30/05/2026
Most people think leg growth is about how much weight you can stack on a machine.
It’s not.
It’s about how that machine loads you through the full rep.
Take a look at the videos posted.
The real difference is the resistance curve.
On a pendulum squat, the arc changes the moment arm and this gives longer, more continuous tension through the mid to top rang, where most people are strongest in a squat pattern.
A hack squat does the opposite.
It tends to hit hardest in the bottom position (where leverage is poorest), then gradually gets easier as you rise into stronger joint angles.
So you’re often overloaded where you’re weakest, and underloaded where you’re strongest.
That alone changes the entire feel of the exercise.
This is why many describe the pendulum squat as smoother not because it’s easier,
but because the tension stays more consistent and matches your natural strength curve better, without the big spike and drop off.
The second difference is how the movement is guided.
The pendulum arc naturally lets many lifters achieve deeper knee and hip flexion without fighting their positioning it also allows those who have less ankle flexibility get the depth.
That often means:
• Cleaner depth
• Less form breakdown
• More consistent quad loading set to set
Hack squats can deliver the same, but they’re more dependent on your individual structure, foot placement, and how well you handle that bottom position.
There’s also a joint feel difference for a lot of people.
Many find the pendulum easier on the knees at depth because the loading is distributed more evenly instead of spiking hard in the hole.
Not universal, but common enough to notice.
Hack squats and pendulum squats are both elite lower body builders.
Hack squat = more bottom loaded strength demand
Pendulum squat = smoother mid to top tension bias
Neither is “better.”
Most people don’t need to pick a winner. Just understand what each one actually does…
Oh and CFRT reps as always 😉
