V-Squat vs. Hack Squat: Best Squat Alternative

If you’ve put a focus on increasing your leg strength, you may be exploring different leg workout machines to try and grow your quads, hamstrings, and glutes.

Two of the most common machines you’ll see at the gym are the V-squat and the hack squat machine.

Let’s break down these two leg apparatuses and see which one can give you the most leg day benefits.

Hack Squats— Benefits

Quad Isolation

Hack squats help to efficiently target and isolate the quadriceps.

If you’re training for aesthetics, have stubborn quads that won’t grow or have injuries to the other leg muscles (glutes, hamstrings) to the point where you want to reduce the load on those muscles, it can help to isolate your quads.

Less Stress on Hip Joints

If you experience hip pain while squatting, the hack squat variation could benefit you over a barbell squat.

In a hack squat, you plant your torso against a back pad to keep your form. This allows you to keep your trunk in a more upright position.

Because of this, you don’t hinge as much at the hip joints. In other words, they are at a shallower angle of flexion than they would be in a barbell squat.

In a study on improving function in people with hip-related pain, researchers found that hip-related pain is a leading cause of disability and is especially common in active individuals.

Hip-related pain can be caused by conditions like femoroacetabular impingement (FAI) syndrome, and acetabular dysplasia. However, it can also simply develop from being too sedentary or sports-related injuries.

A lesser hip hinge can also help alleviate lower back pain when squatting.

Hack Squats— Disadvantages

Less Functional

Hack squat machines don’t prepare you for real-world movements or athletics as well as back squats do (V-squats are more similar to back squats).

Think about it. This machine follows a strict path of motion. Although it’s a great way to work your quads to the limit, there’s no outside scenario where you’d be performing the same path of motion as you do in hack squats.

Because barbell squats don’t follow a guided path, they’re more natural for weightlifters and help replicate situations and positions you may find yourself in while playing sports.

V- Squats— Benefits

Stability

Compared to a hack squat machine the V-squat requires extra stability. Because your body is unsupported, most people will require stronger stabilizer muscles to perform this squat variation.

If you want to work up to something like a pistol squat progression, for example, V-squats may make more sense for you than hack squats.

Strength

The barbell back squat is one of the most well-rounded squat progression exercises.

And if you’re looking to train for overall strength gains, the V-squat mimics barbell back squats more closely than the hack squat machine.

The movement pattern of this machine is a lot more natural. Nobody squats in a straight up-and-down pattern unless you’re superhuman.

Most of us have our own peculiarities to our squats. This isn’t necessarily a bad thing, but some machines like the hack squat or Smith machine squats create a less natural motion path that doesn’t work with the unique quirks of your squat form.

For a well-rounded approach to squatting, like the barbell squat, V-squats let you pay equal attention to all the leg muscles for all-around strong and balanced legs.

Balance

V-squats simulate a barbell squat. These squats require you to hold your torso in place using your balance. The stabilizer muscles of your core and legs help you stay upright so you don’t fall over.

V-Squats— Disadvantages

Access

You might have a harder time finding a V-squat machine in many commercial gyms than a hack squat.

These machines simply aren’t as popular, so if you’re hoping to use one, it may be a bit more challenging to track down. That being said, you can easily substitute the squat rack itself for V-squats.

Luckily, pretty much all gyms have these! It can be a learning curve if you’ve only done machine-assisted squats before, so make sure to get support and try squatting with a spotter if you approach the barbell for the first time.

Muscles Worked

Hack squats and V-squats work the same muscles but in different proportions.

Hack squats target your quadriceps muscles. Although they do work the other muscles in your legs, the hack squat is a great way to train if you’re hoping to isolate your quads.

During all types of squats, the working muscles include:

Quadriceps

Your quadriceps femoris muscles (“quads”) flex your knees. When you get to the bottom of your squats, you’ll need a deep bend in the knees to help your body descend into the squat. Engaging your quadriceps will help you get there, so it’s important to make sure they’re strong.

Hamstrings

The hamstrings sit on the backs of your thighs. These muscles extend your hips at the top of a squat. They also help with knee flexion when you descend. This makes hamstrings an integral part of your squat. Always stretch your hamstrings after you squat. It’s a good idea to warm them up too.

Active workouts like high knees or leg swings will help prepare these leg muscles for healthy hack squats. Many people have tight hamstring muscles due to increasingly sedentary lifestyles. The effect of hamstring tightness includes inhibiting your stability and agility.

Because the hamstrings serve a double purpose of hip extension and knee flexion, they’re extra susceptible to injuries. Stretch, stretch, stretch and make sure your muscles are ready to go before you get your hamstrings into deep squat positions.

Glutes

The gluteal muscles (your butt muscles) help keep the pace of your movement as you drop and come back up in your squats. This muscle group is made up of three muscles: the gluteus maximus, gluteus medius and gluteus minimus.

These are some of your strongest lower body muscles. It’s a good idea to engage your glutes at the top of a squat. Not only is this proper form, but it can be one of the best exercises for a round butt.

Calves

Your calves keep your body stable and connect you to your feet to stay grounded. The calf, made up of the soleus muscle and the gastrocnemius, helps you to plantarflex your foot (point your toes downward).

After you come to the bottom of your squat, your calves will engage to help you drive up through the heels and feet to bring yourself back up to a standing position.

The Takeaway

V-squats and hack squats are similar moves, but not one and the same.

Although they work the same major muscle groups, V-squats more closely mimic a traditional barbell back squat.

Hack squats, on the other hand, keep your body in a more upright position. If you’re someone who struggles with hips that hurt when you squat, the hack squat may be a more ideal option.

This squat variation takes some of the strain off the hip joints. Since you don’t hinge forward as deeply, more of the effort in a hack squat is directed to your quads.

The V-squat on the other hand, is another great machine-assisted squat variation where the pattern of movement is more closely related to a barbell back squat. If you’re looking for the closest thing to the real deal that works your stability and follows a more natural approach to the movement path, V-squats are a better choice.

All in all, make sure that you take your time to recover after heavy squats. Remember to always focus on stretching and muscular recovery.

Supplement your training with a clean diet of lean protein, leafy greens, healthy fats, and complex carbs, and the leg gains are yours to behold.

References :

Enseki, K., Harris-Hayes, M., White, D. M., Cibulka, M. T., Woehrle, J., Fagerson, T. L., Clohisy, J. C., & Orthopaedic Section of the American Physical Therapy Association (2014). Nonarthritic hip joint pain. The Journal of orthopaedic and sports physical therapy, 44(6), A1–A32. https://doi.org/10.2519/jospt.2014.0302

Kemp, J. L., Mosler, A. B., Hart, H., Bizzini, M., Chang, S., Scholes, M. J., Semciw, A. I., & Crossley, K. M. (2020). Improving function in people with hip-related pain: a systematic review and meta-analysis of physiotherapist-led interventions for hip-related pain. British journal of sports medicine, 54(23), 1382–1394. https://doi.org/10.1136/bjsports-2019-101690

Schwarz, N. A., Harper, S. P., Waldhelm, A., McKinley-Barnard, S. K., Holden, S. L., & Kovaleski, J. E. (2019). A Comparison of Machine versus Free-Weight Squats for the Enhancement of Lower-Body Power, Speed, and Change-of-Direction Ability during an Initial Training Phase of Recreationally-Active Women. Sports (Basel, Switzerland), 7(10), 215. https://doi.org/10.3390/sports7100215

Spiliopoulou P, Methenitis S, Zaras N, Stasinaki A-N, Krekoukia M, Tsitkanou S, Terzis G. Vastus Lateralis and Vastus Intermedius as Predictors of Quadriceps Femoris Muscle Hypertrophy after Strength Training. Applied Sciences. 2022; 12(18):9133. https://doi.org/10.3390/app12189133