If someone desires to have strong legs and want to build leg muscles then one should do squats exercise regularly. In every gym, machines for every type of muscle development is available which helps to build a robust body. And for the leg muscles, the squat is the main exercise which everybody should do to help you gain lean muscles of legs. However, it is highly important to choose the right squat exercise. In the category of squats exercise, one could do either hack squat or regular barbell squat. Below we have discussed the difference between hack squat and regular barbell squat on the basis of benefits each type offers. However, before we dive into the details of each category, let’s have a look at the basic information about squat exercise and how it benefits us to grow muscles.
Squat Exercise and Muscle Development
Doing squats on a regular basis could result in attractive and strong legs. Also, if you perform legs workout on a regular basis then it helps to release muscle growth hormones which help in the muscle development of the upper body. And before doing squats, you must decide what are your goals. Whether you want to gain huge muscle mass or simply want to keep yourself in shape. In the first case, it is imperative for you to perform squats with putting a lot of weight so that it helps to build muscles at a rapid rate. In case, you just want to lose extra pounds to maintain a perfect body shape, then it is highly recommended for you to just do simply squats exercise. Squats exercise helps in the muscle development of lower back, hips, and legs. Thus, this exercise plays a crucial role in making the lower portion of the body stronger. These days, most of the people love to do squats to achieve a Bubble butt and thick thighs which requires putting a lot of weight while doing squats.
Hack Squats – Muscles Targeted, Variations, Benefits
In order to have the bubble butt and thick thighs at a rapid rate, it is important to do barbell squats exercise. This is a multi-joint exercise which targets the muscles in the quadriceps, gluteus maximus, and magnum posterior. Apart from these body portions, it also targets forearm muscles and the wrist flexors and extensors. After performing hack squats on a regular basis, you will realize that your back area and lower body portion have become robust. However, if you are a beginner, care must be taken to do in it in the presence of a trainer in order to avoid any type of muscle injury.
This Exercise involves standing in front of a barbell placed on the ground, reaching behind you and lifting the weight. It is easier to do in comparison to the barbell squat. And it allows you to target specific muscles depending on the variation of exercise you choose to do. A precaution should be taken while performing hack squats that one should do it by sitting on a bench or do it with the help of some support if you have never done this before.
One could easily vary the target muscle just by varying one’s stance. In the normal stance of the barbell hack squat, the feet are placed at shoulder-width apart. With this stance, stress is put on the quadriceps, butt and inner thighs. By doing squats with your feet placed wider, you will be able to do more work on your inner thighs. However, with a narrow stance, you will put more focus on your quadriceps. Hence, by this variation one can work with different muscles of one’s body in order to get the desired result.
If you feel that there is an imbalance in your leg muscles and the strength of your quadriceps is not as strong as your hamstring and calves, then barbell squat can solve this problem. Not only is it easier to do but also one can work on different parts of one’s quadriceps muscles.
Regular Squats – Muscle Targeted, Benefits
Regular squat is a multi-joint exercise just like hack squats. It is also known as back squat and it targets quadriceps, hamstring, calves, and gluteus maximus. Also, it also works to develop lower back, abdominals, and back muscles to a lower degree. It not only works wonders to develop the lower muscles in the body but also does fantastic work for some of the upper body muscles.
Back squats exercise is performed by placing a barbell on the shoulders and then squatting down with the weight. However, one must pay attention to the placement of the bar, stance, and squat depth. Regular squats help you to do complete body workout and burn calories in order to achieve a perfect body shape by reducing body fat. It also helps to develop your abs and one can easily get the six-pack as it works on the abdominal muscles.
This exercise requires a person to balance his weight on the shoulders. Hence, it strengthens stabilizer muscles, ligaments, and connective tissues. Hence, one could easily prevent the injury which occurs due to weak stabilizer muscles. It also increases the functional strength and maintains the mobility of body as you grow older because back squats work on the leg muscles. This will keep a person active till an older age by building leg strength.
Back squats help a person to ensure full body workout as it involves working on almost every muscle in the body and create an anabolic environment in the body. With this workout, you develop your quadriceps, hamstrings, and calves. Not only this, but it also helps to build up muscles in your biceps, triceps, and chest. Hence, one can keep his whole body fit by just doing back squats.
Which one to choose: Back Squats or Hack Squats?
While hack squat helps to target specific parts of your body namely, the front of your legs, inner thighs, and glutes. One can do variations in order to focus on any of these muscles in the body. On the other hand, regular squat focus on the entire body and helps a person to keep himself fit. Hence, we can conclude that choosing between back squat and hack squat depends on the exercise need. If you want to work on specific muscles, then for hack squat, and if you want to develop the entire body then it is recommended to use back squats for a workout.