# Sissy Squats



## soxmuscle (Nov 25, 2008)

Has anybody ever tried these?

Holy hell are they incredible.

I did them on the Smith machine tonight with zero weight and had trouble getting past 5 reps.


----------



## soxmuscle (Nov 25, 2008)

YouTube Video











These, except with the Smith Machine and a wood box to keep my heels in the proper position.

Note: Will know you did them properly if you walk the next day as if you pooped your pants


----------



## Gazhole (Nov 26, 2008)

Damn those look weird...

Are they really that tough? Id have trouble will leaning that far back, at least, haha.


----------



## Perdido (Nov 26, 2008)

Yea they are tough, more so than they look. I throw them in my routine to mix it up.


----------



## Merkaba (Nov 26, 2008)

I've never seen them done that low.


----------



## Witchblade (Nov 26, 2008)

I see no reason to do them.


----------



## soxmuscle (Nov 26, 2008)

Witchblade said:


> I see no reason to do them.


 
My legs don't get nearly as sore as they used to regardless of the type of leg regimen I have for a day.  With sissy squats yesterday, my legs feel as sore as they did back in high school today.

Pushed 500 on the leg press = not sore.
Sissy squats on the smith machine with no weight = sore


----------



## soxmuscle (Nov 26, 2008)

For the record, soreness doesn't equate to bigger legs, but it's nice to feel that "dump in the pants" after a leg day like I used to all the time.


----------



## fufu (Nov 26, 2008)

Never tried these, but I always imagined they would bother my knees.


----------



## Built (Nov 26, 2008)

They don't bug your knees, and I do them regularly. They're great as an eccentric movement after heavy squats and before a concentration movement like the top half of leg extensions. 

Love it or hate it, POF training is based on this premise.


----------



## Witchblade (Nov 26, 2008)

I'm a bit sceptical about the 'not bothering your knees' part, as you put maximal stress on the knee during full flexion without a solid base of support at the feet. Leg extensions are bad on the knees too. I don't have any evidence to support my hypothesis though. p-funk?

Even if they are safe, they are 0% functional. If you're a bodybuilder, this may not interest you of course. Then still, why bother with an isolation exercise for the quads?

Oh and about the soreness thing... back to the stickies!


----------



## Built (Nov 26, 2008)

Because it stretches out the muscle while it's being flexed. I love the way they feel. 

I've done them for the last seven years, I'm middle-aged, and I've never felt any pain from then whatsoever. But I never do them as a "first" exercise - your quads really need to be warm for these. 

Your whole body is free to move with a sissy squat. It's not at all the same feeling as a leg extension. 

Don't do them if you don't want to. Personally, they're one of my favourite accessory lifts.


----------



## P-funk (Nov 26, 2008)

how does it stretch out the muscle as it flexes?  It gets a maximal stretch in the bottom position, but that is a stretch, not flexing/contracting.

I haven't done this exercise in forever and a day.  Something about it just doesn't seem right to me.


----------



## Stewart14 (Nov 26, 2008)

soxmuscle said:


> My legs don't get nearly as sore as they used to regardless of the type of leg regimen I have for a day.  With sissy squats yesterday, my legs feel as sore as they did back in high school today.
> 
> Pushed 500 on the leg press = not sore.
> Sissy squats on the smith machine with no weight = sore



Eh, I train to not get sore, in fact, I don't want to ever get sore again for the rest of my life.  I hate it, it's pointless, and does not do anything except hinder you the following day.  And I especially do not want to ever get sore from a bodyweight only exercise....

IMO, of course.


----------



## Built (Nov 26, 2008)

I feel my quad muscle fully stretched out at the bottom of the movement when I do them. I just did 'em today and that's what they feel like. 

Stewart, I sometimes do them weighted.


----------



## P-funk (Nov 27, 2008)

Built said:


> I feel my quad muscle fully stretched out at the bottom of the movement when I do them. I just did 'em today and that's what they feel like.
> 
> Stewart, I sometimes do them weighted.



of course you do....at the bottom of the movement they are fully lengthend.  But, that is not the contracted position, that is the lengthend position.  That is why i didn't understand what you meant by"it stretches out the muscle while it contracts."


----------



## soxmuscle (Nov 27, 2008)

Stewart20 said:


> Eh, *I train to not get sore*, in fact, I don't want to ever get sore again for the rest of my life. I hate it, it's pointless, and does not do anything except hinder you the following day. And I especially do not want to ever get sore from a bodyweight only exercise....
> 
> IMO, of course.


 
I'm the same way, but this week where I was working out three days consecutively before most likely taking today, tomorrow and the weekend off I needed that soreness for peace of mind.

I'm assuming if I keep this up, the sissy squats won't be bodyweight for long.


----------



## Built (Nov 27, 2008)

P-funk said:


> of course you do....at the bottom of the movement they are fully lengthend.  But, that is not the contracted position, that is the lengthend position.  That is why i didn't understand what you meant by"it stretches out the muscle while it contracts."



Gaah, my bad. That's what happens when I exercise "typing economy" under the influence of a cold. 

What's the best way to describe this type of movement, Patrick? Stuff where there's a stretch involved, like these, flyes...

?


----------



## Witchblade (Nov 27, 2008)

Well, there's always a stretch involved. You stretch the muscle, then contract. That's a repetition. Some movements just have a stronger stretch after the eccentric part of the exercise than others.


----------



## P-funk (Nov 27, 2008)

Built said:


> Gaah, my bad. That's what happens when I exercise "typing economy" under the influence of a cold.
> 
> What's the best way to describe this type of movement, Patrick? Stuff where there's a stretch involved, like these, flyes...
> 
> ?



eccentric lengthening.


----------



## Built (Nov 27, 2008)

Thank you!


----------

