A "New" Exercise for you (Quads) Smith Sissy Hack Squats (& my Home Gym!)

[homonunculus]

A "New" Exercise for you (Quads) Smith Sissy Hack Squats (& my Home Gym!)

YouTube - Quad Exercise - "Smith Sissy Hack Squats"


The description I put up.

Here's a quad exercise I "invented" although I doubt I'm the first to every do it. A blend of a Barbell Hack Squat (except on a Smith machine) and a sissy squat where you allow your heels to come up - a double whammy for quad activation.

General thoughts:

-A great exercise for pre-fatiguing the quads, esp. if knee extensions are painful (e.g., patellofemoral syndrome).
-Great for a high reps set like a DoggCrapp style widowmaker.
-A good exercise for folks who tend to get a lot of ham and glute activation on compound "quad" exercise like squats.

Form notes:
-Obviously don't do them if they cause knee pain, but this may be remedied by adjusting stance, etc.
-Start with a narrow stance with knees out front or to the side (ala an Olympic style squat) - whichever is more comfortable.
-Position feet slightly under you (not out in front), so that you can keep an upright posture. (Experiment to find what's right for you.)
-Keep your body upright.
-Allow your heels to come up like a sissy squat, but maintain a solid base.
-Start with light weight and work up. (You won't need much weight on this one.)
-Go deep!!!

Go to professionalmuscle.com or intensemuscle.com to comment on this exercise. Thanks!

-Scott

 

[mffdvr]

I'll have to give that a try. :lightbulb:

 

[BYBON]

Thanks; will try.

 

[kingpeon]

Looks like a great hack variation. I'd take 'sissy' out of the title though. Sissy squats are much more than just rising up on the balls of the feet, or using a 2 x 4 (that's the easy part)! I'm sure you're aware of this already.

The Smith is nice, you can forget about balance and just focus on ruining the quads. Do you notice a difference in muscle soreness with these vs standard BB hacks?

 

[TheOtherOne55]

i like the look of this and im going to have to try it.

sick home gym by the way Scott.

 

[kid1dakota]

I like your home gym man.looks like you have everything you need and open 24/7.

 

[pt923]

Just got done with my leg workout for the week. I did some sissy squats wish this have of been up yesterday:banghead:. Oh well, i'll defiantly be trying this next week.

 

[Big Dave Smith]

Stealing these for tomorrow's workout...

 

[Phidias]

Clean that garage asap!!

Will definitely give that a try, some variety is always good.

 

[Tendon Snapper]

I love the look of this movement, and the video is actually really done well (nice K bike in the baackground).

Two days ago I'd have tried this movement without question, but yesterday I ruptured my left patella tendon and holy shit my knee screams just watching you do them in the video. Something to shoot for down the road, thanks again for posting.

 

[get it in ya]

i really like the idea of these, i'm gonna give these a try. looks like it hits the quads good, gets the blood in them

 

[bigguns078]

I like the exercise, thank you for posting.. Maybe you can put a wooden block underneath the heels so you don't have to raise the heels at the bottom of the rep.. I've been using alot of raised heel on a block movements for legs and find I can isolate the quads alot better..

 

[homonunculus]

Looks like a great hack variation. I'd take 'sissy' out of the title though. Sissy squats are much more than just rising up on the balls of the feet, or using a 2 x 4 (that's the easy part)! I'm sure you're aware of this already.

The Smith is nice, you can forget about balance and just focus on ruining the quads. Do you notice a difference in muscle soreness with these vs standard BB hacks?

Hey KP,

I really think the sissy part of this is important to have in there, mainly b/c it does conjure the notion of going up on the balls of your feet. One the first people to try this NEVER has any knee pain (but tons of back pain) and she gave up immediately b/c she was trying to keep her heels flat. What I showed her in person and she let her heels come up, she fell in love with the movement.

(I'm trying to get more feedback on this, so definitely thanks for your input.)

i like the look of this and im going to have to try it.

sick home gym by the way Scott.

Thanks, man. It used to be my personal training studio and I've been using it lately b/c I was taking care of my dog (surgery recovery).

I like your home gym man.looks like you have everything you need and open 24/7.

Yep. I've come up with some unusual ways to squeeze more exercises out of what I have, but many of then are done more easily on the machines you typically find in a commercial gym.

Just got done with my leg workout for the week. I did some sissy squats wish this have of been up yesterday:banghead:. Oh well, i'll defiantly be trying this next week.

Leg day will be back around before you know it.

Stealing these for tomorrow's workout...

Save some quad size for the rest of us, Dave. Jeez... LOL

Clean that garage asap!!

Will definitely give that a try, some variety is always good.

That "grungy" feel keeps it "hardcore."

I love the look of this movement, and the video is actually really done well (nice K bike in the baackground).

Two days ago I'd have tried this movement without question, but yesterday I ruptured my left patella tendon and holy shit my knee screams just watching you do them in the video. Something to shoot for down the road, thanks again for posting.

Wow, man - VERY sorry to hear that.

Just do be careful with these - they DO target the quad pretty strongly and thus put a lot of tension on the patellar ligament.

i really like the idea of these, i'm gonna give these a try. looks like it hits the quads good, gets the blood in them

Oh, yeah.

I like the exercise, thank you for posting.. Maybe you can put a wooden block underneath the heels so you don't have to raise the heels at the bottom of the rep.. I've been using alot of raised heel on a block movements for legs and find I can isolate the quads alot better..

You could certainly give that a shot. It will limit the degrees of freedom (minimizing ankle movement), but just be careful with the board moving around. (Without trying it that way, I have a feeling it might not feel as smooth or "natural" being so locked in with a block. This is also why I wanted to call the Smith Sissy Hacks, b/c there is some plantar flexion when you descend, like with a sissy squat.)

Most guys I'm hearing back from are being pretty inventive just to find a bench / block / something to stand on b/c many smith machines bottom out too high, so I want to keep it as simple as possible, too, beyond that. (Also, I don't want someone watching youtube to get hurt trying to build a fortress of blocks to try to do this exercise, only to get tripped up.)

-Scott