! |
When you want to incorporate reverse hack squats in your workout, do not start out with them. The pressure the exercise puts on your knees is quite extreme, and when your legs have not been warmed up properly, injury is around the corner. A good order might be:
Leg Extensions (warmup)
Regular Squats
Reverse Hack Squats
Leg Extensions
Make this exercise a regular in your quad training, and I can ensure you will notice a radical improvement in your quad development and separation!
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