Sissy squats

Sissy Squats is a bodybuilding exercise. It appeared when athletes noticed that squatting with a working weight on the shoulders and parallel hips is not very convenient, and in some cases leads to injuries to the ligaments of the knee joint. Athletes and their trainers experimented to reduce axial load and increase the quadriceps stretch in motion, and this option turned out. The movement is performed with a shin fixed in the simulator or bench. With all the desire of some athletes, this movement can hardly be called insulating. Yes, it works on quadriceps to a greater extent than a simple squat with a barbell, but the biceps of the hips, calf and buttocks are also included.

Content

  • 1 Technique
  • 2 Recommendations
  • 3 Variations
  • 4 Motion Analysis
    • 4.1 What muscles work
    • 4.2 Pros
    • 4.3 Cons
    • 4.4 Preparation for implementation
  • 5 Proper execution
  • 6 Mistakes
  • 7 Performance Tips
  • 8 Inclusion in the program
  • 9 Contraindications
  • 10 Interesting Facts
  • 11 How to replace

Execution technique

Starting position

  • Fix the lower leg in the simulator for sissy squats, or take the following position - the hand holds the support, the pelvis is laid back, the lower leg is perpendicular to the floor, the lower back is tense and bent. You can squat at the vertical support, so that it is between the knees, and both hands grabbed it;
  • The stomach should be moderately tightened, the back should be taut so as to prevent swinging to the sides and falling;
  • Movement in the hip joint is minimal when squatting without a simulator, and is allowed if the calf lock is used;
  • Those who do not use the simulator must always stand on their toes to exclude the classic squat technique from the possible options for the exercise

Traffic

  1. The squat is lowered to inhale. The pelvis follows the bending of the knees; in addition, it is not necessary to bring it;
  2. Hips parallel to each other, knees pointing forward. This is the difficulty of the exercise, the hip joint is in a plane unnatural for squats;
  3. Amplitude - how much flexion in the knee allows;
  4. Returning back, you should smoothly straighten the joints and rise on the exhale

Attention

  • Hip joints move minimally. The position with the knees forward is not anatomically provided for them, athletes must consciously control the position of the body, and not allow unnecessary movements in the joint;
  • The plan should include other exercises that involve flexion and extension of the knee. They allow you to warm up. If for some reason this auxiliary exercise is the first in the plan, you should warm up qualitatively;
  • By its nature, the exercise does not require weights, or is performed with a minimum weight held on the chest. The movement promotes the development of quadriceps, but is usually performed at the end of the workout, loading these strong muscles according to the residual principle.

Recommendations

  1. Technique is studied only without burden. For most athletes, especially those who perform a large amount of knee-bending exercises, the sissy squat is shown only without weight, or with minimal weights;
  2. Particular attention should be paid to the position of the back. She should not move forward and lean. If an athlete tries to “tumble” forward, then he should rest his free hand on his shoulder and raise his elbow;
  3. Knees look forward, if they get apart, as if the athlete did not control himself, you should abandon this movement on the quadriceps, and use something like goblets. This is important so as not to get injured in the hip. Such moments are caused by the structure of the joints, we cannot just consciously overcome them or somehow neutralize them;
  4. During the squat, you need to control the position of the lower leg. If there is a desire to fill the shin forward, then you should either remove the burden or find a way to fix the shin without a simulator. There is an option to perform this exercise in an ordinary bench - put the socks against the wall, the bench - set behind so that the bend of the knee joint falls at the level of the bench seat. If necessary, it is raised to pancakes, or stand on the pancakes in feet. Further, the movement is performed in the usual style, but the ankle is no longer "ride". If this does not work out, you should consider another option of isolation on quadriceps, since the exercise with the “knocking” of the knees forward becomes traumatic.

Variations

  • Sissy squats in the special Sissy Squat Machine . The simulator is rare in practice, but it can be replaced with any machine with cushion-retainers, or a bench at the knee level. This option allows you to achieve maximum isolation, with it, the athlete removes the load from the biceps of the thighs and buttocks as much as possible, and also does not load the leg muscles with a toe stand.

Motion parsing

What muscles work

  • Quadriceps, especially the medial, i.e. middle, head of the muscle

Auxiliary:

  • In statics, the press and the back work, they provide stabilization of the body in the exercise;
  • In the dynamics - buttocks, calves and biceps of the hips, they help in movement

pros

  1. Suitable for boys and girls, is not a serious strength exercise, suitable for spinal injuries, hernias, protrusions;
  2. Allows you to improve coordination for those involved in building programs and does not seek to do basic exercises with a barbell. After some leg presses, the sissy squats will seem something highly coordinated and complex;
  3. Helps to get rid of the imbalance in the development of the thigh muscles, which is often found in many pulling people, and those who have spent half their lives on the construction of the buttocks. Simply put, it helps not to get a knee injury in everyday life, due to significant hip biceps hypertrophy;
  4. It helps the speakers to achieve separation, that is, the visible separation of the quadriceps heads from each other;
  5. Improves strength in the context that helps the development of the quadriceps, which is then actively included in the work in regular squats.

Minuses

  • Finding a simulator for this exercise is a real challenge. These are usually only in the "mecca" of bodybuilding. And in an ordinary network club one has to be content with remarkable dexterity and an ordinary bench for exercises;
  • The movement is narrowly specialized. In fitness training, they will not be able to replace a regular squat, or add it instead of some other exercise. In fact, it is only necessary to accentuate the load on the thigh quadriceps, and for no other reason;
  • Exercise is difficult to perform if the joints are not sufficiently mobile and flexibility is not developed. In this case, you should avoid it.

Preparation for execution

In the warm-up complex for this exercise, you need to include work on an elliptical trainer or a stationary bike to ensure flexion and extension of the knee joint in a comfortable style.

Correct execution

  • This is the only version of the squat in which the lower leg and back are in a parallel plane. There is also a “four” squat in the Smith machine, but it also belongs to the bodybuilder’s applied arsenal and is rarely used in fitness;
  • Support is necessary for those who find it difficult to maintain the vertical position of the body;
  • Squat depth cannot be considered a universal value. Each athlete independently defines it, and must regulate it according to his own feelings. This is not a competitive powerlifting movement to constantly ensure that the pelvis is below the patella;
  • In all versions of the exercise, body weight is concentrated on the front of the arch of the foot, and even on the toes, if the athlete does not use the simulator in the exercise;
  • The breath should be calm and smooth, do not hold it, or exhale by lowering the body down. Lowering body weight seems to be subjectively more difficult, but in fact the goal of the exercise is to lift weight;
  • Without support, those who do not tumble forward or backward can cope with the movement. If athletes manage to do this exercise without support, this indicates the exceptional development of the vestibular apparatus;
  • The exercise can be performed with weights on the chest or in Smith’s machine, if the athlete is sufficiently trained and has good mobility in the joints and allows him to sit down in a squat without question

Mistakes

  1. Too large weights that do not allow you to concentrate on technology, and are lifted not by the target muscle group, but by the back in conjunction with the legs;
  2. Sharp movements, high speed of the exercise;
  3. Lack of warm-up and preload;
  4. Hip flexion;
  5. Excess depth

Performance Tips

  • The wider the feet are, the more the medial head of the quadriceps of the thigh is turned on, the narrow setting shifts the load to the lateral plane;
  • Feet about 25 cm wide - the most stable position;
  • Pancakes need to be put under the heels, if otherwise the position of the athlete's body is unstable

Program Inclusion

This exercise is never put first in the plan. It is "finishing", it is performed in 3-4 approaches to muscle failure. Therefore, the exercise is done without weight or with minimal burden.

In bodybuilding, it is often done in a superset with frontal squats or grids in a hack machine. But this is an advanced level of tactics, it is of little use to the novice athlete.

Progression in this movement is usually achieved first by increasing the number of repetitions, and only then - by adding working weight. By its nature, exercise is not power.

In programs for women, exercise can be included in the event that a developed quadriceps is required, and emphasis on it. In a fitness bikini and simple exercises for yourself, exercise is rarely used.

Contraindications

Contraindication is the presence of arthritic changes in the knees and ankles, as well as trauma to these joints. The movement is intended strictly for people without injuries and with good mobility of the joints, it can not be used in training athletes who just try to rehabilitate themselves from injuries of the lower extremities using light weights.

Interesting Facts

  • Exercise is not new. It was made by Thomas Platz and Vince Gironde, it has been used in bodybuilding since the Golden Era itself;
  • The name comes from the slang word “girl, girl”, the movement was called “girl”, not because girls want to swing huge quadriceps, but because it runs without weight;
  • The squat machine was invented in the Golden Era, and it was in the legendary Venice Beach hall.

How to replace

The most appropriate replacement is a cup squat with emphasis on the pancake in the head, but it is generally accepted that those who, in principle, cannot do the sissy squat, should do the leg extension in the simulator using quadriceps.

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