This is your guide as to how to build big quads without getting in the squat rack. Believe it or not, it is possible. Let me start with a metaphor, or allegory, or whatever. It’ll help explain what I mean.
In college, my frat brother, Joe, was a phenomenal cook.
I used to ask him, “Who taught you how to cook like this??” Because everything he cooked was so freakin’ good.
He’d say, “All you have to know is how heat effects food during the cooking process.”
And I was reminded of that today because it’s such a great analogy for what it takes to build an awe-inspiring pair of quads, biceps, triceps or whatever.
In order to build up any body part, you need to know the effect of weight training on the body, specifically, your body.
It’s really that simple.
You also need to know how to support your body nutritionally, as well as a few other things, but let’s put that aside for now.
Can we agree that it all starts with the right training?
How I’ve trained my quads wrong for the past 15 years
Like most people, I’ve had success gaining muscle in my quads by following your standard quad workout that everybody and their little brother does.
You know, the one your trainer and the bodybuilders you look up to all tell you to follow i.e. back squats, front squats, hack squats, goblet squats, walking lunges, leg extensions, leg press etc.
So, this must mean that it’s the correct training protocol, right?
Wrong.
What if I told you that your standard quad workout is pretty ineffective for targeting and isolating the correct muscles in the quad?
What if I told you that exercises like leg press and leg extensions, in particular, put a lot of wear and tear on the knee joint and that over time, doing these types of exercises repeatedly can lead to mobility issues, meniscus tears and other injuries?
Leg extensions cause knee degeneration and knee pain
According to Dr. Joseph Horrigan, Executive Director of Tactical Sports Medicine at the University of Southern California, leg extensions, “put maximum force on the back of the patella, the thinnest portion of cartilage” and that performing leg extensions with a full range of motion, “could accelerate arthritic changes in your knee.”(1)
Have you ever heard of crepitus?
It’s the scientific name for that crunching sound your knee sometimes makes when you do a leg extension, or squat.
Do you know what crepitus is a common sign of? Joint damage, especially when it’s accompanied by pain. (2)
Sound familiar?
It does to me because I used to notice it while working out my quads and didn’t really pay attention to it because I figured that it was normal, that it was all part of the process.
I do notice that my knees still sometimes make crackling sounds when I’m squatting down, or climbing the steps, but it’s not as bad as it used to be since I’ve stopped doing leg extensions.
The scary part is that leg extensions are still commonly used in rehab settings!
There’s a reason why using the leg press hurts your knees
Dr. David Geier, orthopedic surgeon and sports medicine specialist, says “during the phase of the leg press that involves deep knee flexion, the stress goes to the posterior aspect of the knee,” a place where cartilage damage and other structural damage like meniscus tears are found. (3)
Sounds oddly reminiscent of something we just read earlier about leg extensions, right?
Dr. Geier also says that the leg press, generally speaking, is safe, a lot safer than the leg extension, but he says that “using too much weight” can cause unnecessary strain on the knees.
Hang on. What’s considered too much weight?
According to him, I’m sure anyone using the leg press for bodybuilding purposes would fall into the category of, “using too much weight.”
I’m picturing those old school videos of Kevin Levrone and Ronnie Coleman pressing ludicrous amounts of weight.
My experience with the leg press is that, as much as it targets the quads, it targets your knee joints just as much with a lot of extra load.
That can’t be good for your knees in the long run.
In fact, the last time I used the leg press, I remember having to lighten the load some so my knees weren’t feeling as tweaked.
The only problem with taking some plates off, though, was that I may not have been getting as much out of the exercise as I had hoped.
Does doing squats hurt your knees?
If you search online right now using the keyword phrase, ‘squats hurt knees,’ you’ll find dozens of articles addressing the question of whether doing squats hurts your knees!
If the question is being asked, chances are there are people out there who are complaining about squats hurting their knees!
Within those same articles, though, you’ll read about trainers, physical therapists, strength and conditioning coaches etc. all vehemently defending squats–as they should.
Squats, when performed correctly, are a great compound movement that activates the core, quads, glutes, hamstrings and spinal erectors.
They even work the calves somewhat.
It’s an all around good, functional exercise to do for sports conditioning, power lifting, pretty much any athletic endeavor.
The question is, is it a good exercise for the purposes of bodybuilding?
I say, yes and no.
Back squats, front squats, hack squats, and all the other variations of squats are great exercises and should definitely be in everyone’s program, without question.
When loading heavy weight, however, there is the potential to put undue stress on the knee joints in much the same way that you can with the leg press.
The second thing is, it’s hard to target and isolate different parts of the quad muscle when you’re squatting.
Sure, you can open up, or narrow your stance, turn your toes in or out, or stick your butt out a little further, whatever, but at the end of the day, it’s still a compound movement that’s activating all these different muscle groups simultaneously.
The traditional back squat is never going to be as isolated as, say, a bicep curl.
The best exercise to isolate quads hands down
You know, I like to super-isolate the muscle group I’m training and then pump up and expand the fascia surrounding that muscle to maximum expansion, right up to and through the infamous pain barrier Arnold spoke of.
That’s how I train.
I’m not into ego lifting, or throwing around super heavy amounts of weight just for the sake of it.
I’ve found that I can make good to great gains simply by training for hypertrophy.
I’ve heard Jay Cutler say the same thing. I’ve heard Rich Piana, rest in peace, Rich, say the same thing. I’ve heard Arnold say the same thing. I’ve heard lots of bodybuilders from the past say the same thing.
You don’t need to train like a Ronnie Coleman, or a Tom Platz to make impressive gains.
I hate to say it, but look at Ronnie now. It’s not worth it.
Save your joints.
Have longevity in the sport by training lighter, staying in a higher rep range, and pumping up the muscle.
Now, to continue on with the story, I’ve found that the quad workouts I’ve done in the past can’t even hold a candle to what I’m doing now and that’s because I’ve discovered a much, much better way to isolate my quads than ever before.
They’re called sissy squats.
I’m not talking about the kind where you’re standing on your tippy toes while bracing yourself with one hand and doing an impression of an elevator on its way down to the first floor either.
You may think you know sissy squats, but you don’t know anything about sissy squats until you do them on a sissy squat bench.
What I love about using the sissy squat bench is that it takes my knees out of the equation and allows me to isolate and focus 100% of my attention on my quads during each rep.
I’ve been getting the most insane pumps while using this thing!
What’s even more crazy is that I’m doing each set using my own bodyweight with no added resistance!
And it still makes my quads burn more than I’ve ever experienced with any other quad exercise!
Think about what I just said. Re-read it a few times if you need to.
It’s like my quads are going through a whole new growth phase even though I’ve already been training for years!
How to do sissy squats
Training in flip-flops is the only way to train 😉 Home gym style, baby.
First, you need to adjust the height of the pad, so that it hits slightly below the back of your knees.
If it’s set too high, you won’t be able to hinge properly and you’ll be able to tell pretty quickly if that’s the case.
Once the height of the bench is set correctly and locked into place, you do a squat, as you normally would, with your feet planted on the platform.
But, what you immediately notice is, the direction of force is totally different.
The force, instead of going straight down through the floor, is now going from east to west from behind the pad toward the wall in front of you (away from your knees)!
What this does is it puts a tremendous amount of resistance directly on the quads and nowhere else.
You could either squat with your torso upright, hinging at the hip joint, and dropping to where your quads are parallel to the ground (you can even go deeper than parallel, which is nice), or you can squat with your torso leaning back slightly and I’ve found that doing it that way puts even more focus and isolation on the quads.
The beauty is, everything below the knee is locked into place, giving you the ability to put such extreme isolation on the quads that you start to burn out at very low numbers, like by rep five, or six because the quads are simply not used to it.
The mind-to-muscle connection is key and I’ve found that slowing down the rep speed also makes the movement more challenging.
You can even add resistance if you’d like by holding a dumbbell, or light barbell, but it’s not necessary.
I’ve been doing unweighted sets of 12-15 reps and getting huge pumps in my quads. Play with it a little, but I would recommend at least three sets for the beginner who’s just starting out.
How to get more defined quads
I swear to you, I’ve been seeing striations in my quads that I’ve never seen before from using this thing.
If you’re looking to get more defined quads, then using a sissy squat bench is the way to go.
With a narrow stance on the platform, you can target all four heads of the quadriceps muscle i.e. vastus medialis, vastus intermedius, vastus lateralis, rectus femoris without hitting the adductors, or gracilis muscles between your thighs.
In the past, I’d hate working out my quads and then having to see the inside of my thighs touching and rubbing together.
Not only was it uncomfortable because they would chafe and turn red, but big muscles on the inside of your thighs is not aesthetically pleasing (for guys, or girls).
Being able to focus and target “the outer quad muscles,” if you will, is difficult with a traditional squat because you end up predominantly targeting the rectus femoris, vastus intermedius, and the adductors and gracilis, to help stabilize the movement.
Your vastus lateralis and vastus medialis don’t get as much of the brunt of the movement with traditional squats.
When using a sissy squat bench, it’s flipped on its head. You get to super-isolate and target the more aesthetic “show muscles” of the quad i.e. vastus lateralis and vastus medialis first and of course, rectus femoris and vastus intermedius as well–all without hitting the adductors or gracilis.
Best sissy squat benches IMO (contains Amazon affiliate links)
If you’ve gotten this far, you’ve probably seen the light and you’re looking into getting yourself a sissy squat bench.
But, you may also be thinking, “I’m just going to see if there’s a sissy squat bench at the gym where I go.”
It’s the weirdest thing, but I’ve been to loads of commercial gyms and I’ve never seen a sissy squat bench!
I used to be a trainer at New York Sports Club, L.A. Fitness, and Equinox and, in my experience, none of these big box gyms had sissy squats benches!
That’s why I recommend investing in your own sissy squat bench, especially because they’re very affordable and are a great addition to your home gym.
Here are the sissy squat benches on the market right now that I think are worth buying.
On the high end ($$$)
Element Fitness Sissy Squat Machine
Pros:
-Heavily padded for calf protection
-Heavy-duty design, 30″ tall, weighing 45 pounds
-Large, non-skid footplate
-Commercial grade
Cons:
-Pricey
-Does not double as a hyperextension bench
Mid-range ($$)
Leikefitness Deluxe Multi-Function Deep Sissy Squat Bench
Pros:
-Doubles as a hyper-extension bench
-Well-reviewed on Amazon
-No goofy colors on it
-Easy to use and store
-Looks to be high quality
-Veteran-owned business
Cons:
-A little more pricey than some of the others, but not by much
On the low-end ($)
Pros:
-Lower price
-Pushup station
Cons:
-Listing does not give specific details
-Fire-engine red color may turn people off
-No reviews on Amazon
Pros:
-Lower price
-Multi-station exercise bench (pushups, sit-ups, spit-squats, sissy squats, hyperextensions)
-Safe to use and stable (can handle weights up to 265 pounds)
-Anti-skid handles and footpads
-Weighs 30 pounds, so it’s easy to roll and store some place out of the way
Cons:
-Some people may not like the yellow color
As much as I like the look and the heavy-grade quality of the Element Fitness Sissy Squat Machine, I wouldn’t buy it specifically because it doesn’t have those other workout options built into it.
It’s more than convenient having a sissy squat bench and hyperextension bench in one because normally those two stations are sold separately.
If you say, ‘yes’ to any of the following . . .
Do you want a relatively inexpensive piece of home gym equipment that can easily replace the leg press and leg extension machines?
Do you want to be able to safely and intensely workout your quads at home without having to load plates upon plates, potentially overloading your knee joints and causing joint issues down the road?
Do you want to be able to really isolate your quads without targeting the muscles on the inside of your thighs?
Is knee pain preventing you from working out quads?
Would you like to workout your quads, but you’re worried you might end up re-injuring yourself?
Do you want to start putting together a home gym consisting of only the essentials?
Then, do yourself a favor
If you answered, ‘yes’ to all of the above, then my suggestion is to do yourself a favor and get a sissy squat bench.
Without a sissy squat bench, you’re stuck doing goblet squats, lunges, or split squats with whatever spare dumbbell you have lying around the house.
Not to say that’s a bad thing, but it’s certainly not optimal.
Even if you’re one of the lucky ones who has an olympic squat rack in your garage, or basement, you’re still not going to be able to isolate and target quads in the same way that you can with a sissy squat bench.
You may even have a gym membership and still not have access to a sissy squat bench because, like I said, they’re often difficult to come by.
Ultimately, my recommendation is to get the one I have, the GoPlus Deep Squat Machine because it’s got the push-up station on the back and it doubles as a hyper-extension bench as well as a sissy squat bench and I’ve had it for years now and it’s a beast. No issues whatsoever.
Your training partner,
Read next: Best Underwear For Bodybuilders
P.S.
Here’s my progress pic so far (April 11th, 2020). Will follow up with an update on my quads in the coming months.
Sources:
- Horrigan, Dr. Joseph. “Do Leg Extensions Have A Place In Your Workout?” HuffPost.com, July 14th, 2013, https://www.huffpost.com/entry/leg-extensions-knee-pain_b_3269330
- Eustice, Carol. “Crepitus And The Crackling Sounds In Your Joints,” VeryWellHealth.com, December 30th, 2019, https://www.verywellhealth.com/what-is-crepitus-189287
- Lindberg, Sara. “Why Does The Leg Press Exercise Hurt My Knees?” LiveStrong.com, July 22nd, 2019, https://www.livestrong.com/article/546137-leg-presses-hurt-my-knees/