Liftworthy
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Liftworthy

Every exercise ranked by research, by lifters and by results. Find what’s S-tier for your goal, then train it.

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Explore/Quads

Belt Squat

MachineCompoundEasy to learn
Front
Back
Primary Secondary

Works

Quads, Glutes

Also adductors

You need

Belt squat

How to do itPictures · 3 steps
Belt
1Start
Belt
2Bottom
Main musclesAlso working
  1. 1Belt around your hips
  2. 2Squat deep with an upright torso
  3. 3Great when your back needs a break

Most common mistake

Shallow reps.

Watch a demo

Good for

  • Top 10 for quads
  • Easy on the joints and recovery

Compare with

vs Leg Pressvs Safety Bar Squatvs Heels-Elevated Goblet Squat
A
For quads
#6 of 33
See the full list →
Research
80
Scored by hand
Results
Soon
From the app
How lifters rate itBe the first
S
A
B
C
D
F
Why research scores it 80
Target tensionStrong
Loaded stretchStrong
ProgressionStrong
Low costExcellent

Loads the legs from the hips, so the quads work hard with no weight on the spine.

Research behind these criteria

  • Target tension: Zabaleta-Korta et al., 2021 · Kinoshita et al., 2023
  • Loaded stretch: Maeo et al., 2021 · Maeo et al., 2023 · Pedrosa et al., 2022 · Kassiano et al., 2023
  • Progression: Plotkin et al., 2022 · Pelland et al., 2026
  • Low cost: Schoenfeld et al., 2021 · Refalo et al., 2023
How scores work

Machine taken? Swap to

  • AFront-Foot-Elevated Split SquatDumbbell
  • ASafety Bar SquatBarbell
  • AHeels-Elevated Goblet SquatDumbbell
  • SHack SquatMachine

Takes

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280