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Sissy squats for the quadriceps: the legacy of the greats

sissy squats

The name says nothing to you Gironda wins?

Do not?

Go study, for God's sake. I pretend I haven't heard.

Vince Gironda, the great

Vince was one of the classic bodybuilders, from the statuesque physicist. He approaches physical activity because he wants a career in cinema (that "cinema" in which the actor had to be muscular), but ends up creating a career as a Hollywood coach successful (Arnold will train, among others).

Gironde was a fixed amount of work intensity (compared to big loads), so much so that the training routine he proposed was… exhausting. His 8 × 8 - this is the name - required you to choose 4 exercises per muscle district, and perform 8 series of 8, with very short pauses (30 seconds).

To try.

Here it is: Gironda has perfected the sissy squat, using it (and having it used) as the main exercise for the quadriceps.

Muscles trained by the sissy squat

Quadriceps, quadriceps everywhere.

The value of this movement lies in the fact that it completely cuts off both the glutes and the hamstrings (to train the infamous hamstrings, read one of our dedicated articles).

The fact that the whole body is in motion during the sissy squat is responsible instead for a slight misconception: the sissy squat is a completely monoarticular movement.

The only warnings are:

How to perform the sissy squat

Gironda had a specific name for the sissy squat: parody of an equilibrist. It makes you smile, but hides a pitfall: learning the sissy squat is difficult.

Doing it free body can be really complicated, that's why we recommend using a support (a wooden board) 12-15 centimeters high, to be placed under the heels.

The sissy squat sequence:

If you just can't keep your balance, try using a light barbell: should help you keep it.

Other ways to keep balance and at the same time overload exercise, if you don't use the tablet:

When to use it?

Via the logic of the ceiling, which could be catastrophic. Do medium to long sets (12-15 repetitions). If you manage to do them with the barbell unloaded, you ensure a great workout.

The sissy squat does not replace the barbell squat nor the front squat - which, as we have seen several times, have an important carryover, respectively, on the force in general, and on Olympic movements – but it can help put mass on those little legs, and better define the shape of the quadriceps.

 

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Photos: @unsplash.com
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