Hi all,
I’m currently on Day 2 of Hypertrophy 1 - Gen 2, and the squat movement programmed for today is Hack Squats. Unfortunately, my gym doesn’t have a Hack Squat machine or any specialty bars.
The alternatives listed in the app are:
Hack Squats > Hatfield Squats > Front Squats.
Given that, Front Squats are the only one I can perform, and I’m happy to do them (I’m familiar with them from GSnC 1, my previous program).
That said, just out of curiosity—would Smith Machine Squats be considered a reasonable alternative to Hack Squats, at least biomechanically or in terms of stimulus?
For context, I’m 35 and have been training consistently for just over a year now. I’ve never used the Smith machine for squats before.
Thanks in advance for any input!
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I would prefer smith machine squats in this context, as I have concerns about how trainable the front squat is for many people, especially for high reps. I do think most people can learn to front squat and do it well, but I’d want more time to build proficiency prior to using it for real training.
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Awesome @Jordan_Feigenbaum, thanks for the reply! Will substitute with Smith squats then!
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@Jordan_Feigenbaum
I have also started the Hypertrophy 1 - Gen 2 programme this week (thanks for the recommendation!) and had a similar question so getting in here if that’s ok.
I am in my garage gym setup with limited equipment - barbell, rack, pull up bar, dip bars, bench, plus one (yes only one) adjustable weight dumbell. I’m using the spreadsheet rather than the app, so saw plenty of alternatives listed for each exercise.
My questions:
- On the drop-down list for exercise selection, are these listed in a preferential order? I.e. the exercises closest to the default one are preferred and the ones further away on the list are ok but less ideal? For example, for Day 1 I don’t have a setup for doing either back extensions or glute-ham raises (unless I don’t get understand them properly?) so did hanging knee raises - I’m fine to do this but seems quite different from back extensions so I was a bit confused.
- Specifically following on this post thread, this morning I tried hack squats for the first time in my life and it was weird man. I didn’t realise this was meant to be using a specific machine, I just googled “barbell hack squats” and thought that was the exercise. Is that right? Or was the intention of the programme to use a hack squat machine? If so, with what I have, would I be better to do front squats / some other variation instead of the barbell hack squat?
Thanks!
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Nope, no preferred order for the exercise selection. For the back extensions, you could likely do seated good mornings, supermans, or similar for a trunk exercise that loaded the back, if you want.
You can use a barbell to do a hack squat if you have a landmine attachment. I don’t know exactly what you did, but pretty much any squat variant that you can load and train hard would work here. Hack squat in the drop down does refer to the machine, yes. I don’t think most people can really train the front squat without a lot of preliminary work. If that doesn’t apply to you, front squats would be fine. Ultimately, the choice is yours for what variation to do.
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Thanks @Jordan_Feigenbaum for your quick reply! I’ve not done seated good mornings before, I’ll give that a try 
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If you’re curious, the videos I saw for the barbell hack squat were all the same - I would describe it as like a deadlift but holding the bar behind your legs instead of infront. Felt pretty awkward, but definitely hit the quads. Seeing as it was awkward feeling, I think, relooking at the rest of the alternatives listed (and having to google a couple of them), that either front squats or tempo squats would be the way to go, especially if already doing high bar squats on Day 1. What do you mean by ‘a lot of preliminary work’ needed for doing front squats effectively?
I mean people need to spend time doing the front squat with programming that is unlikely to produce hypertrophy or strength improvements (compared to other options) in order to get a viable front rack position and movement mechanics. If you can front squat well already, you can ignore this.
In a brief search, I see two versions of barbell hack squats- one done like a deadlift (behind the legs) and one done with the bar’s end resting on the shoulder. I don’t know that I have a preference for either one. Up to you!
Awesome, thanks Jordan!
One more quick question: for the curls and tricep work, when it has the 8-10 reps followed by 10-15 reps, are you intending that we try to keep the same weight for the 10-15 rep sets as we did for the initial 8-10 rep sets? Or is it a heavier weight followed by a lighter weight?
From my understanding, you choose the weight to match the prescribed RPE.
So if you did X weight for 8-10 reps @ 8, I would assume you’ll use the same or lower weight for 10 - 15 @ 9 
I think the load should be different for most people for the two different rep ranges. If you can do the same load, I suspect you need to go heavier on the sets of 8 to 10 reps.
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Great, thanks again! I’ll give that a crack 
One last question @Jordan_Feigenbaum 
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I browsed the second block of Hypertrophy 1 Gen 2.
On days 1 & 2, it prescribes SSB squats and Pendulum Squats, both sets of 6.
For day 1, I could substitute SSBs with high-bar squats.
Given that there are sets of 6, would it be a good opportunity to practice Front Squats on day 2 (since this is the one alternative I can do with my current access to gym equipment)?
PS: I understand that a better alternative to pendulum squats might be something like a leg press in the context of hypertrophy. However, I would like to improve my front squats, and my motivation is always higher when there’s some skill involved in my training.
That’d be fine. I’d probably start with a 2-3 finger grip right at the start of the knurling and see if you can maintain a front rack like that. You’ll get better, no doubt, but that seems to be one of the easier ways to get people started.
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