The sissy squat is a great helpful exercise for building quads, working on the hip flexors, and strengthening the core, all with one movement.
Performing a sissy squat involves locking the feet in a fixed position and leaning right back before bringing yourself up again.
The sissy squat is usually completed with a sissy squat bench, a squat rack, a sissy squat machine, or leg extension machine, but it can also be performed at home; no sissy squat machine is necessary.
Performing a sissy squat will target mainly your quads because that was the goal when the movement was designed.
The glutes and hamstrings are going to be much, much less involved, and all of the tension and pressure will be for the upper thigh to take.
The core muscles will stabilize the body while performing the movement, which means that they will be engaged.
Even though it is pretty difficult to execute, sissy squat comes with a lot of benefits. Some of the main benefits of the sissy squat include:
– Sissy Squat Provide Quadriceps Development
Holding your body in a straight line, as you would do when performing a sissy squat, is going to reduce the role of the posterior chain muscles, which are the muscles that are on the backside of your body, such as your glutes, hamstrings, calves and the muscles in your lower back.
This means that the quadriceps will have to take over and perform the majority of the movement, which will help your quadriceps fitness goals.
– Sissy Squat Strengthen Your Core
Performing a sissy squat is also going to develop the strength and fitness of your core.
As the role of the posterior chain muscles is reduced, core muscles have to take over and keep your body in the straight-line position, incorporating your core muscles for stabilization and balance as you perform the movement.
The sissy squat must be performed with proper and good form in order to avoid injury and reap all of the benefits of this great exercise. Here is how to correctly perform a sissy squat.
If sissy squats are too easy for you for any reason, you might try different alternatives for a sissy squat and other squat variations that will help you progress even further.
Some of the most useful variations of a sissy squat include:
Holding onto a sturdy object is a perfect way to start the progression into the sissy squat since it eliminates the balance aspect and allows you to assist the movement. You can hold onto a pipe, a dresser, or a machine in the gym.
Even the assisted sissy squats are a complex exercise, and the best exercise to make your quad muscles burn and maximize your core strength much more than traditional squats.
Adding weight to any movement will make the movement more challenging. You can perform a weighted sissy squat by holding the weight plate in your hands as you are performing the movement.
Just make sure to master other squat variations and the standard sissy squat before trying the weighted version with the weight plate or dumbbell in hand.
Narrow stance sissy squat also called the close-stance sissy squat, will target the quadriceps maximally, and it will force the quad muscles to work their hardest.
It is very important to understand that sissy squats require focus and a pretty advanced fitness level.
If you are new to this exercise or exercising and fitness in general, make sure to try the sissy squat for the first time with a professional, such as a sports performance expert, a certified personal trainer, or a physical therapist.
You might need some object nearby for extra support and help with your balance. Using the sissy squat bench might be the most useful for beginners.
Sissy squats are a great movement that significantly benefits your quads.
Holding your body in a straight line, like you do while performing a sissy squat, reduces the pressure of the posterior chain muscles, which is the group of muscles located on the backside of your body. These include the glutes, hamstrings, calves, and lower back muscles.
Sissy squats can help improve the durability of both knee tendons, but this movement is not recommended if you have a knee injury or any issues with your thighs.
The difficulty of the leg exercises will depend on the individual, but sissy squats are not a joke at all, and they are definitely much more difficult than a traditional squat.
If achieving a sissy squat is one of your fitness goals, make sure to build up to it; going too quickly can cause an injury to your joints. Start with the traditional squat first and then progress.
Sissy squats are a very effective way to develop numerous muscles in your legs, making them appear bigger and stronger.
Sissy squats are an excellent exercise for building muscle, and they are guaranteed to provide that fantastic thigh shape we are all after.
Sissy squats are a compound exercise, which means that they are very efficient at targeting several areas in one go.
When performed with good form, every squat will engage core muscles, therefore building the strength of the abs.
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