Sissy Squat

How to perform it

1. 1Preparation and positioning. Use a stable surface and enough clearance to step out safely. Establish the foot-pressure, depth, balance, and ascent standard before adding speed or external assistance. Use a stable support and choose a range that permits the knees, hips, and feet to remain controlled; heels may rise according to the declared standard.
2. 2Starting position. Set the working foot with a stable tripod, brace the trunk, and establish the balance or support strategy before descending. Brace the trunk, keep the knees and feet in the planned relationship, and lean the body as one line rather than folding at the hips.
3. 3Descent. Flex the hip and knee under control while the knee tracks over the foot as the individual anatomy allows. Bend the knees and lower the body through the long-lever path while maintaining the declared heel and hip position.
4. 4Bottom position. Reach the same depth or contact marker without bouncing or losing the foot tripod. Reach only the depth that can be reversed without bouncing or losing support.
5. 5Ascent / lockout. Drive through the whole foot and extend the hip and knee to the defined top position. Extend the knees and return to the upright line using the support only as planned.
6. 6Breathing and bracing. Brace the trunk before the descent, maintain pressure through the hardest portion, and breathe rhythmically between repetitions when the exercise is not being performed as a maximal effort.
7. 7Valid rep. A valid repetition starts and ends in the prescribed stance, reaches the same depth, and returns without an unplanned step, hand support, or loss of balance. The long-lever torso line, heel standard, range, and support are consistent across repetitions.

Common mistakes

• Losing the foot tripod

  Fix: Keep pressure through the heel, first metatarsal, and fifth metatarsal without gripping the floor excessively.

• Uncontrolled pelvic collapse

  Fix: Reduce depth or use support until the pelvis and trunk remain repeatable.

• Using the free limb or hands

  Fix: Treat assistance as a defined regression rather than an unplanned push-off.

• Dropping into deep knee flexion

  Fix: Use support and a shorter range until the knee path and exit are controlled.

Safety

• The long lever can increase knee-extension demand and reduce the margin for error; it should not be presented as a universal quadriceps exercise or as a test of knee health.
• Choose a setup, load, assistance level, and exit strategy that allow the defined standard to be maintained; do not train through acute, sharp, electric, or worsening symptoms.

Progressions & alternatives

• regressionBodyweight Squat— Use a standard squat with a more self-selected hip-knee distribution.
• progressionAssisted-to-unassisted Sissy Squat— A stricter version requires separate definition because support and range materially change the task.
• alternativeReverse Lunge— Use a unilateral knee-dominant pattern with a different balance and range profile.
• prerequisiteWeighted Sissy Squat— No automatic external-load progression is assigned.