What you'll gain

• Loads the glutes and hamstrings on a machine most gyms already own.

• The chest pad supports the trunk, so the lower back is not the limiting factor.

• Gives a second, posterior chain exercise from a single piece of equipment.

Step-by-Step Instructions

1. 1

   Load the machine and step onto the platform facing the pad.

2. 2

   Rest your chest on the pad with your shoulders under the shoulder pads.

3. 3

   Set your feet at shoulder width, slightly higher on the platform.

4. 4

   Extend the legs, release the safeties and take the load.

5. 5

   Push the hips back and lower until the knees reach about 90 degrees.

6. 6

   Drive through the heels to return without locking the knees.

Common Mistakes

• Keeping the torso vertical, which turns it back into a quad-dominant hack squat.

• Letting the knees track well past the toes, which loads the joint and drops hip involvement.

• Locking out at the top, which unloads the glutes and hamstrings between reps.

• Dropping into the bottom, which loads the hamstrings faster than they can control.

About This Exercise

The reverse hack squat turns you around on the hack squat machine so your chest rests against the carriage pad instead of your back. From there the torso can lean forward and the hips travel through more flexion, which moves the squat pattern onto the posterior chain. The hamstrings become the target with the glutes, quadriceps and calves assisting, which turns an anterior loaded machine into a posterior chain tool. The quadriceps still work, but they are no longer the point. This clip fills a gap most catalogs miss, because the machine looks identical to a hack squat and the difference is entirely body orientation. It suits machine equipment filters, posterior chain accessory blocks, and paired content on one machine.

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