Hack Squat - Form - Knees?

Hi all,

So I have started gyming with a friend and we have changed our routine a bit.
We have started to do some hack squats and one thing both of us would like to check up on is form. We are trying to go low, however we are unsure whether we are doing it wrong and hoping that we are not damaging our knees.

This is a picture which was taken, how does it look?




Sorry about it being blurry. Hopefully you can see what is happening.

Thanks!

No need to go far below parallel on a hack squat, the maximum load on the quad will stop at parallel after which point you're just going to let the knees travel forward and attempt to compensate with the glutes and hams, which is what naturally happens in a barbell squat, however because the machine forces a perfect straight line as apposed to the natural curve of a barbell squat, this is going to result in a lot of load on the joints which is not exactly preferable. This is why I alternate between the two movements weekly to ensure the hip flexibility I need for powerlifting isn't lost to the hack squat which I find superior for quad growth.

For the hack squat I've always found placing the feet as far forward as comfortable and making the knees travel as minimally as possible has always activated the quads best. The cue I use in my head to to physically push myself back into the machines padding. Stop at parallel, come up to just before lock out, repeat. Slow negative, explosive positive. Tom platz style screaming always welcome.

Reserve deep squats for the barbell.

LegitKigtropin wrote: No need to go far below parallel on a hack squat, the maximum load on the quad will stop at parallel after which point you're just going to let the knees travel forward and attempt to compensate with the glutes and hams, which is what naturally happens in a barbell squat, however because the machine forces a perfect straight line as apposed to the natural curve of a barbell squat, this is going to result in a lot of load on the joints which is not exactly preferable. This is why I alternate between the two movements weekly to ensure the hip flexibility I need for powerlifting isn't lost to the hack squat which I find superior for quad growth.

For the hack squat I've always found placing the feet as far forward as comfortable and making the knees travel as minimally as possible has always activated the quads best. The cue I use in my head to to physically push myself back into the machines padding. Stop at parallel, come up to just before lock out, repeat. Slow negative, explosive positive. Tom platz style screaming always welcome.

Reserve deep squats for the barbell.

Ah ha! So with hack squats going to parallel is preferable and your knees will thank you for it.

However when doing barbell squats, going as low as in the picture is good? You would like to go lower than parallel with barbell squats?

Very individual. For general athleticism I do high bar atg squats in my off season. Leading up to a powerlifting meet I squat to just below parallel using a low bar position, enough to get a thumbs up from the judges, the motor patterns on these movements are so different that they cause completely different levels of muscle fiber activation in the quads/glutes/hams. I have found on the barbell squat quad activation is ridiculously individual, for me at 5'10 with long femurs I get the best pumps of my life during powerlifting prep, my taller friends usually get better work from high bar or front squatting. Test it out for yourself.