Posting this as its own comment: Just want to give an update. A nice, dense, 1.5 inch thick gardening pad works extremely well. Pretty much completely fixes the issue (of too much space between calf pad and foot rollers). I misspoke earlier. I had said "pad placed between shins and foot rollers" which is clearly the wrong way to do it. The pad should of course be placed behind the calves, essentially making the calf pad thicker, and your shins closer to the foot rollers. Also, raised heel weightlifting shoes help a lot too, as mentioned in the above video. Now it feels and performs as it should by default. Titan need to update this machine, allow the foot rollers to go much closer to the calf pad, and maybe lower the rollers slightly, as well as make them stationary, not spinning. They really do not need to spin and it would be more stable if they didn't.
The squat in the Sissy Squat machine is more a Spanish Squat since your hips isn't locked out. I think both these and true Sissy Squats are great and target slightly different areas.
technically it does place more stress on the patellofemoral joint of the knee compared to a traditional squat. Good news is you don't have to load it as heavy as a traditional barbell squat and so in that sense it may actually be less. I probably wouldn't start with sissy squats in someone with a history of patellofemoral pain, or use it several times a week though. As mentioned in the video, if the loading/dosing is right I think it's fine on the knees
I absolutely love this machine and it's part of every one of my quad-focused leg days - often the main working exercise. They suck so bad, walking afterwards is virtually impossible, stairs are an absolute nightmare and after a proper session my nickname is "crawl" 😂
I bought one of these for my home gym. Best $120 I ever spent! I'm 62 years old and have been working out since I was 15 years old. I've had my best quad gains ever! I don't even squat anymore, I simply use my stand for 5 sets, then grind out a couple of high rep sets on my leg extension until my legs feel like they are going to explode, then do ham strings on my legs extension machine. I've never felt any quad exercise like I feel these on that stand!
Yes that is actually my biggest knock on this product. I added extra padding to thicken them but it would've been nice if it was a bit closer to the shins
@@ExerciseLab I just bought it yesterday on the Black Friday sale. Someone in the customer reviews said that a thick foam gardening pad placed between the calves and the calf pad does a good job to tighten things up. I'm going to try that.
@@CaptJackAubreyOfTheRoyalNavy Ok thanks for the tip. I actually had a 1/2-1" sheet of foam laying around and similarly used that between my shins and the foam pads and that worked pretty well. If Titan would just make the foam pads bigger that would help a lot.
@@ExerciseLab Agreed. It's strange that Titan made an otherwise great sissy squat stand with such bafflingly wide spacing. Ah well, the foam hack seems to work ok. Still better than the other piece of crap sissy squat stands all over Amazon. I have the one from Leike Fitness, which seems to be the least crappy, but still has major problems and feels very cheap.
@@CaptJackAubreyOfTheRoyalNavy Good to know. Unfortunately I think a lot of exercise equipment goes straight from the drawing board to the production line without a lot of testing/user feedback.
Yes this is actually intentional. Really the only reason to sissy squat is quad emphasis for hypertrophy (it isn't really a functional movement), so I shorten the range just a bit to keep the tension on the quads while putting less stress on the knees. As I discuss in the video, I'll often use this machine as a 'burnout' after other exercises (squats, lunges, etc.) where I train a full range, so I'm not really worried about leaning way back or going super deep on these.
Again as mentioned in the video, there are strategies to overload the quads, not just with mechanical tension (adding weight as you suggest) which is only one way to induce muscle hypertrophy, but with metabolic stress.
Yes I know, but as I describe in the video I don't lean excessively back to try and get the best of both worlds (quad emphasis without getting too much strain on the knee). I know this is less than ideal for muscle development in the short run but probably better in the long run. Always depends on the goals
yes as I explain in the video I do this intentionally to reduce excessive knee stress. I know 'true' sissy squats you sit back more but i'm trying to strike a balance between hitting the quads without hitting the knees too hard, so I sit back more than a regular squat, but not way back.
@@javimarco1417 Yes I do like belt squats. My main issue with the belt squat machines is that they tend to have a pretty large footprint which makes them a bit on the bulky side for a garage gym. I've also seen more minimal setups with plyoboxes and a squat/dip belt but getting in place with sufficient load can be a bit awkward.
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I have my own sissy squat equipment also but love the idea of the band. Thx Rosie
Is this good for Tendonitis in knee
That level of exercise is great 👍
Great video mate
Posting this as its own comment: Just want to give an update. A nice, dense, 1.5 inch thick gardening pad works extremely well. Pretty much completely fixes the issue (of too much space between calf pad and foot rollers). I misspoke earlier. I had said "pad placed between shins and foot rollers" which is clearly the wrong way to do it. The pad should of course be placed behind the calves, essentially making the calf pad thicker, and your shins closer to the foot rollers. Also, raised heel weightlifting shoes help a lot too, as mentioned in the above video. Now it feels and performs as it should by default. Titan need to update this machine, allow the foot rollers to go much closer to the calf pad, and maybe lower the rollers slightly, as well as make them stationary, not spinning. They really do not need to spin and it would be more stable if they didn't.
Thanks for following up on this. I too like the feel with weightlifting shoes (if you happen to have some). I will give this a try
The squat in the Sissy Squat machine is more a Spanish Squat since your hips isn't locked out. I think both these and true Sissy Squats are great and target slightly different areas.
Yes you can sit back a little more on the sissy squat (unless you're using a very strong band for Spanish squats) but they are pretty similar.
How is it on the knees?
technically it does place more stress on the patellofemoral joint of the knee compared to a traditional squat. Good news is you don't have to load it as heavy as a traditional barbell squat and so in that sense it may actually be less.
I probably wouldn't start with sissy squats in someone with a history of patellofemoral pain, or use it several times a week though. As mentioned in the video, if the loading/dosing is right I think it's fine on the knees
I absolutely love this machine and it's part of every one of my quad-focused leg days - often the main working exercise.
They suck so bad, walking afterwards is virtually impossible, stairs are an absolute nightmare and after a proper session my nickname is "crawl" 😂
Lol. Yes I've been there. I remember walking down a steep hill after a tough session and almost needed to walk backwards 😁
I bought one of these for my home gym. Best $120 I ever spent! I'm 62 years old and have been working out since I was 15 years old. I've had my best quad gains ever! I don't even squat anymore, I simply use my stand for 5 sets, then grind out a couple of high rep sets on my leg extension until my legs feel like they are going to explode, then do ham strings on my legs extension machine. I've never felt any quad exercise like I feel these on that stand!
You are not even going below parallel with the exercise. Defeats the purpose of it.
Is that the closest position for the foot roller? Seems too far away.
Yes that is actually my biggest knock on this product. I added extra padding to thicken them but it would've been nice if it was a bit closer to the shins
@@ExerciseLab I just bought it yesterday on the Black Friday sale. Someone in the customer reviews said that a thick foam gardening pad placed between the calves and the calf pad does a good job to tighten things up. I'm going to try that.
@@CaptJackAubreyOfTheRoyalNavy Ok thanks for the tip. I actually had a 1/2-1" sheet of foam laying around and similarly used that between my shins and the foam pads and that worked pretty well. If Titan would just make the foam pads bigger that would help a lot.
@@ExerciseLab Agreed. It's strange that Titan made an otherwise great sissy squat stand with such bafflingly wide spacing. Ah well, the foam hack seems to work ok. Still better than the other piece of crap sissy squat stands all over Amazon. I have the one from Leike Fitness, which seems to be the least crappy, but still has major problems and feels very cheap.
@@CaptJackAubreyOfTheRoyalNavy Good to know. Unfortunately I think a lot of exercise equipment goes straight from the drawing board to the production line without a lot of testing/user feedback.
Seems you are not utilizing a full range of motion.
Yes this is actually intentional. Really the only reason to sissy squat is quad emphasis for hypertrophy (it isn't really a functional movement), so I shorten the range just a bit to keep the tension on the quads while putting less stress on the knees. As I discuss in the video, I'll often use this machine as a 'burnout' after other exercises (squats, lunges, etc.) where I train a full range, so I'm not really worried about leaning way back or going super deep on these.
@@ExerciseLab It is functional for stuff like Heels dance or ballet, in ballet they do them on tip toes with heels together and knees driving out.
Lean back from more of a stretch. It's more of a true sissy squat. Look and see the way you're doing it as a warm-up and just basically an air squat
Probably the last exercise I would do for quads.
I guess two each the wrong, but that’s way too much torque on the knee.
If you do it the way i describe in the video I think you can strike a balance between better quad recruitment and less knee torque
@@ExerciseLab
Squats, hack squats…
By the time you add the weight to get that effect, it’s not safe with zero benefit.
Again as mentioned in the video, there are strategies to overload the quads, not just with mechanical tension (adding weight as you suggest) which is only one way to induce muscle hypertrophy, but with metabolic stress.
@@Ont785 These Sissy Squats without a locked out hip (=Spanish Squats) are very close to hack squats as a movement.
I know you wont like this but you are in fact doing it wrong. Just saying. Your supposed to lean back
Yes I know, but as I describe in the video I don't lean excessively back to try and get the best of both worlds (quad emphasis without getting too much strain on the knee). I know this is less than ideal for muscle development in the short run but probably better in the long run. Always depends on the goals
you're doing it wrong. posture needs to be upright
yes as I explain in the video I do this intentionally to reduce excessive knee stress. I know 'true' sissy squats you sit back more but i'm trying to strike a balance between hitting the quads without hitting the knees too hard, so I sit back more than a regular squat, but not way back.
@@ExerciseLab then maybe you love the belt squats, you can load it and focus a lot.
@@javimarco1417 Yes I do like belt squats. My main issue with the belt squat machines is that they tend to have a pretty large footprint which makes them a bit on the bulky side for a garage gym. I've also seen more minimal setups with plyoboxes and a squat/dip belt but getting in place with sufficient load can be a bit awkward.