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

Hack Squat

MachineCompoundEasy to learn
Front
Back
Primary Secondary

Works

Quads

Also glutes, adductors

You need

Hack squat

How to do itPictures · 3 steps
Back padPlatform
1Start
Back padPlatform
2Bottom
Main musclesAlso working
  1. 1Feet low-to-mid on the platform
  2. 2Lower until thighs pass parallel
  3. 3Drive through the whole foot

Most common mistake

Feet placed high and short range: easy reps, little quad.

Watch a demo

Good for

  • Ranked #1 for quads and #2 for cycling
  • Keeps the work on the target muscle
  • Loads the muscle while it’s stretched
  • Easy to keep adding weight

Compare with

vs Pendulum Squatvs Safety Bar Squatvs Heels-Elevated Goblet Squat
S
For quads
#1 of 33
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Research
95
Scored by hand
Results
Soon
From the app
How lifters rate itBe the first
S
A
B
C
D
F
Why research scores it 95
Target tensionExcellent
Loaded stretchExcellent
ProgressionExcellent
Low costStrong

Deep knee bend under stable, heavy load: the quads are clearly the limiter.

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
  • SPendulum SquatMachine

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