{
  "$schema": "https://openexercise.org/schema/v0/exercise.json",
  "aliases": [
    {
      "text": "Paused Hack Squat",
      "kind": "common"
    },
    {
      "text": "Pause Hack Squats",
      "kind": "common"
    },
    {
      "text": "Machine Pause Hack Squat",
      "kind": "common"
    }
  ],
  "anatomy": {
    "muscles": [
      {
        "muscle": "quadriceps",
        "role": "prime-mover"
      },
      {
        "muscle": "gluteus-maximus",
        "role": "synergist"
      },
      {
        "muscle": "adductor-magnus",
        "role": "synergist"
      },
      {
        "muscle": "soleus",
        "role": "synergist"
      },
      {
        "muscle": "rectus-abdominis",
        "role": "stabilizer"
      }
    ],
    "joints": [
      {
        "joint": "knee",
        "actions": [
          "flexion",
          "extension"
        ]
      },
      {
        "joint": "hip",
        "actions": [
          "flexion",
          "extension"
        ]
      },
      {
        "joint": "ankle",
        "actions": [
          "dorsiflexion",
          "plantarflexion"
        ]
      },
      {
        "joint": "lumbar-spine",
        "actions": [
          "isometric-stabilization"
        ]
      }
    ]
  },
  "classification": {
    "modalities": [
      "hypertrophy",
      "strength"
    ],
    "movement_patterns": [
      "squat"
    ],
    "mechanics": "compound",
    "force": "push",
    "kinetic_chain": "closed",
    "laterality": "bilateral",
    "planes": [
      "sagittal"
    ],
    "contraction": [
      "dynamic",
      "isometric"
    ],
    "level": "intermediate"
  },
  "equipment": {
    "required": [
      [
        "hack-squat-machine"
      ]
    ]
  },
  "external_ids": {
    "wger": "1464"
  },
  "id": "oec:pause-hack-squat",
  "instructions": {
    "setup": [
      "Step onto the footplate with feet shoulder-width apart and toes slightly pointed outward.",
      "Rest your back flat against the backrest and position your shoulders securely under the shoulder pads.",
      "Disengage the machine's safety handles and fully extend your legs without hyperextending your knees."
    ],
    "steps": [
      "Inhale, brace your core, and smoothly lower the carriage by bending your knees and hips.",
      "Descend until your thighs reach at least parallel to the footplate or full comfortable knee flexion.",
      "Hold the bottom position completely motionless for one to two seconds without resting the carriage on the bottom stops.",
      "Drive through your midfoot to press the sled back up to the starting position, exhaling near the top."
    ],
    "breathing": "Inhale and brace your torso before descending, hold your breath through the bottom pause to maintain spinal stability, and exhale as you press back to lockout.",
    "cues": [
      "Glue your lower back to the pad",
      "Dead stop at the bottom",
      "Drive the floor away"
    ],
    "common_faults": [
      {
        "fault": "Bouncing out of the hole or cutting the pause short.",
        "correction": "Come to a complete, deliberate standstill at maximum depth before initiating the upward drive."
      },
      {
        "fault": "Allowing the lower back or pelvis to curl away from the pad at the bottom.",
        "correction": "Limit your range of motion to where your sacrum remains firmly against the back pad."
      },
      {
        "fault": "Heels lifting off the platform during descent.",
        "correction": "Move your feet slightly higher on the footplate to ensure full foot contact throughout the movement."
      }
    ],
    "safety": {
      "precautions": [
        "Ensure the safety catch mechanism is adjusted to catch the sled just below your target depth."
      ],
      "spotter": "not-needed",
      "safeties": true
    }
  },
  "measurement": {
    "load": {
      "convention": "total",
      "implements": 1,
      "kind": "external"
    },
    "profiles": [
      {
        "required": [
          "reps",
          "load"
        ],
        "optional": [
          "rpe",
          "tempo"
        ]
      }
    ],
    "records": {
      "e1rm": true,
      "volume": true
    },
    "reps_counted": "total"
  },
  "name": "Pause Hack Squat",
  "previous_ids": [
    "oec:pause-hack-squats"
  ],
  "provenance": {
    "generated": [
      "/name",
      "/summary",
      "/classification",
      "/anatomy",
      "/equipment",
      "/measurement",
      "/instructions",
      "/setup",
      "/relations"
    ],
    "license": "CC-BY-SA-4.0",
    "review": {
      "status": "machine-generated",
      "model": "gemini-3.8-flash",
      "at": "2026-10-31"
    },
    "sources": [
      {
        "title": "wger: Pause Hack Squats",
        "url": "https://wger.de/en/exercise/1464/view-base",
        "license": "CC-BY-SA-4.0",
        "author": "Expenses7000"
      }
    ]
  },
  "relations": [
    {
      "type": "variation-of",
      "target": "oec:machine-hack-squat"
    },
    {
      "type": "progression-of",
      "target": "oec:machine-hack-squat"
    },
    {
      "type": "variation-of",
      "target": "oec:hack-squat"
    }
  ],
  "setup": {
    "position": "standing",
    "range": "pause",
    "stance": {
      "kind": "parallel",
      "width": "shoulder"
    }
  },
  "status": "active",
  "summary": "A machine-based squat variation performed with a motionless hold at full depth to eliminate the stretch reflex and maximize quadriceps recruitment."
}