While barbell back squats also target the glutes, they place a lot of strain on the lower back, which can be a limiting factor. “The back tends to be the weak link when people are doing high-volume squats,” Dr. Corbett says. “But when you take that barbell off your back and put the weight directly on the hips, you’re taking the low back out of the equation.” That means you’ll likely be able to load far more weight onto a belt squat than a back squat, allowing you to apply a greater stimulus directly onto your glutes.
A lower squat equals higher rewards
Aside from the weight being attached to your hips rather than resting across your traps, the main difference between a belt squat and a back squat is the belt squat machine has two handles that you can hold onto while performing the exercise. When your arms are extended out in front of you and effectively stabilising your body throughout the movement, you’re able to squat considerably lower than you would while balancing a bar on your back, “and research shows that this can help with muscle hypertrophy,” Dr. Corbett says.
Indeed, a 2019 study published in the European Journal of Applied Physiology found that squatting deeper can lead to greater increases in both the size and strength of the glutes. The belt squat simply allows you to achieve a much wider range of motion in your squat. “Think about how low you can squat right now, versus if you had your hands on the edge of your kitchen countertop,” Dr. Corbett says. “That’s basically how the belt spot works” — and just another reason why it’s such an effective exercise for growing your glutes.
Less risk of injury
By taking your lower back out of the equation, you’re pulling a highly injury-prone part of your body away from the line of fire, vastly reducing the chances of a tweaked back. And, of course, fewer injuries means more consistent workouts and ultimately better results. But that’s not the only reason why you’re less likely to injure yourself with the belt squat than you are with other weighted squat variations. “There’s inherently less stability and balance involved [with the belt squat], because you’re not balancing a bar on your back,” says Dr. Masri. “Your hands are helping to stabilise yourself, and you have the belt pulling you down, so there’s much less stabilisation required, which will help shift you away from injury.”
“From a training standpoint, this means people can safely work at greater intensity and volume with less risk,” says Clif Marshall, senior director of coaching and pro training at D1 Training. “It is also highly accessible across ability levels, from beginners to experienced lifters to general fitness clients, because the exercise makes it easier to maintain a strong, upright position and proper alignment throughout the movement, effectively allowing us to train the squat pattern in a safer environment.”
Should you follow Hudson Williams’ lead and substitute belt squats for barbell back squats?
The short answer: no. Basically, the belt squat’s strength is also its weakness. “It allows you to just focus on a very specific movement, versus going, ‘Okay, I need to stack my ribs, I need to brace my core, shoulders, and lats, and I need to make sure everything is tight,’” Dr. Masri says. “You don’t really have to be forcefully braced. And that makes a big difference. It allows a level of focus on the lower body that you just don’t have with a movement like the back squat.” So, while the belt squat is an incredible glute builder, it’s not going to work your core and other stabiliser muscles to anywhere near the same extent as a back squat, and that’s something to consider when looking holistically at your training.
“The main trade-off with the Pit Shark is that it does not replicate the same level of total-body stability and structural demand that a traditional back squat provides,” says Marshall. “With a barbell on your back, you’re also developing your core, upper-back strength, balance, and coordination. The Pit Shark excels for posterior-chain strength development, glute emphasis, and safer high-volume training, but it does not completely replace the skill and structural adaptation that occurs with a back squat. Overall, these two exercises are best viewed as complementary tools rather than interchangeable exercises.”