The belt squat hangs the load from a belt at your hips — via a belt squat machine or setup — so you squat with no bar on your back and no spinal loading. That makes it a great way to add leg volume while sparing the spine. Louie Simmons is credited with developing and patenting a belt squat machine used in Westside Barbell® training.
The belt squat is a knee-dominant, spine-sparing squat. Load hangs from a belt at your hips instead of a bar on your back, so there's no spinal compression under the weight. You stand on a platform and squat down and up with the load pulling straight down at the hips, keeping an upright torso. It primarily trains the quads and glutes, with the hamstrings assisting — great for adding leg volume while sparing the spine. Louie Simmons is credited with developing and patenting a belt squat machine, and it's a staple of the Conjugate method.
The belt squat is a knee-dominant leg builder. With the load at the hips and the torso upright, the quads and glutes do most of the work, assisted by the hamstrings — all without a bar compressing the spine.
| Role | Muscles | What they do in the lift |
|---|---|---|
| Primary mover | Quadriceps | Extend the knees to drive up out of the squat |
| Primary mover | Gluteus maximus | Extend the hips to stand up under the hip load |
| Assisting | Hamstrings, adductors | Support hip extension and stabilize the knees |
| Stabilizers | Core | Keep the torso upright and braced without spinal loading |
Step-by-step form for the belt squat on a machine or setup. The key feature is that the load pulls straight down at the hips, not on your back.
The belt squat fits as a main leg movement, a squat accessory, or extra spine-sparing leg volume on a lower or recovery day. General starting points:
| Goal | Sets × reps | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Leg strength | 3–5 × 5–8 | Heavier load, full depth, longer rest (2–3 min) |
| Leg size | 3–4 × 8–15 | Moderate load, controlled tempo, great for spine-sparing volume |
| Frequency | 1–2× / week | Use around heavier squats to add leg volume without more spinal load |
Want the full method behind lifts like this? Read the Conjugate method pillar and the story of Louie Simmons, and pair it with the box squat and leg press.
Log every belt-squat set — weight, reps, and an RPE value — in LiftHero, and it charts your progressive overload and flags personal records so you can watch your leg strength climb. Add warm-up sets, supersets and rest-timer holds, then drop the belt squat into a saved routine so it's ready the next time you train. LiftHero records what you log; it doesn't diagnose your form.
It's a knee-dominant compound movement that primarily works the quadriceps and glutes, with the hamstrings assisting. Because the load hangs at the hips, it trains the legs without loading the spine the way a barbell back squat does.
Yes — the load hangs from a belt at the hips rather than sitting on your back, so there's no bar on the spine and no vertical spinal loading. That makes it a popular way to add leg training volume while sparing the spine, which is why many lifters use it around heavier squat work.
Louie Simmons is credited with developing and patenting a belt squat machine. The broader idea of squatting with load at the hips predates any single machine, but Simmons is closely associated with the equipment used at Westside Barbell.
The back squat loads a bar across your upper back, compressing the spine, while the belt squat hangs load at the hips with no bar on the back. The belt squat keeps a more upright torso and spares the spine, making it useful for extra leg volume, recovery-friendly training, or working around back issues.
You can build the quads and glutes effectively with the belt squat, and it's a strong option when you want leg volume without spinal loading. Many lifters use it alongside other squat and leg movements rather than as their only leg exercise.
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This guide is educational and not medical advice. Consult a qualified coach or medical professional before starting or changing a training program, especially if you're new to lifting or returning from injury. LiftHero is independent and not affiliated with, endorsed by, or sponsored by Westside Barbell®; "Westside Barbell" is a trademark of its owner, used here descriptively for identification only.
By Meitar Lazimi, founder of LiftHero · Last updated July 9, 2026.