What is a sensible starting load and rep range for the hack lift?

A solid conventional deadlift and comfortable shoulder extension are the prerequisites, since the bar stays behind your body throughout. Start near 40 percent of your deadlift for three sets of 6 to 8 and treat the first few sessions as learning the path. Add load only once the bar stays in contact with your legs the whole way up.

What can I use instead of the hack lift?

A hack squat machine is the obvious swap and loads the quads with none of the balance problem. Without a machine, a heels-elevated goblet squat or a smith machine squat with the bar behind you covers the same quad-biased pattern. A barbell squat with the heels on small plates is the closest free-weight equivalent.

What is the hack lift good for, and when is it a poor choice?

It is a quad-biased pull that also builds grip and upper-back strength, useful for lifters who want a barbell alternative to a hack squat machine. It is a poor choice if you have large calves or limited shoulder extension, because the bar cannot reach a workable start position. It is also awkward to load heavy, so do not expect it to replace squatting.

Advanced

Hack Lift

Named for George Hackenschmidt, the hack lift is a deadlift with the bar held behind the legs, which drives the knees forward and loads the quads more than a standard pull. It also demands strong scapular retraction and grip to keep the bar tracking up the back of the legs. A great heritage lift for quad-biased hinge strength when a hack squat machine is not available.

Equipment: Barbell
Body part: Glutes, Quads
Type: Strength
Browse by muscle: Vastus Lateralis, Rectus Femoris, Gluteus Maximus
Browse by movement: Hinge

How to do it

1
Set the bar on the floor directly behind your heels.
2
Squat down and grip the bar behind you with hands just outside your hips.
3
Set a tall chest, pull your shoulders back, and brace your abs.
4
Drive through your heels and stand, dragging the bar up the back of your legs.
5
Lock out tall with the bar resting against your glutes.
6
Push your hips back and control the bar down to the floor.

Tips

Keep the bar in contact with your legs; drifting back tips you off balance.
Squeeze the shoulder blades to hold the chest up throughout the pull.
Expect the calves and rack setup to limit range, so start with a modest load.

Variations

Common mistakes

The hips shoot back at the start out of conventional-deadlift habit, which immediately drags the bar away from the legs where it cannot be controlled.
Loading it like a conventional deadlift ignores the short range and the weak grip position behind the body, and the bar barely leaves the floor.
Calf size and the bar sleeves stop the bar sitting cleanly behind the heels, and the start position gets forced anyway instead of pulling from a low block.
The shoulders round forward under the load, because a bar hanging behind the body pulls the shoulder blades down and forward, and the upper back gives in first.
The bar is gripped too wide, level with the thighs, so it clips the outside of the legs on the way up and the path becomes a run of small corrections.

Frequently asked

What is a sensible starting load and rep range for the hack lift?: A solid conventional deadlift and comfortable shoulder extension are the prerequisites, since the bar stays behind your body throughout. Start near 40 percent of your deadlift for three sets of 6 to 8 and treat the first few sessions as learning the path. Add load only once the bar stays in contact with your legs the whole way up.
What can I use instead of the hack lift?: A hack squat machine is the obvious swap and loads the quads with none of the balance problem. Without a machine, a heels-elevated goblet squat or a smith machine squat with the bar behind you covers the same quad-biased pattern. A barbell squat with the heels on small plates is the closest free-weight equivalent.
What is the hack lift good for, and when is it a poor choice?: It is a quad-biased pull that also builds grip and upper-back strength, useful for lifters who want a barbell alternative to a hack squat machine. It is a poor choice if you have large calves or limited shoulder extension, because the bar cannot reach a workable start position. It is also awkward to load heavy, so do not expect it to replace squatting.

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