Legs · Dumbbell
Dumbbell Hack Squat
How to do the dumbbell hack squat, the muscles it works, and the mistakes to avoid. Pulled straight from the Kovo app's exercise library.
- Equipment
- Dumbbell
- Difficulty
- Intermediate
- Logged as
- Weighted reps
- Movement
- Squat
- Mechanic
- Compound
How to do it
Stand tall holding a dumbbell in each hand at your sides, feet about shoulder-width apart. Push your hips back and bend your knees to lower until your thighs reach at least parallel, keeping your chest up and the dumbbells alongside your legs. Drive through your heels to stand back up.
- 1Your quads and glutes working as you drive up out of the bottom
- 2Your back neutral and head in line as you descend
- 3Heels planted, knees extending without locking out hard
Common mistakes
- Letting your knees cave in; track them over your toes
- Rounding your back or letting your hips shoot up first
- Bouncing out of the bottom; control the movement
Muscles worked
The dumbbell 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 dumbbell 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.