How To Perform The Sissy Squats, Plus 3 Variations

So, start the light with a 5-pound plate; or even a 2.5-pound plate to see how you feel. Next, you need to climb on your toes and then push your knees forward to bend, allowing your body to go down. This is very similar to a ladybug squat, except that you don’t sit back. Instead, just let your body go down while using your hands to help balance. Make sure your body goes straight down and stays on your feet as you travel down.

It is made of sturdy material and comes with 2 wheels for easy movement. Sissy squats are a very effective exercise to add width to your thighs. Unlike barbell or dumbbell exercises, the sissy squat machine even helps create an isolated environment where large muscles can be worked, without overloading the knees. The sissy squat has been sissy squat machines around since the 1960s and is a great exercise to warm up or even better, to use as a great finisher. The squat is great because it focuses entirely on the quadriceps and removes all other muscles from the movement. Along with the development of your quadriceps, this exercise will help develop your balance and even your core strength.

Also, unlike a leg extension, it is important that to get the most out of ladybird squats, your hips stay in a relatively longer position all the time. Therefore, these are the main advantages of choosing sissy squats over other squat variations. The sissy squat insulates your quadriceps better than any other barbell or dumbbell exercise. It does this by removing most of the involvement from your buttocks and hamstrings. If you do it right, your heels will be above your toes and your body, bent back instead of forward, will form a straight line from your neck to your knees during the movement. That reduces the muscles of the posterior chain to a supporting role, allowing them to work together with the rest of the core muscles to keep your body in that straight line.

When you perform a sissy squat on a squat machine or bench, you maintain the correct alignment of your feet and prevent stress on your knees. The practice of the squat is really beneficial for the isolation of 100% of your quadriceps and puts less pressure on other muscles such as the knee joints. Sissy squats are actually better compared to regular squats that put pressure on the knee joints. It is a hugely useful exercise for athletes who have suffered an injury, such as a back load. Last but not least, the advantage of performing sissy squats on the squat machine is having help with leg training. Bodybuilders and weightlifters should pay special attention to leg training.

Secondly, the quad load on a leg extension is mainly in the contracted position, while the load on squats is higher in the stretched position. This means that you strengthen the bottom of a squat instead of the blockage at the top. This is amazing because not every gym will have a squat machine, but the vast majority of gyms will have a Smith machine. Place the bar so that it is a few centimeters below the knee joint and stand in front of it. To be clear, you shouldn’t get rid of your feet, but having a little resistance to get up helps a lot. To do this, buy some kind of pad that you can place on the ground to protect your knees.

Having a looping band behind your knees is just one way to overcome this. This should be a progression from using your own body weight and achieving a full range of motion. You can also work through a smaller range of motion and use the strap to further load your quads into their shortened position. This can also get a little more activation of your VMO muscle just above your knee.