Okay, I lied in the subject line: It is squats—but it’s SISSY squats, not barbell squats…
Why do sissies beat out barbell (BB) squats? A few reasons…
1) The more weight you use on BB squats, the further forward your torso pitches. That forward lean throws more work onto your glutes—your butt becomes the prime mover.
2) You’re training two targets at the same time, glutes and quads: Dividing focus is less efficient at activating high-threshold motor units.
3) With BB squats you miss 20 percent of the quadriceps group: That’s due to reciprocal innervation, meaning you’re involving the glutes, which is a hip flexor muscle, so you shut off your rectus femoris, a hip extensor. Why would you want to ignore 20 percent of your quad muscles?
4) BB squats give you excessive potential for injury: A heavy barbell across your shoulders compresses your spine, and a blown vertebrae or two is not worth the risk.
With sissy squats, the resistance IS your torso. For more resistance, hold a weight on your chest. Either way, the load does NOT shift forward but to the rear as you lower into a squat…
The resistance curve is perfect: hardest at stretch, easier at the top contraction where your quads are weakest…
And it takes very little extra resistance to totally max out quad activation. Some of the strongest bodybuilders can only get 10 reps holding a 25-pound plate on their chest.
A close second, and still considered ideal, is cable squats—or machine hack squats…
With either you still get minor glute involvement, which is why these are slightly below sissies on the ideal-exercise hierarchy…
For a killer quad add-on move, your best bet is leg extensions…
It’s hardest at the top contracted position—not ideal—which makes it a good follow-up to one of the above ideals…
Sissy squats (or cable or hack squats) + leg extensions
Give it a try to slap more size on your soon-to-be tree-trunk thighs.
NOTE: The ideal exercise identified and described in the past few newsletters—and ones coming up—are NOT the result of my genius. They come from Mr. America and biomechanics expert Doug Brignole…
His analytic brilliance helped me understand how these exercises are the best of the best for getting the most mass bang for your effort buck…
To prove it, he won the 2019 AAU Drug-Free Mr. Universe at age 59, using only ONE IDEAL EXERCISE for each muscle group…
For more on his training and how it evolved—including sets, reps, ideal exercises and more—see Never Stop Growing.
Till next time, train hard—and smart—for BIG results.
Steve Holman
Former Editor in Chief, Iron Man Magazine
X-Rep.com
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