Advice on sissy squat machine?

[markgeorgeevans]

hi guys, I was thinking of getting a sissy squat machine but wanted to know your opinion if it's a good piece of equipment to have in your home gym. I have never used one before so don't know how much I'm going to use it in the end so hoping for some advice. I was thinking it would be a good quads isolater and finisher.

https://www.gymandfitness.com.au/for...t-machine.html

[a7stringkilla]

I have one, and I think its a good piece to have. Plus, it takes up very little room.

[TheDude8734]

Hey guys,

I didn't want to fill the forum with creating another thread about a Sissy Squat Machine,
But I'm looking to get one for the home setup and I'm not sure which one to go with.

There are 3 around the same price range on eBay at the moment:

TDS - 270 Shipped


STRENCOR - 240 Shipped


YUKON - 270 Shipped


Anyone own a Sissy Squat from the ones listed above?
There's a member on the "Look What I Bought Today" thread who picked up a TDS and mentioned that the board for your legs flexes a little bit but is still usable.

[urbanlifter]

Never used a sissy squat personally, but you might want to also consider Edge Fitness Systems. The three brands mentioned above look pretty generic, the reputation of TDS is hit or miss and I have never met a Yukon machine that I liked.

http://www.edgefitnessystems.com/sissy-squat.html

[Iceman1800]

I have the Strencor. I love it. It's humbling too

[deadwoodgregg]

I'm looking to get one for the home setup and I'm not sure which one to go with.

My only buying tip would be to make sure to get one with the adjustment on the roller pad section like those shown. The models that only have adjustment on the calf pad section are useless if they don't fit you. Ideally you would want one with adjustments on both sections.

[francobertoli]

it works the quads like a charm

[Za78]

I noticed Archon has one as well for 170 plus shipping.

https://fitarchon.com/product/sissy-squat-platform/

[Cpl.Girthington]

...ANNNND you a-holes have caused me to order a sissy squat. Thanks a lot. That Archon unit looked pretty decent and ships for under $200 to my house. It's on back-order but yeah, I pulled the trigger.

[TheDude8734]

...ANNNND you a-holes have caused me to order a sissy squat. Thanks a lot. That Archon unit looked pretty decent and ships for under $200 to my house. It's on back-order but yeah, I pulled the trigger.

I may have to go with that option as well-

It looks to be well built and is the only one within the price range with adjustments for both the calves and front rollers.
Thank you to everyone for your help and insight, much appreciated.

[Deep-Voiced-One]

I noticed Archon has one as well for 170 plus shipping.

https://fitarchon.com/product/sissy-squat-platform/

Nice find! I also see they have a very practical, but what appears to be a solid wall mount cable crossover at a decent price on their site.

[Iceman1800]

The Strencor adjusts both the calf and the foot sections

[Iceman1800]

Forgot to add secondary pain causing fun. You can use the pad for the back of the calves as a support for the rear leg on bulgarian split squats

[TheDude8734]

The Strencor adjusts both the calf and the foot sections

The plot thickens.....

Have you found the board within the calf section to have any flex as you work through the movement of your lift?
Thanks again,

[Iceman1800]

The plot thickens.....

Have you found the board within the calf section to have any flex as you work through the movement of your lift?
Thanks again,

Nope, it's very solid. I used it today. 4 sets of 10 on the sissy squat and 4 sets of 20 on the bulgarian split squats. It's worth the money.

[Za78]

...ANNNND you a-holes have caused me to order a sissy squat. Thanks a lot. That Archon unit looked pretty decent and ships for under $200 to my house. It's on back-order but yeah, I pulled the trigger.

That's what we're here for.......







........to try and get your wife to leave you

[Za78]

lol, just saw that Archon is sold out of their sissy squat....make sure to report back with reviews.

Noticed the Strength Shop also has one.

https://www.strengthshopusa.com/sissy-squat-bench.html

[TheDude8734]

Nope, it's very solid. I used it today. 4 sets of 10 on the sissy squat and 4 sets of 20 on the bulgarian split squats. It's worth the money.

You sold me,

I just ordered the STRENCOR and used an eBay flash sale code for an even further discount, so even better.
Cant wait to try it out!

[Za78]

So, 6 months later, any reviews on the Archon?

[Cpl.Girthington]

Ehh, I'll bite. I ordered it whenever this thread came aound the first time, you can see my post up there. I got the thing in late September, quite a long wait on the backorder.

The Archon Sissy Squat has a nice finish, thick and flat black, almost like a bed-liner but a bit smoother seems pretty durable in that regard. Went together easily and the padding and fake leather upholstery is nice enough with no complaints, save I'm not in love with the overbearing branding and picture of a dude not much swoller than myself across the main calf pad. Rollers were simplistic, but feel okay in use, liked how they had zipties inside the upholstery to cinch up, then end caps to hide it, again looks nice.

The tidy footprint is what sold me, it slides up against my Powertech Multistation out of the way, and right back out for use.

It works as advertised, full disclosure... I had never used one before this. I like the movement enough and do get a good pump in my quads, but I don't use it every week... probably once a month as my knees do not enjoy it. It is particularly evil to the knee if you break past parallel. Since every single multi-gym device of any kind includes a leg extension, you're already getting a similar movement if you own anything. Leg extensions never have bothered my knees, but this thing will wreck mine if given the opportunity, so no more than once a month frequency for myself.

Overall this is a well built very affordable doo dad. It is adjustable in many respects to calf pad height and shin height, and distance. It feels sturdy and it damn well had better because you are gonna be levering the hell out of your shin and calf, which does get a nice pump in the quads; and once more- a lot of shear on the soft tissues of the knee joint.

[BenMcLeodNZ]

Cheaper version to see if you like the movement:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9Ryq61KYxgg

[a7stringkilla]

That Archon does look killer for 170 bucks.

And I’ll second what Iceman said about doing split squats on the back end of the bench, it does work well. I’m not sure if it’s doable on that Archon though since it has that long cross tubing at the end.
I have the Atlantis model, and the back is just straight, no crossbar at all.

https://www.instagram.com/p/BcS1nc3lx0_/

[Bignick31985]

There's a Strencor one local to me for $150 NIB and I've been debating on it for a bit. May jump on it.

[Za78]

Thanks for the review. Regarding the stress on the knees you feel, do you position the pad at the top of the calf or behind the knee. If the latter, that could be the issue for you.

[Cpl.Girthington]

I'll certainly play with that a bit, but it is hitting the upper 1/3 of my calf. It's only horrible if I go too low on the squat, but that's essentially suspending my upper body from my flexed knee; I don't see how that's good for anybody. Keeping the tension on the quads and pumping slowly to parallel is okay, and it does spice up the leg day, also it's quite easy on the low back compared to a barbell squat or leg press.

[litljay]

bumping this old thread again. Would like to pick one up. Any new recommendations? Can order a Legend, but pay the Legend price ($400 + shipping). However, it would match my rack and bench...

[gym62richard]

bumping this old thread again. Would like to pick one up. Any new recommendations? Can order a Legend, but pay the Legend price ($400 + shipping). However, it would match my rack and bench...

Well you know what you're getting with Legend, bio-mechanically it will be sound, they have had a few QC issues recently, but there's not much to go wrong with a SS machine.

[Cpl.Girthington]

In no world could I rationalize spending more than $200 on one of these. I'm probably the most frequent poster in this thread if you look above. I use mine quite infrequently, but it's nice to have when my low back is crippled. That said if I hit it too much I'm crippling my knees. If you are making six figures plus annually, are looking to make your wife leave you, or are more brand loyal than intelligent then go for it. If you love sissy squatting, maybe that's another reason to dive in that deep just think and make sure you know the movement before you cough up that kind of cheddar.

good luck

[litljay]

Well you know what you're getting with Legend, bio-mechanically it will be sound, they have had a few QC issues recently, but there's not much to go wrong with a SS machine.

Partly my thoughts as well with Legend other than aesthetics.

In no world could I rationalize spending more than $200 on one of these. I'm probably the most frequent poster in this thread if you look above. I use mine quite infrequently, but it's nice to have when my low back is crippled. That said if I hit it too much I'm crippling my knees. If you are making six figures plus annually, are looking to make your wife leave you, or are more brand loyal than intelligent then go for it. If you love sissy squatting, maybe that's another reason to dive in that deep just think and make sure you know the movement before you cough up that kind of cheddar.

good luck

I get what you are saying. Money is not an issue, but I'm not in the habit of throwing it away either. On that note, how about the bottom end? Amazon search brings quite a few options at just over $100.

I've actually never used one and am looking to it as a finishing exercise / leg ext replacement. I'm not interested in buying one trick pony equipment like a leg extension machine.

[StinnerOzz]

I picked up a no-name name brand sissy bench on ebay for about $130-150 shipped last year, and it's been fine. It looks 99% like the ones shown here, the only difference is the foot pad isn't as adjustable. I got it when I had issues doing normal squats and wanted a way to hammer my legs while being somewhat locked into some equipment. It's been useful. My wife likes it too, though she has knee problems that prevent her from using it much. Me, I can lean backward into them and reach the floor for each rep and feel it fine. Now of course I'm back to squatting and don't have to rely on it as much, but I do like it as a finisher!

That said, I am and have always been a big proponent of traditional sissy squats as well as the Gironda style. It took me a long time to get used to the sissy bench enough to use it frequently instead of those bodyweight methods, but I also consider myself pretty advanced in that respect. Most people I see doing sissy squats do the "assisted" or "easy" way and not like either old-school method I enjoy. I'd imagine if one isn't able to do those styles of sissy squat, a bench would come in very handy because it would replicate the movement enough to create similar/same benefits.