Sissy Squat (Machine)
The machine sissy squat is a locked-in isolation exercise that targets the quadriceps by allowing you to lean back deeply while keeping your feet secured. It emphasizes the rectus femoris muscle by maintaining extended hips while flexing the knees under load.
Since this movement places significant tension on the patellar tendon, the AI analyzes your knee pain history and recovery metrics to determine if you should perform this exercise or swap for a lower-impact alternative like leg extensions. By tracking your RPE and rep performance, the app ensures you are maintaining constant tension on the quads without exceeding your joint's current capacity. If your recent leg training volume has been high, the AI may adjust your total sets to prevent overuse injuries common with this isolation movement.
Form Cues
- Lock your feet securely into the pads
- Squeeze your glutes to keep hips fully extended
- Lower yourself slowly by bending at the knees
- Keep a straight line from knees to shoulders
- Drive through the balls of your feet to ascend
- Don't bend at the hips or sit back
- Don't round your shoulders forward
- Don't bounce out of the bottom position
- Don't let your lower back hyperextend
- Don't rush the lowering phase
Common Mistakes
- Hinging at the hips
- Using momentum to stand up
- Relaxing core tension
- Cutting range of motion short
- Curling the neck forward
Muscles Worked
This exercise primarily isolates the quadriceps, placing extreme emphasis on the rectus femoris muscle due to the extended hip position throughout the rep. While your core and glutes work isometrically to maintain a rigid torso, the load is almost entirely concentrated on the front of the thighs.
Primary
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