Sissy squats and knee pain?

[eduatty]

I tried sissy squats for the first time the other night and my knees were sort of sore the next day when I'd go up or down stairs. It wasn't the good muscle pain either.

I squat regularly and have no knee problems, so either squats just happened to hurt my knees that night or the new exercise -- the sissy squat -- is to blame.

Has anyone heard of / read about / experienced knee pain w/ sissy squats? The knees travel way out in front of the ankle, and I've heard this angle can stress the knee.

Also, I did the sissy squat as a superset after a double drop set of BB squats, which killed to say the least! I wonder if maybe my knee muscles were too weak to adequately support the joint for the sissy squat??

Any guidance or thoughts?

Edit: the ache in my knee went away the next day. After reading the article on the knee joint, I would say my pain was more like bursitis, but only when I'd go up or down stairs.

I'm just paranoid about injuring my knees, I guess. I really would like to hear from anyone who might has experience w/ sissy squats. Does the angle of stress on the knee lead to problems? Should i stay away from them?

[trez]

The sissy squat is an unsafe exercise for the tendons in your knees. Anytime your knees travel past the point of your foot when you squat, you are putting a lot of undue stress on your pattelar tendon. Adding all the extra weight to this mechanically dangerous exercise increases the risk of injuring your knees. Some people have more flexibility in their tendons which is why this exercise doesn't give them any problems. Safety should be your number one priority when you're training. Mild pain from sissy squats may lead to a chronic knee injury. My advice to you is to stay away from this exercise. There are many other quad exercises that are much safer and just as effective.

[eduatty]

Thanks very much for the reply.

Anybody have a contrary opinion? If the sissy squat can strain/injure your knee, why it is listed in the ABC exercise section? I mean, all exercises are dangerous to some degree, but I doubt ABC would list an exercise that is a known joint-wrecker!

Anybody done sissy squats for years w/out trouble?

[eduatty]

BUMP!!! Doesn't anyone have experience w/ sissy squats and/or patellar tendons??

Aaarrgghhh!!!