One of the most overlooked muscle groups in a beginning bodybuilder’s training program is the legs. They don’t impress like the chest and arms, so beginners make a common mistake and avoid training them, not realizing the overall high-growth effect that leg muscles have on the entire body. It has been shown in recent research that if an intense leg workout is performed prior to arm training in a workout session, the overall growth effect on the arms is magnified. This is the result of the release of human growth hormone due to the size of the leg muscles.

The best way to capitalize on this benefit is to build your training sessions so that your ‘difficult’ body parts are trained immediately after training your legs. There are quite a few good exercises for developing your legs, including squats, front squats, leg extensions, leg curls, and stiff-legged deadlifts. Hack squats are not as popular as these other exercises, but they are an effective muscle builder.

This elevator is named after George Hackenschmidt, a strongman, fighter, and writer from the early 20th century. He advocated this exercise because of its ability to build leg strength quickly while avoiding overdevelopment of the hip common in barbell squats. In his book, The Way To Live, he mentions that the exercise is named after him. In North America, the name Hack Squat is the term most often used when describing this exercise.

Steve Reeves of Hercules and Mr. America fame began using the hack squat to develop a sweep in his thigh muscles while preventing hip enlargement and even developed equipment to allow him to perform the movement more. effective. Several photos I’ve seen show him working out at Vic Tanny’s gym in California, near famous Muscle Beach.

But what is the best training program to use with hack squats? First, let’s look at the proper exercise technique. There are some really cool hack squat machines on the market that eliminate the balance problem encountered when using a barbell. But suppose you don’t have access to those and train with weights and dumbbells. After choosing to use a barbell or dumbbell, place your heels on a block, keeping your legs together. Hold the weight behind you and lower yourself until your buttocks are close to touching your heels. Press up with your legs as you exhale. Avoid locking yourself at the top of the movement. Repeat until you reach muscle failure.

As mentioned above, there are numerous hack squat machines on the market. Most have bars for loading bar plates, but a couple have selectorized weight stacks for easy weight shifting.

The reasons I like hack squats are the absence of great resistance in the back and shoulders compared to regular squats, the ability to train the thigh muscles while limiting excessive hip development, and lack of weight balance when using a hack squat machine. Another great feature of this exercise is the stimulation it gives to the hamstrings, which is the result of the deep descent that I recommend. Give this exercise a try and you will add a new tool for rapid leg muscle development.

Listed below is a sample workout routine for legs using hack squats. The routine is based on the HIT high intensity training protocol, so be sure to put 100% effort into each set leading them to complete muscle failure and minimal rest between sets:

heating

barbell squats-1×15

hack squats-1×12

leg extensions: 1×15 (3 forced reps at the end of the set to perform every other training session)

leg curls-1×15

standing calf raises-1×20

Seated Calf Raises-1×15