Hackenschmidt squats are popular, but they pose a risk to the lower back.
The Hackenschmidt machine is a popular training device in every studio. Despite the many variants of this machine, most athletes recognize them immediately.
The history of the development of the machine is very interesting - but also all the injuries it caused.
Hackenschmidt squats were through the Profi-Wrestler George Hackenschmidt popular, after which they are named. Hackenschmidt was best known for his leg development. Originally, this type of squat was performed as follows: you stood upright and held a light barbell with your arms straight behind your buttocks. In addition, the athletes often had small blocks of wood under their heels. Then you got down on your knees and tried to keep your upper body as straight as possible. This trains the quadriceps well, which is why Hackenschmidt had such a muscular quadriceps at the time.
Over time, the athletes wanted to train with ever higher weights, so Hackenschmidt squats were turned into reverse deadlifts. And since you wanted to use higher and higher weights, the mechanical stress on the quadriceps was eventually lost.
The first Hackenschmidt machine tried to achieve the original purpose of this squat variant again. It had a backrest and was at a very steep angle. You had to hold on to a bar attached to the bottom of the backrest. The bar was placed in such a way that one practically imitated the original Hackenschmidt squat with the barbell. With these early models, it was quite difficult to train with extremely heavy weights.
Später ist von Krafttrainern eine Maschine für Football-Spieler entwickelt worden. Dieses Trainingsgerät sah den heutigen Hackenschmidt-Maschinen bereits sehr ähnlich. Es hatte zwei lange Streben, an denen der schwere Schlitten rauf und runter geschoben wurde. Außerdem war sie mit zwei Polstern ausgestattet, gegen die sich der Spieler mit seinen Schultern abstützen konnte. Diese Maschine hatte keinen sehr steilen Stand, sie befand sich vielleicht in einem 45°-Winkel zum Boden. Eine der ersten dieser Maschinen wurde als „Ram Rack“ bezeichnet, und viele andere Versionen sollten folgen. Die Maschine wurde immer weiter verändert und wurde schließlich zu dem, was man heute als Hackenschmidt-Maschine kennt.
Bodybuilders wanted to do squats on the ram rack. And since it was similar to the old Hackenschmidt machine, the name was also adopted. In order to make the machines more effective, they also had to be steeper again, as with the old models.
Manufacturers began to produce different variants, but this leads to a common problem with Hackenschmidt squats: the backrest is sometimes very short, which can lead to the lower back arching around the lower end of the short backrest. This is an awkward and somewhat risky posture, especially under the weight of the machine.
I remember watching an athlete doing Hackenschmidt squats. He was obviously in pain and broke off his sentence. He said that he suddenly had back pain and the pain spread down to his leg. I saw him hobbling away and then looked at the machine again: At the lower end of the short backrest, the upholstery was worn exactly where you should be with your lower back. So on the first machines, the lower back was not supported very much. And, of course, even less if the upholstery was worn out.
Einige Firmen stellten Hackenschmidt-Maschinen her, die längere Rückenlehnen hatten. Was die Unterstützung des Rückens betrifft, so ist einem damit sicherlich geholfen. Trotzdem kann sich der Schlitten nur rauf und runter bewegen, ganz gleich, wie groß ein Sportler ist oder wie lang seine Beine sind. Die Fußstellung kann ein wenig hilfreich sein, aber der Maschinenaufbau gibt einem nicht die Freiheit, die man bei normalen Kniebeugen hat.
First, take a look at the backrest of the Hackenschmidt machine the next time you're in the studio. If the upholstery is worn out, ask the studio owner whether he would like to have it replaced. If it's too short, it might be better to replace the whole machine so that you can avoid injuries. If neither happens, then you should rather forego the exercise. This is better than risking an injury that could affect your entire workout.
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