Barbell Hack Squat (Shallower Range)
A free-weight squat with the bar held behind the legs and a reduced depth relative to the deeper-range demonstration.
- Body part
- Legs: all exercises
- Movement
- Squat: all exercises
- Equipment
- Barbell: all exercises
What it trains
- Rectus FemorisPrimary85%
- Vastus MedialisPrimary85%
- Vastus LateralisPrimary85%
- Vastus IntermediusPrimary85%
- Adductor MagnusSecondary50%
- Gluteus MaximusSecondary50%
How to perform
Stand with the bar held behind your thighs, arms straight and feet securely planted.
Brace your trunk and bend the hips and knees, keeping the bar close behind the legs.
Lower into the shallower squat shown, keeping the feet planted and controlling the back and pelvis.
Reverse the movement smoothly and extend the knees and hips to stand with the arms straight.
Tips
Keep the knees moving in line with the feet.
Maintain a secure grip without curling the bar or shrugging it upward.
Use a consistent, controlled depth rather than bouncing at the bottom.
Keep the bar close to the body without catching it on the calves.
Common mistakes
Rounding the lower back or changing depth unpredictably between repetitions.
Letting the knees collapse inward or the heels lift.
Pulling with bent elbows or swinging the bar away from the legs.
About this exercise
It emphasizes the quadriceps, with the glutes assisting the ascent and the trunk and grip supporting the load. The shorter range distinguishes this variation; it does not by itself make the exercise suitable for an injury.
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