What’s up everyone.
Hope everyone is on the path to becoming an animal at the moment.
I recently posted a substack on hack squats and how they’re such a phenomenal quad builder for multiple reasons.
But what about if you don’t have access to a good hack squat machine?
Are you doomed and can’t get any of the benefits?
No, you’ve got another option.
Enter the smith machine hack squat.
How to do it?
Even if you don’t have a hack squat, most gyms are gonna have a smith machine.
We’re gonna set up with the barbell on our back in a usual high bar position.
But our feet are gonna be a few inches in front of the barbell to allow greater knee flexion and a stretch on the quads in the bottom position.
All the way down under control, slight pause at the bottom and explode up.
This is the gamechanger.
Have a look below.
Main benefits of doing a Smith Machine Squat?
Simplicity
Identical to the actual hack squat machine really.
It ain’t like a barbell back squat where you have to have great coordination etc.
You just jump in the machine and get after it.
The way the smith machine works is that it fixes you into position and you don’t have to worry about stabilizing the weight.
This allows the body to produce a lot more force through the target muscle of the quads which is fantastic for hypertrophy and building slabs of muscle.
High stimulus to fatigue ratio
Again, these won’t beat you up systemically like a barbell back squat will.
Just because of the amount of musculature that is needed in a barbell squat to stabilize the weight is huge.
Also again, the lack of overall coordination needed in comparison to a back squat won’t beat up your systemic nervous system as much.
Good chance you won’t be able to use as much weight with these which is always a good thing.
Especially when you control the negative, with a pause at the bottom.
Which is what you should be doing anyway if hypertrophy is the main goal.
Safety aspect
Again, we know what we need to be training in that range of 0-3 reps in reserve to optimally stimulate hypertrophy.
Doing that in a smith machine is even safer as you don’t have to worry about getting folded by the barbell if you fail a rep.
You literally have safety hooks on the side of the smith machine which can catch the weight if you set them to the right height.
Gives you that piece of mind to really get after it and push it close to failure.
How to program smith machine squats?
They can be used as your main quad builder for the day or after a barbell squat variation.
All depends on your main goals and whether you’re a bodybuilder or a powerlifter peaking for a competition etc.
A powerlifter will be using more specific variations of the squat as they get closer to a meet.
However, these are great for someone who’s just trying to get jacked quads in general.
I like them in that 8-20 rep range, going close to failure.
Slowly add weight to them over time and your quads will grow.
No need to complicate it, progressive overload still applies.
Example of a 10 week wave with them.
Week 1 -
1x12 @ 200lbs
2x12 @ 190lbs
Week 2 -
3x12 @ 200lbs
Week 3 -
1x12 @ 205
2x12 @ 200lbs
Week 4 -
3x12 @ 205lbs
Week 5 DELOAD -
2x12 @ 160LBS
Week 6 -
3x10 @ 205LBS
Week 7 -
1x10 @ 212.5LBS
2x10 @ 207.5LBS
Week 8 -
3x10 @ 212.5LBS
Week 9 -
1x10 @ 217.5lbs
2x10 @ 215lbs
Week 10 -
3x10 @ 220lbs
So that’s a wrap.
We all evolve with our training methods and I would never thought I’d ever be recommending anyone to do a smith machine squat.
But when you understand that all these different pieces of equipment are just tools in the training tool box for us to get jacked, you’ll understand things a lot better.
Never any need to be so dogmatic about exercises.
Enjoy the quad DOMS haha!
Talk to you all soon.
Francis.
DISCLAIMER
This is not Legal, Medical, or Financial advice. Please consult a medical professional before starting any workout program, diet plan, or supplement protocol. These are opinions from a jacked scouser.