Legs · Barbell
Barbell Hack Squat
How to do the barbell hack squat, the muscles it works, and the mistakes to avoid. Pulled straight from the Kovo app's exercise library.
- Equipment
- Barbell
- Difficulty
- Intermediate
- Logged as
- Weighted reps
- Movement
- Squat
- Mechanic
- Compound
How to do it
Stand with a barbell on the floor behind your heels and feet shoulder-width apart. Squat down and grip the bar with both hands behind your legs, then drive through your heels to stand up tall, keeping the bar close to the backs of your legs. Lower it back down with control.
- 1Your quads and glutes driving you up out of the squat
- 2The bar tracking close to the backs of your legs
- 3Your chest up and back flat throughout
Common mistakes
- Letting your knees cave in; track them over your toes
- Rounding your back as you lift the bar from the floor
- Bouncing out of the bottom; control the movement
Muscles worked
The barbell hack squat mainly works the quads and glutes, with the hamstrings, lower back, and calves assisting.
- QuadsPrimary
- GlutesPrimary
- HamstringsSupport
- Lower BackSupport
- CalvesSupport
- Upper AbsMinor
Kovo programs the barbell hack squat for you and tracks it every session.
We build your whole program, drop the right lifts into each workout, and adjust your weights as you get stronger. Free on iOS and Android.
More quads exercises
- How to do the resistance band squat
- How to do the resistance band squat to press
- How to do the resistance band thruster
- How to do the resistance band squat walk
- How to do the barbell squat
- How to do the barbell bulgarian split squat
Last reviewed June 2026.