BB hack squat - fun but weird

[SteelWeaver]

Did BB hack squats last night for the first time - superset with normal full squats, just for fun.

I have a question about the form on these, though. Is the bar supposed to scrape up the back of your shins, slam into your hamstrings, then bounce off your glutes as your hips pop forward? I didn't feel like I could maintain a typical squat arch because of the position of my arms. Are you supposed to try to sit back on these the same as on back squats? Because when I tried that, the bb moved away from my centre of gravity and my arms took on a lot of weight. Also, are you meant to try to prevent your knees from moving over your toes? That's HARD. The whole balance thing makes it difficult.

It didn't feel bad - actually felt quite good and fun, but I wasn't using much weight. It DID feel weird though.

Can anyone help me on form for these?

 

[Hannibal]

I can't even PICTURE what you're talking about. I've never seen/done a hack like that.

Don't think it will add anything to my total.....NO THANKS.

 

[Haz]

I tried barbell hack squats today also. It is a very strange exercise, and I have never seen anyone do them. I was searching some training site when I came across them, so I thought I would give it a try.

Here is a website that has a good video clip of how to do them. The guy in the video doesn't let the bar scrape the back of his legs, but it does stay close to his body. The knees also do appear to go slightly forward of the toes. Its alot harder then it looks, but I guess practice makes perfect.

http://www.exrx.net/WeightExercises/Quadriceps/BBHackSquat.html

 

[SteelWeaver]

Lord almighty Hannibal!!! Where in heaven's name did you get that pic? OMG! ROTFLMAO!!! That looks so bad! Ha ha haa ha haaaaaaaa. Oh jeez, I can't stop laughing ... WTF is he doing?







Yeah, that's what I was doing, but I was holding a lot more weight.

They're supposed to target the lateralis medialis (whatever - the tear-drop, can never get the 4 straight), and I definitely felt it there, so I guess that's good.

Thanks for the pic Haz - that's my usual form resource. I found a pic on Westside site as well (EFS), and the guy there was lifting a LOT of weight. I want to get good at as many squat variations as possible - just because it's another challenge, and fun too.

And since I'm not chasing totals, I can do that and still achieve my goals

Haz - could you keep your arch?

 

[Vortexx]

First of all, having a really big ass can make barbell hack squats a difficult exercise, as you cannot get the bar "over the hills" without comprimising form....


Havins said that, i find it a great exercise to attack the teardrops when no hacksquat machine around. If you look at the animation you will see that the guy moves his shoulders backwards and forward when going up and down, in order to keep the bar in the desired center of gravity and at the right distance from the body.

This indeed takes some practice, but it's worthwhile to hang in there and do some higher rep sets for a month until you got the form right than start adding some serious weight....

 

[Arioch]

Arm length will greatly influence this exercise. Someone like my wife with arms so short she needs a stepladder to scratch her ass has a great deal of trouble with them.

In addition to the advice you have already been given, the amount of abuse you will suffer is inversely proportional to your abilty to coordinate the extension and flexion of your knees and hips. If the bar is scraping up your legs, you are probably straightening the knees to soon and the hips too late.

 

[SteelWeaver]

Thanks for the advice everyone. I don't have a big ass (yet), but apparently it's big enough for the bar to bump into.

The hack machine (well, the one at my gym anyway) hurts my knees - the foot-plate doesn't go out far enough, I think, pushing my knees over my toes.

And I don't like machines much - my body always feel slike it's being pushed somewhere it doesn't want to go ...

Arioch, is it fairly normal for the knees to move over the toes a bit on this move? And SHOULD I be trying to sit back like on normal squats?

And how can one maintain one's arch when the shoulders are moving back and forth? - mmm, that looks kind of hard.

 

[Arioch]

Yes, the knees will go forward of the toes.

Sit back as much as you can without dropping the bar on your calves.

Retract the scapulae.