Sissy Squat
What you'll gain
Loads the quadriceps hard without a barbell or a machine.
Trains knee flexion and extension through a long range with the hips held extended.
Scales by depth alone, so progression needs no extra load.
Step-by-Step Instructions
- 1
Stand with your feet about shoulder width apart on the apparatus base, your lower legs secured by the pads and your arms at your sides.
- 2
Keep your feet planted on the apparatus base throughout the movement.
- 3
Brace your trunk and squeeze your glutes to control your position as your hips bend.
- 4
Bend your knees and hips, lowering your hips backward and down while keeping your torso relatively upright.
- 5
Descend as far as you can control, lowering toward a seated-like position while your lower legs stay supported.
- 6
Press through the balls of your feet to return to standing, then repeat.
Common Mistakes
Letting the hips fold backward, which turns the rep into a shallow ordinary squat.
Arching the lower back to reach depth, which loads the lumbar spine instead of the quadriceps.
Dropping fast and bouncing at the bottom, which spikes load on the knee with no control.
Letting the lower legs shift out of position against the pads, which makes the apparatus support less secure.
About This Exercise
The sissy squat uses a lower-leg support apparatus in this variation. You keep your feet planted on the base and bend your knees and hips, lowering your hips backward and down while your torso stays relatively upright. That makes the quadriceps the prime mover, with the trunk and calves working to hold the position and the balance. EMG work on knee extension across hip angles shows the four quadriceps heads work together rather than in isolation, so treat this as a quadriceps emphasis exercise rather than a way to single out one head. For a library this clip fills the bodyweight quadriceps slot that squats and lunges do not cover, and it is a useful visual for knee-over-toe programming and for advanced bodyweight plans that need progression without added load.
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An apparatus-supported squat where your lower legs stay secured as you bend your knees and hips to lower into a seated-like position.
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Specifications
Built for
- Advanced bodyweight leg days in a home training app.
- Quadriceps accessory work in a hypertrophy program.
- Knee-over-toe and tendon conditioning content.
- Bodyweight pack merchandising alongside squats and lunges.
