Hack Squat or Barbell Squat, which is the “King of Leg Strength”?

Hack squat – the barbell is held in the hands just behind the legs; this exercise was first known as Hacke (heel) in Germany. According to European strength sports expert and Germanist Emmanuel Legeard this name was derived from the original form of the exercise where the heels were joined. The hack squat was thus a squat performed the way Prussian soldiers used to click their heels ("Hacken zusammen"). The hack squat was popularized in the English-speaking countries by early 1900s wrestler, George Hackenschmidt . It is also called a rear deadlift. It is different from the hack squat performed with the use of a squat machine.

Squats_wbs

The hack squat is one of the best exercises for strength training, second only to the barbell squat. When it comes to training the hack squat, it's important to master the correct movement, incorporate it correctly into the overall training program, and choose the right weight.

Although it's also a squat, the hack squat's technique is very different from the barbell squat. In the barbell squat, you need to maintain balance, so most athletes use a wider stance. Obviously, a wider stance allows for a more stable center of gravity. On the other hand, the Hack squat does not need to maintain balance, and can use a narrower stance, so that the force can be transmitted in a straight line.

barbell-hack-squat

The above introduces the origin and history of the Hack Squat, as well as the related training characteristics.
So what are the advantages of comparing the Hack Squat and the Barbell Squat horizontally?

hack-squat

For the hack squat, which does not require maintaining body balance, if you use a narrower stance, the direction of the leg muscles is closer to vertical. In the barbell squat, due to the wide stance, the direction of the force of the leg muscles has an inclined angle, and the part of the force in the horizontal direction is wasted. That said, the hack squat is better for building quads, but it doesn't improve your balance in the barbell squat.

Hack-Squat-5

The hack squat should be placed at the forefront as a powerful weapon for improving extreme strength. Many movements cannot be used to improve ultimate strength due to the complexity of their own techniques. Because with the increase of weight, it becomes more and more difficult to ensure the correctness of technically complex movements. The clean and jerk, the snatch, and the lunge all fall into this category.

The hack squat technique is very simple, and like the barbell squat, it also includes all the powerful parts of the human body - quadriceps femoris, biceps femoris and buttocks, so it is a great strength to improve the maximum strength. Ace action. For a movement like this, you should schedule a single training session for it in a loop, with ancillary programs for it.

Hack-Squat-3

Conclusion

As a golden rule of strength training, you should always use motion-limited movements for heavy lifts and free movements for high reps. This way you can safely push the limits of your strength, and you can safely increase the strength of those small muscle groups that go unnoticed during heavy training with high reps. That's why machine leg presses should always be done with heavy weights and barbell presses with light weights. Likewise, hack squats should use heavy weights.


Post time: Aug-12-2022