Hack Squats Substitute for Squats

[Getinbgr]

Are hack squats adaquete substitute for convetional squats?

[ebjack]

They definatly have their place in a leg workout, but not as effective on the stabilizer muscles as the true squat.

I use them to warm up

[ALPHAMALE77]

Not In My Opinion...if Thats All You Can Do I Guess Theyd Have To Work...but Squats Are My Staple In Leg Workouts...theres My 2 Cents

[Sokolhasan]

You can replace one excercise with another, but you must remember, that every one is different. Even same excercise, when you change the engle, or grip. If you did regular squads for a long time its good to change it now, to suprise the muscle and make it keep growing ;-) Anyway Good luck! ^^

[Doc.Sust]

simple answer, no. unless you have a medical reason to not do squats, you should be squating, works a thousand times better than hack squats, even if you use alot less weight the squat is far supeior

[Getinbgr]

I have experimented between the two and, based on soreness, agree that conventional squats seem to give a better workout. With hacks, I generally need to up the weight and sets to achieve comparitive fatigue. That having been said, I HATE conv. squats and have found myself substituting with hacks more and more. My leg workout looks like this:

Hacks 4 X
Leg Press 3 X
Quad Ext. 3X
Ham Ext. 3X
Calf Raises 4X

[gigem]

i feel hacks are a good ex but like the doc said nothing compares to the squat.

[Doc.Sust]

you are better off squating lighter, in time, you wont hate the squat, you will like it if you learn it.give it a chance

[MuscleScience]

simple answer, no. unless you have a medical reason to not do squats, you should be squating, works a thousand times better than hack squats, even if you use alot less weight the squat is far supeior

Right as usual Doc

[chicamahomico]

I would say no. Hack squats are ok as a supplement to squats but not a replacement, find some variant of barbell squats if you can't do back squats, like front squats, zerchers, etc. The hack squat is too quad dominant and you will really have to make sure you adequately hit your posterior chain (from your arse to your ankles) with other exercises like lunges, romanian deads etc.

[NewVader]

hack sq will **** up your knees. If you really want to do them do them at the end with less weight and most important with a VERY LIMITED RANGE OF MOTION

[Getinbgr]

Limited Motion? I feel as though without the arse to ankles, the glutes get no work.

[NewVader]

Limited Motion? I feel as though without the arse to ankles, the glutes get no work.

you shouldnt try to target the glutes with hack squats. for that you have regular squats, deadlifts and if you really want you can hit the glutes at the cables (pushing your legs back one at a time)

if you don't avoid hack sq or keep them with a limited range of motion you will seriously risk to injure your knees...

[Doc.Sust]

if one isnt train9ing for a powerlifiting contest, the furthest down you should take a squat or hack for that matter is paralel or slightly below paralel. no furthur than this

[Getinbgr]

Is it the consensus opinion that taking hacks below parallel is detrimental to the knees?

[Doc.Sust]

Is it the consensus opinion that taking hacks below parallel is detrimental to the knees?

in the long run, yes it can be, something i recomend to everyone, get a pair of knee wraps or knee sleeves, use them even if you dont have pain, you only get one set of knees in your life, knee replacement surgery is a bitch,and it may be avoided if you take the proper precautions and train smart as well as use wraps