Ok, so here's one I can
pretty much PROMISE you've never seen anything like before.
It's one of THE most insane exercises I've ever come up
with and believe me...if you want to really hammer your
quads, it's going to leave you on the floor after the
first set.
But I'll tell you right
up front...it LOOKS worse than it actually is...the bottom
part of the movement is actually safer than a "normal"
sissy squat because of how you're supporting yourself
(you'll see).
This one requires only a
few simple pieces for set...a barbell, a rack and a bench.
Optional is a barbell pad (which is helpful for the leg
press part of the movement).
This exercise incorporates
THAT exercise plus a huge range of motion sissy squat
style of exercise to hit the quads from top to bottom...full
stretch to hard contraction.
Here's what it looks like...when
you see it in action, you'll know exactly how tough this
one is to do and how effective it is.
First, set a flat bench
inside the rack, parallel to the safety rails.
Next, set one of othe safety
rails up high (like up near the very top as high as you
can). Set the other safety rail about a foot and a half
below that.
Set the barbell on the rails
- it'll be angled down pretty steeply (make sure you have
good collars). Load the barbell on both ends (can be lighter
on the high side).
I've got one plate on the
high end and two plates on the lower end. You don't need
a whole lot of weight for this one. The barbell pad should
go down near the bottom end.
Now the fun begins...
Stand up on the bench and
get your back under the barbell so it runs lengthwise
down your back. The pad should hit you right on hip/lower
back area. Grab onto the bar up near the safety rail at
the top.
The video shows me getting
into position under the bar. You'll need to experiment
with the height of the safety rail on the low side so
that you start the squat/leg press at a good angle.
And yes, my knees ARE in
front of my toes...don't tell the squat police ;)
Honestly, it's not bad for
your knees, as you may have been told. If you can perform
a barbell squat without your knees moving forward of your
toes, then my hat is off to you - I can't do it!
Your feet are going to be
positioned on the bench so the forefoot area is right
in the middle of the bench - you're NOT going to be setting
your whole foot on the bench surface. Your heels will
be off the back edge. This comes into play during the
sissy squat portion of the exercise (I'll explain why
this is when I get to that).
Straighten your legs. This
is the top position of the exercise. Nothing too crazy
here. Since only your forefoot area is on the bench, this
actually puts more tension onto the quads.
Now for the transition to
the sissy squat...
Lower the bar back down
and set the low end on the safety rail. Now, holding on
tight to the bar with your hands, squat down and forward.
You're going to come forward
and down, using your grip on the bar to hold your body
up off the ground. You're still on your forefoot area
here.
Here's where that foot position
comes into play...
Let your body stretch forward
and down until your body is completely stretched out and
your knees are down near the ground.
Your toes are now hooked
over the edge of the bench.
Push your hips forward and
you'll get a HUGE stretch on the quads at the bottom here.
Now the fun part...coming
back UP.
Use your arms to help as
much as you need to, but try to use mostly quads. Push
down hard with your toes onto the page to get your body
moving up again, then bring yourself back up underneath
the bar and into the leg press position.
In a smooth motion, come
all the way and do the press/squat movement.
This takes you from full
stretch straight up into a hard contraction. Come back
down and repeat, coming all the way down to the full stretch
again. I recommend about 6 to 8 full reps on this one.
Trust me, this will KILL
your quads. When I finished this exercise the first time
I did it (which is actually in the video!), you'll see
just how hard a time I had walking to stop the camera.
Freaking brutal and not
for the faint of heart this one is, but INCREDIBLY effective
for the quads.
