You can move your feet slightly on a hack squat machine to get different results.
The five best foot placements for the hack squat are:
- Regular Stance: Best for Beginners
- Low Foot Placement: Best for Quads & Glutes
- High Foot Placement: Best for Hamstrings
- Wide Foot Placement: Best for Adductors
- Narrow Foot Placement: Best for Strengthening Deadlift Off The Floor
In this article, I will go through these 5 options for hack squat foot placement, discuss how they work the targeted muscles, show you how to make the most out of these foot placements and explain any drawbacks they may have.
I will also review what you need to know about foot angles and footwear choices for the hack squat.
If you prefer the leg press, check out the differences between them in our full post.
Table of Contents
Hack Squat Foot Placement Overview
Here is a brief overview of the options for hack squat foot placement:
| Regular Foot Placement | Low Foot Placement | High Foot Placement | Wide Foot Placement | Narrow Foot Placement | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Position On Platform | Middle of the platform | Bottom of the platform | Top of the platform | Middle and toward the outside of the platform | Middle of the platform |
| Feet Distance | Shoulder-width | Shoulder-width | Shoulder-width | Wider than shoulder-width | Hip-width |
| Muscle Focus | Quads, glutes, calves, hamstrings, adductors | Quads, glutes, calves | Adductors, hamstrings | Adductors | Quads, glutes |
| Pros | Suitable for most lifters | Better for people with stronger hips | Better for people with stronger legs or sore knees | Can go through more range of motion | Can use more load |
| Cons | Does not focus on any specific muscle | Less emphasis on hamstrings | Limits range of motion on quads | Cannot squat as much weight | Less range of motion |
1. Regular Stance
The regular stance is defined by parallel feet in the middle of the platform with a shoulder-width stance. The muscles worked are primarily the quads, but the calves, hamstrings, glutes, and adductors are also activated.
Drawbacks
- This variation does not fully allow your knees to flex to their full range of motion, so it is less optimal for building quad muscle mass (unless you add pauses).
- If you want to improve your bottom range squat strength (i.e., not getting stuck at the bottom of a squat), you want to focus on the hip adductors. A regular leg press stance does not maximize activation in the hip adductors, so it is not the best at improving hip extension strength (i.e., improving your ability to extend your hips to get back into a standing position from the bottom of a squat).
Who Should Do Hack Squats With a Regular Stance?
- If you are a beginner lifter, you should try using the regular stance to get accustomed to the exercise machine in general. Beginner lifters will benefit most from strength gains by improving technique and bodily control in the exercise.
- If you are an experienced lifter new to the hack squat, you should start with the regular stance. This is so you can gauge how it feels on your lower body and determine how you need to change the foot placement later. For example, if this stance adequately targets your glutes, you may not want to change the foot placement to a stance that challenges your glutes more to avoid making it even harder on them.
Learn more about the benefits of paused squats in How To Pause Squat (Technique, Benefits, Muscles Worked).
2. Low Foot Placement
Low foot placement is defined by parallel feet on the bottom of the platform with a shoulder-width stance. The low foot placement primarily targets the quads, glutes, and calf muscles.
Pro Tip
With the low foot placement, the knees will go over the toes much more, and this means that it will stretch your ankles and calf muscles more. However, depending on your ankle mobility, you may not have as much range of motion, so there is a higher chance that your heels will come off the platform.
A good cue to remember when you adopt this foot placement is to feel your heels throughout the execution. Stop before your ankles collapse inward or heels come off the platform.
Drawbacks
- Poor ankle mobility may limit your ability to maximize your range of motion in this exercise. From a muscle-building point of view, you may not get as much stimulus for hypertrophy. A systematic review from Brad Schoenfeld shows that range of motion is important when it comes to building muscle mass in the lower body.
- If you have pre-existing knee issues, this position puts a lot more pressure on the knee joint, making it inappropriate for people with a history of knee injuries because it increases the risk of reinjury.
Who Should Do Hack Squats With a Low Foot Placement?
- If you struggle to feel your lower quads in your hack squat, you may benefit from trying a lower foot placement to target the vastus medialis. This is a part of the quadriceps muscle just above the knee cap (also known as the inner teardrop).
- If you want to feel your gluteus maximus (the largest gluteal muscle) more, you should use a low foot placement. A study from Worrell et al. showed that the glutes were more responsible for extending the hip when the hip was already close to being fully extended. Lower foot placement will align the thigh with the rest of the torso at the top of the movement. This means the hips can extend to almost full range (i.e., it will look like you’re standing almost straight up), thus engaging the gluteus maximus.
If you’re looking for more ways to target the glutes, check out my article on How To Leg Press Using Your Glutes More.
3. High Foot Placement
The high foot placement stance is defined by parallel feet on the top of the platform with a shoulder-width stance. With a high foot placement, the quads, adductors, and hamstrings are targeted. However, there is relatively less emphasis on the quads and a bit more focus on the hamstrings and adductors.
Drawbacks
- As your foot placement is higher on the board, you do not reach that end-range hip extension that you would get if your feet were lower on the platform. This means that it is suboptimal for emphasizing the tension on your glute max (the largest gluteal muscle).
Who Should Do Hack Squats With a High Foot Placement?
- If you are someone who has pre-existing knee issues, having a higher foot placement means that you move through less range of motion in the knees and your knees do not go as far forward over your toes. This reduces the stress in the knees, so the hack squat with a high foot placement can be good for you if you’re rehabbing a knee injury.
4. Wide Foot Placement
The wide foot placement stance is defined by parallel feet on the middle of the platform with a wider than shoulder-width stance.
In the wide foot placement stance, the muscles targeted primarily are the quads, glutes, and adductors muscles. There is relatively more emphasis on the hip adductors as they are in a lengthened position (meaning they are in a more open or extended position).
You may also find that this variation activates the quads more than other stances since you can sit deeper into the squat.
Pro Tip
One thing that you need to pay attention to, specifically on the descent, is that your knees open outward. They should ideally track in line with your feet throughout.
If you struggle with this, you can try putting a hip circle-type resistance band with a very light resistance around your knees. This would encourage you to open your knees outward as you descend during the hack squat. It would also help you open up and stretch out your hip adductors, which are important for extending your hip in the hole.
Drawbacks
- This wide foot placement requires a certain level of hip mobility. If you naturally do not have as much mobility in that region, it means your hip adductors are not conditioned for a wide stance. You risk straining those muscles if you are not careful with the loading for this stance.
Who Should Do Hack Squats With a Wide Foot Placement?
- If you are weak in the hole of regular squats, a wide foot placement for the hack squat is perfect. This is because you simultaneously activate your adductors more by widening your hips and your quads more through the increased range of motion you gain from this variation.
Don’t have access to a hack squat machine? Check out my favorite hack squat alternatives.
5. Narrow Foot Placement
The narrow foot placement stance is defined by parallel feet on the middle of the platform with a hip-width stance.
This stance primarily targets the quads and glutes. Contrary to popular belief that a wide stance activates your glutes more, your glutes are activated more with narrow foot placement. This is because when your thigh bones are close together, your glutes are stretched out more.
Pro Tip
With a narrow stance for the hack squat, most people will find that they are not able to move through as large of a range of motion. This will mean that you can potentially hack squat more weight with a narrow stance than with a regular stance.
If you want to regain some more range of motion to build muscle mass, you can use heeled weightlifting shoes. This will allow you to bend more through your knees and ankles when you squat down.
Drawbacks
- If your ankle and hip mobility are not as good, you may find that you inadvertently butt wink at the bottom of the range of motion when you perform the hack squat. Butt winking is when your pelvis tucks underneath and your lower back rounds under at the bottom of a squat. During the hack squat, butt winking is not obvious, so this is something you’ll have to pay attention to when doing the movement with a narrow stance. You can record yourself doing the movement or ask someone to watch you to determine if you have butt wink.
Who Should Do Hack Squats With a Narrow Foot Placement?
- If you want to increase deadlift strength off the floor, hack squats with a narrow foot placement are ideal for you. This will replicate the quad activation you get when you perform conventional deadlifts. It will also replicate a similar joint angle that you’d be in at the bottom of the conventional deadlift.
Muscles Used in the Hack Squat
Here's more about the muscles used in a hack squat and how you can work them differently by moving your feet:
- Quadriceps: Primarily worked through the extension of the knees during the hack squat. Best targeted with Low Foot Placement to increase the range of motion and intensity on the quads, especially when adding an isometric pause at the bottom to enhance tension.
- Glutes: Engaged during the upward phase of the hack squat, especially near the top. Low Foot Placement is effective for glute activation, aligning the thighs with the torso at the top movement, maximizing hip extension.
- Hamstrings: Play a smaller role in hip extension during the hack squat. High Foot Placement shifts some focus to the hamstrings by altering the leg's angle and reducing quad dominance.
- Calves: Involved in the movement at the ankles. Low Foot Placement stretches the calves more, especially as the knees move over the toes, enhancing calf engagement.
- Adductors (Inner Thighs): Activated to assist in hip extension, especially from a deep squat position. Wide Foot Placement increases the stretch and activation of the adductors, making it ideal for targeting this muscle group.
To learn more about the muscles that are used in a regular squat, check out Muscles Used In The Squat (Ultimate Guide).
Frequently Asked Questions
Should Your Feet Be Parallel or at an Angle During the Hack Squat?
Research from Escamilla et. al suggests that feet angle makes no significant difference in muscle activation between parallel feet vs slightly pointed out during a squatting type exercise. As such, you can use a stance where your knees are roughly in line with your feet with a foot angle that feels most comfortable.
What Is the Best Hack Squat Stance for Building Quads?
The best hack squat stance for building quads is a low stance with heeled weightlifting shoes. The low stance will get your knees to travel over your feet more, and the heeled weightlifting shoes will add that extra range of motion to maximize quad activation for hypertrophy.
What Is the Best Hack Squat Stance for Building Hamstrings?
The best hack squat stance for building hamstrings is with your feet high on the platform and wider than shoulder-width. This stance will stretch your hamstrings out more to stimulate hypertrophy in that muscle group.
What Is the Best Hack Squat Stance for Building Hip Adductors?
The best hack squat stance for building adductors is a wide stance with heeled weightlifting shoes. The wide stance will stretch your adductors more, and the heeled weightlifting shoes will get you to sit deeper into your hips, which will also lengthen your adductors.
What Is the Best Hack Squat Stance for Building Glutes?
The best hack squat stance for building glutes is a low and narrow stance with flat shoes. The low stance will get you into full hip extension, activating your glutes, and the narrow stance will get your glutes more stretched out.
If you’re also looking for the best foot placements for the leg press, check out Leg Press Foot Placements: 5 Stances Explained.
References
- Schoenfeld BJ, Grgic J. Effects of range of motion on muscle development during resistance training interventions: A systematic review. SAGE Open Medicine. 2020 Jan;8(8):205031212090155.
- Worrell TW, Karst G, Adamczyk D, Moore R, Stanley C, Steimel B, et al. Influence of Joint Position on Electromyographic and Torque Generation During Maximal Voluntary Isometric Contractions of the Hamstrings and Gluteus Maximus Muscles. Journal of Orthopaedic & Sports Physical Therapy. 2001 Dec;31(12):730–40.
- ESCAMILLA RF, FLEISIG GS, ZHENG N, LANDER JE, BARRENTINE SW, ANDREWS JR, et al. Effects of technique variations on knee biomechanics during the squat and leg press. Medicine & Science in Sports & Exercise. 2001 Sep;33(9):1552–66.
About The Author: Norman Cheung ASCC, British Powerlifting Team Coach
Norman Cheung is a powerlifting and accredited strength and conditioning coach under the UKSCA. He has been coaching powerlifting since 2012 and has been an IPF Team GB coach since 2016. He has experience coaching various lifters, from novices to international medallists and international university teams. Alongside coaching, he takes an interest in helping powerlifters take their first step into coaching. He currently runs his coaching services at strongambitionscoaching.com.
