If you really want to challenge yourself, just do barbell back squats and front squats (6 sets each).
I think using machines is soy. It takes away the most important part of the lift that is balancing the weights.
Discussion
Based.
Definitely something to work towards.
I like to do both but on hack squat I can go heavier and deeper without worrying about snapping anything
Soy is skipping legs or gym altogether
Oh yeah, the other benefit of machines is that you can reverse the direction of the weight and do exercises you can't do with free weights.
Heavier is a relative term.
But if you can’t go deeper on your squats, then you need to work on your hip mobility. That’s the benefit of free weights. It tells about imbalances in your body.
Machines isolate the muscle group that’s why it’s easy and feels good using machines. Your body isn’t designed to perform isolated movement.