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Belt squat

Also called belt squats, hip belt squat.

What is a belt squat?

A belt squat is a squat loaded through a belt around the hips. On a belt squat machine, the belt connects to resistance below you while your hands can hold the support handles. The movement trains the quadriceps and glutes.

Anatomical illustration of a machine belt squat at the standing and lowered positions, with a hip belt chained to resistance below the platform and the quadriceps and glutes highlighted.

How do you perform a belt squat?

Set up

  1. Check the machine instructions for its start latch and return position. Fit the loading belt securely around your hips and connect it with the machine parked and the load supported.
  2. Stand on the platform with your feet about shoulder width, making sure the chain or cable clears your legs. Take the handles, then release the start latch as the machine requires.

Execution

  1. Bend your hips and knees to squat, keeping your feet planted and your knees following the direction of your toes.
  2. Stop at a depth where you can hold your position and the resistance remains clear of the floor or stops.
  3. Stand through both feet without hauling yourself up by the handles. After the final repetition, park the load securely before disconnecting the belt.

Common mistakes

  • Disconnecting while the belt is loaded

    Return the machine to its parked position and check that the weight is supported before opening the attachment.

  • Using a chain length that stops the squat early

    Adjust the connection while the machine is parked so you can squat without the load hitting its stop.

  • Pulling hard on the handles

    Use a lighter load if you need your arms to finish the ascent.

Where it fits in a session

Use it as a main squat or as leg work after other compound lifts.

Keep the same machine, belt connection and depth when comparing sets. Learn its latch and parking sequence with a light load first.

Muscles worked

Front
Front — Schematic surface view. Some muscles are partly visible or not shown.
Back
Back — Schematic surface view. Some muscles are partly visible or not shown.

Primary

Secondary

  • None listed in this guide

Select a muscle name to locate it.

Schematic surface view. Some muscles are partly visible or not shown.

Variations

  • Two-frame anatomical illustration of a barbell back squat on a white background. On the left a muscular male figure stands upright, seen square from the front, with a loaded barbell across his upper back and both hands gripping it wide; from the front the bar's height on the back cannot be read. The fronts of both thighs are shaded red, as is a strip down the front of each shin. On the right the same figure is at the bottom of the rep, seen from the side and a little behind, hips at or below the knees in a deep squat with the feet flat and the toes turned out slightly; from this angle the red shading covers the fronts of the thighs and the inner thigh running up toward the groin. The buttock is in view in that frame and is not shaded, and nothing on the back of the thigh is shaded in either.
    Back squatCarries the load across the upper back instead of at the hips.
  • Anatomical illustration of a 45-degree sled leg press, shown as two frames side by side. In both, a grey muscle-anatomy figure lies back on the angled seat of a plate-loaded sled machine with a weight plate on the carriage and both feet flat on the footplate. On the left the legs are almost straight at the top of the push, the sled high on the rails; on the right the carriage has come down and the knees are bent past a right angle, thighs close to the chest. The muscles of the thighs are highlighted in red along their whole length, the upper inner thigh at the hip most strongly; the buttocks are pressed against the pad and are not visible.
    Leg pressUses a seated machine position with a back support.
  • Belt squat between platforms — Suspends plates from a belt between raised platforms and requires a different setup from a machine.

Frequently asked questions

Is a belt squat the same as wearing a lifting belt for squats?

No. In a belt squat, the resistance attaches to a belt at your hips. Wearing a support belt during a barbell squat does not change where the bar is loaded.

Should you hold the handles?

Use them for balance and to operate the machine as instructed. Avoid pulling yourself upward to complete repetitions.

Can you compare the weight with a barbell squat?

Log them separately. Machine designs and attachments differ, so keep the same setup when using the load to judge progress.

Sources

  1. Evans TW, McLester CN, Howard JS, McLester JR, Calloway JP. Comparison of Muscle Activation Between Back Squats and Belt Squats. 2019. https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/28595237/

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