In recent years,
sissy squats workouts have become popular among bodybuilders and weightlifters. You’re probably wondering why this type of squats (which sounds like an exercise meant for sissies). On the contrary, sissy squats aren’t meant for sissies or people who cannot handle the toughness of the workout. With this background, you might want to ask yourself the following questions:
- What are sissy squats?
- What is the origin of sissy squats?
- Do sissy squats build muscles?
- Are sissy squats good for your knees?
- What are the different ways to do sissy squats?
- Should you use the sissy squat machine?
- How much sissy squats should you engage in?
- Are sissy squats effective?
As you ponder these questions in your mind, get ready to get answers to all of them. In this post, we trace the
origin of sissy squats to the Greek era and bring it down to present times, with some attention on its uniqueness from other forms of squats.
What are Sissy Squats?
Sissy squats workouts are exercises which target your lower thigh area. Generally, this exercise depends only on your bodyweight and requires that you are physically fit before engaging in it. In fact, these squats are believed to make sissies out of strong men because of how well it softens the calves, lower back, hamstrings, and glutes. Now, the common squats include back squats, front squats, half-legged squats, Jefferson squats, and more. However, compared to these
traditional squats, the sissy squat could sometimes be painful. Yet, it’s one of the most
reliable exercises for strengthening and enlarging quads. With the focus on major muscle groups such as the calves, hamstrings, and lower back, the sissy squats workout successfully helps you to gain muscle as well as learn other advanced movements for bodybuilding. Normally, the
sissy squats eliminate some parts of the glutes (butt) and works directly on only the quad. Even though the sissy squat exercise often seems difficult for beginners, the fact that it works is enough motivation to get going with it. It, therefore, will be right to say that this age-old workout still works wonders. Before we begin to dwell too much on
sissy squats advantages, let’s address the
sissy squats history. How much do you know about the sissy squat origin?
Who Invented the Sissy Squats?
Take a break to think about the “Sissy” in the name “sissy squat.” Doesn’t it just sound like something for weaklings? On the contrary “Sissy” is a shortened form of Sisyphus, the king of Corinth who was punished by god Zeus for being cunning. The punishment required him to roll a rock up a mountain for the rest of his life. Read the full story below: Sisyphus wasn’t exactly a generous and nice king. He seduced his niece, murdered people from foreign lands, and attempted to deceive Zeus. Zeus, being the greatest of all Greek gods was angered by this and he forced Sisyphus to take a big stone to the top of a mountain. Every day, Sisyphus rolled and pushed this large stone but Zeus also made it impossible for him to reach the mountaintop. This way, Sisyphus kept repeating the task unsuccessfully. So, there you have it. That’s how weightlifting became a common practice that is repeated every day, every month, and every year. For Sisyphus, the punishment caused him to depend on the rocks for support and he developed stronger, bigger thighs. This is how he became the inventor of the Sissy squat. While this Greek account of the origin of the sissy squat seems to do justice to the question of “who invented the sissy squats,” there’s still the need to understand the relevance of this punishment to bodybuilding. Having seen from the Greek mythology that the sentence endowed Sisyphus with the biggest quads ever, bodybuilders adopted it as one of the ways to create a balance between the anterior and posterior chain muscles. It’s the best way to develop your
legs and quads.
Sissy Squats Progressions
For most people who perform sissy squats, the problem of knee pain arises. Many people need to start with a support such as a
sissy squat bench or a machine. Now, the best way to begin with this form of exercise is to start with the small steps. Holding onto to something with your right arm gives you the support you need to maintain good balance. Likewise, when you start sissy squats, you may not have to go all the way down. Your core, lower back, and glutes often require a lot of strength to hold your bodyweight, especially when you begin to do without support. In essence, the goal is to practice sissy squats in gradual steps until you get strong enough to do without support and hold your weight. Again, when you’ve moved from the
assisted sissy squats to the
basic sissy squats, chances are high that you will easily head on to the next level, which is
elevated sissy squat. Note that you can only make progress when the tension in your quads is constant and your form is stable and balance, not shaky. In the elevated sissy squat position, your body requires more strength as you add extra layers of movement to the squat. Here, you get to bend your knees lower and stay balanced throughout. However, if you find it difficult going and staying lower, ensure that you use support for assistance. After the elevated sissy squat comes the
weighted sissy squat. The
weighted sissy squat involves the use of weights such as the Smith machine, dumbbells or barbells. When you perform weighted sissy squats, you never have to worry about balancing since your arm gets support from bending toward the tool. One way to do this involves the following:
- Stand with your shoulders high
- Extend an arm to a fixed bar
- Straighten you waist and hips
- Bend your knees and lower your body without your heels touching the floor
- Lower your body until your knee almost touches the floor
- Then pull your body back up and allow your heel to touch the floor
- Repeat this while ensuring that your knees and feet are facing the same direction
These steps go a long way in improving your quadriceps and helping you to build other
major muscle groups.
How to Perform Sissy Squats
When you get a full grasp of the
sissy squats progressions, you’ll understand the different types of sissy squats. From basic, weighted to
Gironda, you can confidently say that you know how the sissy squat works. In general, these are the three aspects of sissy squats:
- Step 1 – Bend your knees and take your body lower until your torso is bent backward. 5 reps of this first stage are enough.
- Step 2 – When you complete stage one, perform a burlesque bump by squatting and pushing your hips up very fast. Now, repeat this squatting and rising five times too.
- Step 3 – In the flushing stage, you have to repeat steps 1 and 2 until you’ve completed five reps of both.
How does the Sissy Squat Hurt Your Knees?
Inasmuch as the sissy squat is a trusted workout for strengthening your quads, there’s no denying the fact that it tends to affect
the knee. Like many leg extension exercises, the
sissy squat workout requires mostly bodyweight and people who lack stability and strength and likely to hurt their knee. Hence, it’s advisable that you practice the sissy squats with a support such as a fixed bar or a barbell. These tools allow you to forget about balancing while building your quads. When you can conveniently do without the tools, add some level of intensity to your squats.
Benefits of the Sissy Squat Bench
The
sissy squat bench is one of the best gym equipment you can find, and trust me, there’s nothing sissy about this tool. With this bench, you get to eliminate the teardrop effect that is often triggered in the thighs as you engage in the sissy squat. With the right
sissy squat machine, you get to bend your knees the right way and isolate your butts. Also, the best bench has the support pad which holds most of your bodyweight. It’s vital that the pads hold your bodyweight correctly to guarantee your comfort as you perform the exercise. Interestingly, the sale of the sissy squat bench has increased sporadically in the last decade and many weightlifters have turned to this device to strengthen their legs. This is definitely one training tool you will find effective and comfortable.
Bottom Line on Sissy Squats Workouts
In summary, the sissy squats workouts are one of the best exercises for building the quads with only bodyweight. This demanding exercise requires a gradual progression from basic to weighted which makes it more challenging; hence, we recommend that you assess your physical health and overall strength before considering the sissy squats. If you’re looking for
ways to build muscles or even your glutes, give the sissy squat a shot. It will do justice to your core, glutes and lower body, and improve your strength. We hope you found this post enlightening and the right motivational to build huge quads, just as Sisyphus did back in the Greek times. If you need more information on
growing your quads and muscles, go through other posts on our blog. Also, feel free to contact us for tips on how to achieve fitness in little time.
