So, today is leg day. And we all know what leg day means — squats. While traditional squats are great for building your lower body, they require a lot of muscle stability, coaching, and tweaking to perform safely and give you the results you’re looking for.

With this in mind, two popular alternatives to traditional squats are using a hack press machine or leg press machine. Both of these machines offer their own advantages over traditional squats, but which one is better?

The answer is, it depends on your own personal situation and goals. Thankfully, Adventure Fitness Athletic Club offers the best of BOTH worlds, because we have hack squat and leg press machines at our Thornton gym. We also have personal trainers on staff who can help you decide which machine would be best to incorporate into your workout, and we can teach you how to use our equipment properly and safely. Read on to learn more about hack squat and leg press machines.

What is a leg press machine?

Leg press machines are more common than hack squat machines. A leg press machine will put you in a seated, reclined position, facing up. While you are seated, you will place your feet on the pad above you, shoulder-width apart, and your legs will be slightly bent. Your toes should be angled slightly outward. Put your feet higher on the pad to place more stress on your glutes, or put your feet lower on the pad to target your quads.

To perform the leg press, you will straighten your legs (without locking your knees) and release the handles. As you keep your entire back pressed against the seat, you’ll lower your legs toward your chest and then press up again. Do this movement slowly and deliberately. To avoid injury and keep tension on your quads, make sure to never lock your knees.

While the leg press offers a short range of motion, it does work the hamstrings, glutes, calves, and quads quite effectively. You can add weight to the machine to increase the difficulty of your workout and maximize muscle growth.

Another advantage of a leg press is that you can remain seated, which is more comfortable than standing squats and also promotes good posture. Leg presses are often preferred by those with injuries or weaknesses in their back, knees, or hips that prevent them from doing free-weight squats.

Overall, leg presses are good for beginners and those coming back from an injury because the machine allows them to master safe, correct form and movement before trying the more difficult dumbbell and barbell squats.

What is a hack squat machine?

A hack squat machine accomplishes most of the same goals as the leg press, but puts weight on the lifter’s shoulders instead of the legs.

On a hack squat machine, you will be in a standing position but at an angle, with a padded platform supporting your back. There are two weighted platforms resting on your shoulders with handles you hold onto. Your feet will be positioned shoulder-width apart on a separate solid platform beneath you, and your legs will be extended.

When you perform a hack squat, you will release the safety on the two handles by your shoulders and slowly lower your body by bending your knees until your thighs are at approximately 90 degrees. This puts you in the traditional squat position. Then, you will reverse the movement by extending your legs back into the standing position. The handles allow you to lock and unlock the machine, so that when you stand up to finish your last squat, you can use the handles to lock the machine and exit.

The advantage of the hack squat machine is that it allows you to perform true, deep squats — with added weight to increase intensity — while being spotted by the machine, which adds a level of safety. Like the leg press machine, the hack squat machine can be loaded with the amount of weight you desire and you can increase it over time to make your workout more challenging.

The hack squat targets the quads, glutes, hamstrings, and calves. You can vary the workout by slightly changing levels of tension as follows:

• To emphasize your glutes, push through your heels
• To emphasize your quads, push through the balls of your feet

Using the leg press and hack squat machines at AFAC

At Adventure Fitness Athletic Club, we provide our members with a wide array of machines and weights to use, including leg press and hack squat machines. Both of these machines offer an amazing workout and ideally, you can’t go wrong with either. However, you should check with your doctor before using a leg press or hack squat machine as part of your workout routine. And as with all exercises, always listen to your body. If you experience any pain while exercising, stop and talk to your trainer.

In a perfect world, it’s best to incorporate a variety of exercises into your workout, which means the goal would be to use traditional squats, a leg press machine, and a hack squat machine regularly. However, this advice does not apply to everyone. Many situations like experience level, injury, and ability will affect the combination of exercises that is suitable for you.

The personal trainers at AFAC are highly experienced and are here to help our members decide which machines are best for their individual needs. We can also show you how to use our equipment in the safest and most effective manner possible.

For more information about our hack squat and leg press machines, as well as our personal trainers, contact our gym or visit our front desk. You can also call Susan at 720-849-0245 or email her at susan@adventurefitness.club.

To read more articles from Adventure Fitness Athletic Club, check out our Adventure Corner blogs by clicking here.