Find out why many professional bodybuilders put this exercise at the top of their leg training. Secret training methodology. Many athletes do not like to train their legs very much. However, to create a high-quality figure, it is necessary to do this. Every athlete knows that the most effective leg movements are squats and leg presses. That being said, the hack squat with a barbell is often forgotten, but it is also a very effective movement.
Benefits of Hack Barbell Squats
The main advantage of the hook squat over the classic exercise is the significantly less stress on the spinal column. This is very important for those athletes who work with large weights, and in this situation, the risk of spinal injury is quite high. You can reduce it by using hack squats in your training program.
Also an important advantage of the exercise is the ability to perform it without safety net. Situations may arise when there is simply no one to turn to for help when doing classic squats.
You can also use more weight, which suggests a more powerful hormonal response from the body to exercise. And the last advantage of the hook squat is its simple technique. The classic version of the squat is a rather difficult movement from a technical point of view.
The muscles working during the barbell hack squat?
With the fact that this is a very effective exercise, we figured out, let's find out which muscles are actively working when performing it. The main load falls on the gluteus maximus and medius, the hamstrings and rotators, calves, quadriceps, as well as the stabilizing ankle muscles.
But since we have to use the body to a certain extent, tilting it and unbending it, both the extensor of the spinal column and the muscles of the abdominal group are subjected to significant stress. You can also shift the emphasis of the load by changing the position of the legs. For example, if the heels are very close to each other, then most of the load falls on the lateral quadriceps. The wider the legs stand, the more the adductors and the middle quadriceps are involved in the work. The barbell hack squat is performed in a simulator and therefore you can put your legs higher and lower and thereby also shift the emphasis of the load. The higher the legs are located above the ground, the more actively the hamstrings and muscles of the buttocks work. By placing your legs lower, you are using your front thigh muscles as much as possible. Also, thanks to the active work of the gluteal muscles, this movement can be safely recommended to girls.
How to do the hack squat with a barbell correctly?
As with the classic squat, you need to make sure that your knee joints stay level with your toes. But when doing hack squats with a barbell, you can only do this by changing the position of your feet on the platform. To do this, you need to place your feet as close to the edge of the machine platform.
After that, it is necessary to press the body as tightly as possible against the cushions of the simulator, and the shoulder joints against the rollers. Make sure that your lower back does not come off the simulator to avoid injury. Take a strong breath and start squatting. The lower point of the trajectory, as in the case of the classic version of the exercise, is located in the place where the thigh is parallel to the ground. Having reached it, start moving in the opposite position.
It is also important to remember that the barbell hack squat is performed only within its amplitude. Simply put, during lifting, you cannot fully straighten the knee joints. If your knee joints are slightly bent in the upper extreme position of the trajectory, then you will not only be able to keep the muscles in constant tension, but also significantly reduce the risk of injury.
Remember that the back should always remain flat and only natural deflection in the lumbar region is allowed. You should stand on the platform with your whole foot and slightly turn your toes to the sides. Also, the knee joints should not move to the sides. So the movement can be slow or combined with an explosive one. In the second case, you should descend slowly, and you can ascend faster. Separately, a few words should be said about the warm-up. First of all, before performing the movement, it is necessary to warm up the knee joints.
Since the load on the knees will be very strong, it is necessary to stretch them qualitatively. You can also do stretching exercises between sets. If during the movement you feel tremors in the knee joints, then the weight you have chosen is large and you need to reduce it. Records will not go anywhere from you, but first you should strengthen the muscles of the legs. You can see for yourself that the hack squat with a barbell is a fairly simple movement, but at the same time it is very effective.
How to build legs and buttocks using hack squats, see this video:
