Sissy squats are a bodybuilding exercise. It appeared when athletes noticed that squatting with a working weight on the shoulders and parallel thighs is not very comfortable, and in some cases leads to injuries to the knee ligaments. Athletes and their coaches have experimented with ways to reduce the axial load and increase the stretch of the quadriceps during movement, and this is how this option came about. The movement is performed with the shin fixed in a machine or bench. Despite the best wishes of some athletes, this movement can hardly be called isolating. Yes, it works the quadriceps more than a simple barbell squat, but the hamstrings, calves, and glutes are also included.
About the name
Many people are interested in why the exercise has such a strange name. There are two versions. The first says that the position that must be taken in this squat is very similar to the pose of Sisyphus - the ancient Greek martyr doomed to eternal labor in the kingdom of dark Hades. The second point of view connects the term with the vulgar translation of the word “Sissy” - sissy, mama’s boy.
At first glance, it may indeed seem that this exercise is very easy to perform. But this is a misleading impression. Try to do at least one sissy squat - and you will immediately understand why it is strongly recommended to be performed only by well-trained athletes.
From myths. Sisyphus is the ancient Greek king of Corinth, sentenced after death to roll a huge stone up the mountain. Each time, having reached the top, he slid down again, and the poor martyr had to start all over again. He was punished this way because he deceived the god of death Thanatos into chains. If you look at numerous paintings dedicated to this myth, Sisyphus rolls a stone, leaning his back on it - and his pose is, indeed, very similar to the position that bodybuilders occupy in a sissy squat.
