Hack Squat Machine

Overview

A hack squat machine loads a squat through the back rather than the hands. The user steps under angled shoulder pads on a moving sled, plants their feet on a footplate, and drives the sled up two inclined rails. Because the back is braced against a pad and the path is fixed, the move targets the quads with far less balance demand than a barbell squat and much less load on the spine.

The machine is built on the Angled Steel Frame, a welded base whose two rails sit on a squat-friendly incline. The user bears the weight through the Shoulder & Foot Station, rides the Sled Carriage, and racks or releases the load with the Spring-Assist Safety Catch. Plates load onto four Weight Horn pegs on the sled.

How it works

The Sled Carriage is the moving carriage. It rides the rails on four Linear Bearing Block blocks, each running on recirculating ball bearings so a heavily loaded sled still travels smoothly and squarely. The user back presses into the angled Back Pad, and rubber bumpers cushion the sled at both ends of its travel.

Loading the body happens at the Shoulder & Foot Station. Two Shoulder Pad pads on the sled rest on the traps and carry the plate weight down through the torso, while a fixed textured Textured Footplate gives a stable stance; moving the feet higher or lower on it shifts the emphasis between quads and glutes.

Getting in and out safely is the job of the Spring-Assist Safety Catch. Two Release Handle levers rotate a pair of catches that hold the sled at the top of its travel for loading and unracking. Coil springs return those catches to the locked position automatically, so a missed rep drops the sled only to the next catch instead of onto the lifter, and the same springs ease the empty sled back to its resting height.