Why the Belt Squat Is the Best Leg Exercise You’re Not Doing

If you’re lucky enough to have a belt squat station in your gym, you’d be foolish to not make use of it. The belt squat isn’t just another leg machine—in addition to providing a unique stimulus to your lower body that you genuinely can’t replicate with a leg press or hack squat, belt squat stations are surprisingly versatile.

You can put a fresh spin on several fundamental leg movements by using a belt squat machine. Squats themselves may be the tip of the iceberg, but learning how to belt squat properly is crucial if you want to get the most value out of the machine in the first place.

We’re breaking down belt squat muscles worked, benefits, form, and variations that go the distance. 

Belt Squat Benefits

First things first, let’s set the table on why the belt squat is a banger on leg day, targeting quads, glutes, and hamstrings. To understand why, you need to know a bit about the physics of resistance training. 

When you squat with a barbell, you apply what’s called axial loading to your torso. Put simply, this means you’re working with some form of external resistance that presses down on your spine. To lessen this load, you could tackle goblet squats, however your gains will be limited by the amount you're able to carry.

By contrast, belt squat machines apply tensile loading—the weight is attached to a belt around your hips, which pulls on your pelvis, creating traction. This is the critical difference that separates belt squats from other leg exercises.

Less Lower Back Stress

Barbell squats, safety bar squats, hack squats, and even the leg press apply compressive force to your spine. This is in no way inherently dangerous, but it is a consideration if you’re working around an injury or otherwise need to take it easy on your back.

Here’s Layer & colleagues in 2018, after their kinetic analysis of the belt squat and back squat: “... belt squats may provide similar or greater loading of the lower extremities while reducing external spinal loading.” 

Why? In short, the weight pulls your hips down via a cable directly between your feet, which helps with balance and maintaining a tall, upright torso. 

Low Barrier to Entry

Beside the physiological changes, belt squats are often a far more practical option than free-weight squatting—with the caveat of the station itself being rather hard to come by in most commercial gyms. 

The hip belt and tensile force put your squatting technique “on rails”; even beginners who struggle to squat properly with a barbell generally find belt squats straightforward and intuitive. 

Moreover, there’s little setup required to use a belt squat station beyond adjusting the belt itself and loading up plates. 

Good for More Than Squats

The belt squat machine may be designed for squatting, but it is fundamentally a cable station. Cable machines are known for their versatility and customization; the belt squat doesn’t have as much utility as an adjustable cable tree, but you can get a lot done with it.

Beyond squats you can perform hinge exercises like the Romanian deadlift, single-leg work like reverse lunges, or even some prehab work with standing marches. We’ll tackle how to do all these a bit later on. 

How To Belt Squat

Most people will find belt squat form comes naturally due to the design of the machine and setup. Most of what you need to know revolves around how to set up the station, or how to work with different types of belt squat machines. 

What you’ll need: A standalone belt squat machine, or a modifiable belt squat attachment that integrates with a power rack.

How To Do It

• Step 1: Don the belt and step onto the platform such that your feet are directly beside the cable in your natural squatting stance. 

• Step 2: Unrack the weight by locking your knees to pull the cable taut and releasing the safeties.

• Step 3: While lightly holding the frame for balance, slowly descend by dropping your hips straight down as deep as you can, then stand back up. 

Mistakes To Avoid

• Foot Alignment: Make sure the cable is directly between your feet. Don’t stand in front of or behind it.

• Cheating: You can hold the frame of the station for balance, but don’t pull yourself out of the hole with your arms while you squat.

• Overloading: Belt squatting challenges your body unlike other squat variations, so don’t expect to load up as much weight as you use on the leg press or hack squat right away. 

Belt Squat Workouts

Despite the name, the belt squat isn’t just for squatting. You can use it for a number of different exercises to train just about every muscle in your lower body, and even as a tool for mobility and stability training in some cases.

Here are some of the best belt squat workouts you can do if you’re lucky enough to have one in your gym or at home. 

Belt Squat Romanian Deadlift

You can train your posterior chain by performing deadlift variations on the belt squat platform. Just remove the hip belt attachment and secure a straight bar attachment instead, stand up with it, and hinge your hips. 

Note that you’re still performing a loaded hip hinge, and the cable will pull down just like gravity acting on a barbell or pair of dumbbells; Romanian deadlifts on a belt squat station will stress your lumbar spine. 

Belt Squat Reverse Lunge

It can be a bit awkward, but you are able to perform some single-leg training with a belt squat as well. Movements like the reverse lunge, where you set up normally then step back off the platform, or the split squat, where you leave your back leg off the plate altogether, are viable options here. 

One big thing: Shifting your center of mass with a single-leg squat or lunge will affect the directional force of the machine as the cable pulls you both down and forward. You’ll have to brace your core to fight being yanked out of position or off balance. 

Belt Squat March

Standing marches are a great way to warm up for leg day. They get your hip flexors going, activate your balance, and help you break a sweat—all of which you can do on a belt squat. 

Load up a light weight, stand upright with the belt around your hips, then bend one knee and lift it toward waist height. Alternating legs between reps provides a unique way of warming-up your hip sockets and glutes that you can’t get by using other equipment. 

Belt Squat Calf Raise

This isolation exercise puts the heat on your calves. Aim to work in a full range of motion with this move, feeling a deep stretch in your calves as you drop your heels, then a strong contraction as you go up onto the balls of your feet.

Stronger calves can improve mobility and stability, help to lessen the risk of injury in your legs, and they may even help improve vertical jump—in one study, all participants improved their jump height after 11-weeks of variations of calf raises with resistance.

Takeaway

Belt squats are hard to come by. If you’ve got access to one, you’re leaving gains on the table by not using it. Its unique design allows you to hammer your lower body muscles without thrashing your back in the process, and it’s a surprisingly versatile piece of equipment. 

From deadlift variations to practical warm-up techniques, the belt squat is second-to-none. It’s the type of thing you only need to try once to see the benefits. 

FAQs

What are the benefits of the belt squat exercise?

The main benefit of the belt squat exercise is how the machine applies load to your body. Instead of pressing down on your spine like a barbell, belt squats pull down on your pelvis. Most people find belt squats to be very friendly on the lower back as a result, without compromising the muscular stimulation.

What muscles do belt squats work? 

You’ll find that belt squats work all of the same muscles as any other squatting variation, with two major caveats. First, you should experience much less stress on your spine. Second, some studies have shown lower glute and core activation with belt squats compared to barbell squats, but similar engagement in the quads and hamstrings.

What is a belt squat?

A belt squat is a squat variation that targets the legs, where the weight is attached to a belt, thus reducing axial loading and spinal compression. 

References

1. Layer JS, Grenz C, Hinshaw TJ, Smith DT, Barrett SF, Dai B. Kinetic Analysis of Isometric Back Squats and Isometric Belt Squats. J Strength Cond Res. 2018 Dec;32(12):3301-3309. doi: 10.1519/JSC.0000000000002854. PMID: 30273281.

2. Joseph L, Reilly J, Sweezey K, Waugh R, Carlson LA, Lawrence MA. Activity of Trunk and Lower Extremity Musculature: Comparison Between Parallel Back Squats and Belt Squats. J Hum Kinet. 2020 Mar 31;72:223-228. doi: 10.2478/hukin-2019-0126. PMID: 32269663; PMCID: PMC7126258.

Jake Dickson holds a B.S. degree in Exercise Science and is a NASM-CPT. As a health & wellness writer, Jake focuses on making fitness practical and accessible for any audience. Off the clock, you can find Jake at the gym or unwinding by the beach.

This article was reviewed by Rosie Borchert, NASM-CPT, for accuracy.