The professional bodybuilder says he does this squat variation for a slimmer waist

• Elite fitness athlete Erin Banks said squats are a key exercise for his daily leg workout.
• Hack squats focus more on the quads and glutes, rather than using the core or back muscles.
• They can help build leg muscles, but unless you’re a professional bodybuilder, regular squats are fine too.

Bodybuilder Erin Banks doesn’t skip leg day, but he does skip common lower-body exercises like traditional squats and deadlifts.

Instead, the two-time winner of Arnold Men’s Physique said he prefers a move called the hack squat to build muscle and definition.

“Leg day is crazy, my legs have grown so big,” he told Insider in an interview about his partnership with fitness drink brand CELSIUS.

Sitting with weights on your shoulders, in front of your body, or in a cup squat will usually cause your abdominal muscles to contract to help you carry the weight.

The hack squat redistributes the weight to focus more on the quads and other leg muscles, using a squat machine that creates an angle to emphasize the front of the legs.

You can also perform the exercise with a barbell. Start with the bar on the floor behind your calves and grab the bar with a wide grip, arching your body as if you were preparing for a deadlift. Keeping your chest up and your arms by your side, drive your feet into the floor to extend your legs and lift the weight until it is directly below your butt.

Along with other exercises that target your glutes and hamstrings as well, Banks said squats help him sculpt his calf muscles for a flatter physique.

Squat hacks can help isolate your lower body muscles for better gains

Banks said he prefers squats because they focus more on the quads and glutes and put less stress on the core and back. As a result, he’s able to hold a smaller midsection, perfect for fitness competitions that reward the perfect V-shape with broad shoulders and a small waist.

“I don’t do sit-ups or squats because it hits the waist, and you need to sculpt your body in a different way,” he said.

Banks’ regular leg day routine includes exercises that isolate the muscles of the lower body, including lying hamstring curls, leg squats, leg presses, walking lunges, and movements of the adductor muscle (inner thigh muscle). He said the exercises are usually four sets of about 15 repetitions to build muscle.

For people who don’t compete in professional bodybuilding, there’s no reason to avoid traditional squats, because the extra core work is more reward than side effect, personal trainers previously told Insider. Squats, as well as deadlifts, are compound exercises that work multiple muscle groups at once, helping you get more bang for your buck on your fitness journey.

And if you want to get a six-pack, nutrition is more important than the type of exercise you do.

“To get abs, people think they need to Go to the gym and do abdominal exercises. But if your food isn’t right, you won’t have optimal muscle,” Banks said.