The Hack Squat: Its Forgotten History and How to Do It Correctly

In this article, we’re diving deep into one of the most misunderstood and misrepresented exercises in bodybuilding history: the Hack Squat.

A Misunderstood Name

"Now, let’s get one thing straight right off the bat: the hack squat was not named after George Hackenschmidt. Yes, he popularized it during the Bronze Era of bodybuilding—but the name actually comes from the German word ‘Hacke’.

In his 1908 book The Way to Live, Hackenschmidt refers to the exercise as the ‘Hacke’ squat.  Hacke in German means heel and refers to the heels being joined. The Hack Squat was performed the way Prussian soldiers used to click their heels together (in German Hacken zusammen).

Further, what we do know about the hack squat is that it predates Hackenschmidt himself. The exercise—or at least variations of it—were practiced in Germany well before the 1900s. We can see this clearly in the physical training manuals of the Turnen movement, where deep knee bends of various kinds were a staple.

What Is a Hack Squat Really?

So what is the hack squat exactly? At its core, it’s simply a variation of the loaded deep knee bend—but instead of placing the weight on the back like a modern back squat, the weight is held behind the body at the hips with arms crossed over behind the back.

This subtle change shifts the resistance away from the posterior chain—like the glutes and hamstrings—and directly onto the quadriceps. The whole point of the hack squat is to emphasize the anterior thigh muscles—not to mimic a deadlift or a vertical leg press.

Unfortunately, that’s exactly what’s happened to this exercise in the modern gym. Today’s hack squat machines load the shoulders, keep the heels flat, and basically turn the movement into a glorified leg press with spinal compression. This is not the original intent of the hack squat.

How the Greats Did It

Let’s go back in time to the Bronze Era. George Hackenschmidt popularised the barbell version of the hack squat, performed on the toes, with the barbell held behind the back at the hips, not the shoulders. The preliminary exercise to practice prior to exercising the barbell hack squat was of course the deep knee bend with no added resistance.

Later in the Silver Era, Steve Reeves carried the torch. He performed the movement in two distinct ways—one just like Hackenschmidt, standing on a wooden board for heel elevation, however he would use his leather belt which apparently had hooks sewn on to it to load the barbell onto the weight belt.

Another method Reeves used was to perform the hack squat using a unique platform designed at York Gym. This platform was one of the earliest hack squat machines—and it also loaded the hips, not the shoulders. Note how the platform, which actually was an old hip lift platform from the Milo Barbell company, had two blocks to elevate the heels and a long weight pin with a handle that allowed one to load resistance and also allowed one to hold the weight pin behind the body at the hips, just like George Hackenschmidt promoted.

By the Golden Era, we see Vince Gironda, Arnold Schwarzenegger and the Quadfather Tom Platz step in. Vince was adamant about maintaining the form and function of the old-school hack squat. He even designed a machine that mimicked the movement closely, with hip loading and toe elevation—just like the barbell version. Vince furthered the development of the hack squat by teaching different versions of it as named in the book, The Wild Physique. The two versions he mainly taught were the heels together hack slide and the knees together hack slide. Importantly, both versions have one elevate the heels. Vince also taught heel-elevated deep knee bend variations like the Delinger Squat, which further shifted focus to the thighs.

We also see Golden Era Legends like Arnold Schwarzenegger performing Hack Squats early in his career in Germany as well as at the original Gold’s Gym, whilst Tom Platz was famously blasting his quads to kingdom come in the 80s in his famous and iconic seminars worldwide. Now some of you may quickly point out that Platz has the weight loaded on his shoulders, but examining his form (see youtube videos online) we see that most importantly, he is performing the exercise with heels elevated. And I think that this is the most important factor when it comes to performing the hack squat. Whether performing it with weight on the hips, or weight on the shoulders, keeping the heels up is what shifts the weight onto the quads. One look at his thighs and you quickly realise the effectiveness of the hack squat, when done correctly, at targeting the quadriceps. Platz would go to absolute extremes, extending his knees past his toes and extending at the hips for even further added stretch, almost performing a combined hack squat and sissy squat in one motion. However most important was that both Arnold and Tom both maintained the original form which was to keep the heels elevated, and when possible, loading the weight onto the hips if  the machine was available to do so.

Sadly as can be seen, very few of these machines still exist. As early as the 80s, these machines began to quickly disappear. Today, most modern machines deviate significantly from the original form. They load the shoulders and keep you flat-footed, totally defeating the purpose. One machine though that still follows the mechanics of Vince’s original Hack Squat machine is the Leg Sled from Powertec. I personally practice on this machine as it is compact, doesn’t take too much room and more importantly, loads the resistance at the hips. The platform also allows one to perform Vince’s different variations like the heels together or knees together hack slide.

It is also interesting when you look at the other exercises in Vince’s book titled the Wild Physique, we come to one exercise on a Smith machine which is loaded onto the shoulders, and Vince calls this exercise the press machine. As I mentioned earlier, loading the shoulders and pressing off the feet is nothing more than a leg press, done standing and vertically, which could also be called a squat. It is not a Hack Squat.

The Hack Squat Done Right

So how should you perform a proper hack squat, whether you’re using a barbell or a vintage machine?

Here’s how:

1. Stand and hold the barbell behind your back at the hips, palms facing backward and crossed over.

2. Raise up on the toes as you begin to descend—this engages the quads fully.

3. Keep the torso upright and descend slowly into a deep squat, staying controlled.

4. Drive upward through the balls of your feet, keeping tension on the thighs, not the glutes.

5. As your legs come to full extension, drop the heels to the floor. Repeat.

If you can’t maintain form with a barbell, start with bodyweight or a light dumbbell version until your flexibility and balance improve." For this reason, I highly recommend starting with the deep knee bend to develop knee joint strength and balance. Once you can perform 50 repetitions with full-body weight, ass to grass, you will be conditioned to start adding weight and performing the barbell hack squat.

For those that wish too, you could also Stand on a board or elevate your heels about 1–2 inches and perform the exercise with resistance as a variation. Alternatively, if you are lucky enough to own a Powertec Leg Sled and have gone through the preliminary conditioning, then you can by all means attempt to perform Vince’s hack squat variations too.

So next time you go to the gym, do me a favour. If you are going to do Hack Squats, then do them correctly. Don’t go loading your shoulders and performing flat-footed leg presses and then call them hack squats.

The Hack Deadlift ?

Now one final point to address is whether it is correct to perform the barbell hack squat with feet flat, and the answer of course is no. This is what some call the Behind the back Deadlift or the hack Deadlift. The point is that is a deadlift, not a hack squat. Many if not most influencers incorrectly perform the barbell hack squat and post on social media, which has further spread confusion as to the correct form of the barbell hack squat. I think I have made it very clear that to correctly perform the hack squat, heels must be elevated and ideally, the resistance needs to be loaded at the hips. Don’t listen to these influencers and coaches. And if you are interested in learning correct exercise technique from a bodybuilding coach with clinical and medical background then please get in touch with me. I have helped dozens of clients transform their physiques successfully because I combine the knowledge I have gained from classical bodybuilding with my medical and clinical experience. Details of my online coaching programs are given in the description below.

Closing – Final Thoughts

The hack squat, when done properly, is a masterpiece of early bodybuilding. It emphasizes leg development without overly taxing the spine or posterior chain—but only if it’s done the way the old-school legends intended.

George Hackenschmidt, Steve Reeves, Vince Gironda, Arnold Schwarzenegger and Tom Platz—they knew what they were doing. Let’s preserve their legacy. Let’s revive the true hack squat—not the machine-press bastardization we see today.

As a quick announcement, I will be opening a Skool community soon where I teach these forgotten techniques in-depth so stay tuned as this will be open soon. Until next time—train smart, train old-school, and stay golden.