You would think that a master of muscle like Brandon Curry would have exhausted the possibilities of trying new movements in the gym, but with a spring in his step, the 2019 Mr Olympia winner recently shared a new sissy squat variation that he says is even better for crushing his granite like quads. Here’s how to test it out for yourself.
Brandon Curry is still very much in the upper echelon of the competitive bodybuilding industry, but while “The Prodigy” often utilizes the sissy squat during his leg day routine, he says that the desired contraction has been lacking.
What is the Sissy Squat?
Often completed as a body weight exercise, the sissy squat is not for the weak. In fact, it is a staple among the most alpha of men and women, thanks to its ability to pound the quads. Unlike many other squat variations that are compound in nature, taxing several muscle groups, the sissy squat isolates the quads instead, because your hips stay in a locked position rather than hinging. The traditional sissy squat requires the practitioner to stand with their feet at hip width and heels off the floor. With hands on hips, bend at the knees and lean backwards. As your knees continue to bend, lean further backwards so that the knees get as close as you can to the ground. Then explode back up.
The benefits of the squat are immense because you’ll hit all four muscles in the quadriceps. That’s the rectus femoris of the thigh that flexes the knee. The vastus lateralis connects the kneecap to the thigh bone. The vastus medialis helps stabilize the knee, and finally the vastus intermedius helps with knee extension.
Brandon Curry Introduces the ‘Reverse Hack Sissy Squat’
Curry says he came up with his hack to solve a problem that he was experiencing with regular sissy squats. “What I notice, is, on the sissy squat, I couldn’t get a hard contraction at the top,” explained The Prodigy, noting that because a lot of the tension in a sissy squat happens at the bottom of the movement (when the knee is near the ground), he doesn’t feel like he hammers the quads to the best of his ability. “But I decided to test this out, (and it) worked, really, really, well,” shared the big man, introducing the new move. “We’ll just call it the ‘Reverse Hack Sissy Squat,” he beamed, sharing the details with his 1.2 million Instagram followers.
The Prodigy noted that by facing forward on hack squat machine and holding his torso away from the platform with his hands, the big man is able to get into a “deep, deep stretch.” As he comes up, Curry then contracts his quads for all that they are worth at the top of the movement. “First of all, you fight gravity and you’re fighting the resistance of the machine,” explained the 2019 and 2022 Arnold Classic winner, meaning that he is able to add more than just his bodyweight for bigger sissy squats. “This is something that just hit me, just the other day doing legs, because like I said, I was trying to focus on getting that nice, nice squeeze at the top of the movement of a sissy squat.”
Curry further explained that he places his feet with toes pointing outwards on the plate. “This allows a lot of people to get deeper,” he noted. “It’s a little bit easier to get into the
positions and it’s somewhat easier on the knee. You’re still going to force those hips in, and you’re gonna go deep; hamstrings to calves, while coming up on the toe.”
This simple, highly effective move will now be part of The Prodigy’s training as he looks to make another impact on the competitive bodybuilding stage in 2026.
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