The Conquistador
Ology's Golden Boy
I have been doing welll with squats but i am having a hard time going below parallel because i am afraid of losing my balance or not getting the weight up. any tips to help me overcome this?
going below parallel
- Thread starter The Conquistador
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The Conquistador
Ology's Golden Boy
how far down do i go? some people tell me not to go far down, others do
hornedfrogs07
New member
Ass to the grass.
Personally, I use a box that is ~8" tall, mainly as a reference point. That's about the bottom limit of my flexibility, so I consider that basically ATF.
Personally, I use a box that is ~8" tall, mainly as a reference point. That's about the bottom limit of my flexibility, so I consider that basically ATF.
blackbeard
New member
Goat Ass said:
going below parallel takes the stress off your knees and puts in more on the hips which are capable of handling bigger weights..stopping at parallel with a rather close stance is asking for knee trouble down the road..
If youre not taking a PL'er stance then you should be going atf or as low as your flexibility allows you..
Like PB said if youre doing 405 knee jerks dont expect to be able to go ATF with the same weight!!!
DADAWG
Community Veteran
stopping AT parallel is where the knees are at the most mechanical/leverage disadvantage . it actually places less stress on the knees to go below parallel so that when your at parallel the weight is allready moveing instead of trying to start up from a dead stop there .Goat Ass said:
attention board members: pleasse squat as deep as you can go. this will be your hams and claves bottoming oput. please film one of your squats from the side to see if you are bottoming out.
most people have no idea wha a parrallel squat is anyway. what they call parallel is not even close to parallel. i have had several guys send me clips and i am amazed at how high some guys squat and they call it deep. i guess beauty is in the eye of the beholder. =0)
most people have no idea wha a parrallel squat is anyway. what they call parallel is not even close to parallel. i have had several guys send me clips and i am amazed at how high some guys squat and they call it deep. i guess beauty is in the eye of the beholder. =0)
huskyguy
300lbs of Heavenly Joy
Exactly, going below parallel takes stress off the knees. You may end up working your glutes more. I never used to go below parallel, and my knees hurt with fairly light weight. For the last two years I have been lifting heavy and going below parallel. My knees do not hurt anymore and the size difference in my legs and glutes is simply amazing.
DADAWG said:
Damn straight, only way to go is "ass in the grass", in all my years of lifting I only see knee injuries from not going below parallel, widen your stance point your toes out a bit and Squat in between your legs, push the floor away from you as you come up...
T
Toranaga
Guest
pullinbig said:
cosign
S
string_bean00
Guest
Kotex, don't be a weenie.
iron addict
New member
Telling EVERYONE to go ATF is just bad advice as it does not take into account individual body types. For many ATF means the back will round severely and be in a comprimised posistion. Want to see a horrible looking good morning? Tell a guy who's back rounds to load the bar heavy and squat ATF. Everyone needs to do what is right for THEIR body and for many this will be ATF, for some parrallel, and for some, that need to work on flexibilty issues first, or have injuries, it may be slightly above parallel.
Iron Addict
Iron Addict
T
Toranaga
Guest
iron addict said:
I disagree.
I don't know your body-type, but I'm 6ft 2" with "long" legs. That's the only body that may be susceptible to back injury due to the moment (torque) force while in the hole (back serves as a pivot). I used to give the same rationale you did above to justify my quarter squats when starting out - luckily I did that for just about two weeks. Then I started to strengthen my lower back. Point being that lack of lower back strength is the ONLY REASON why people with my body type (and most others) cannot squat ass to floor. Once the back is strengthened, there is no rounding. And if there is, then strengthen that back bubba.
I don't have my vids online, have a look at Clint's videos since he has the same physique as I do - check out his impeccable form on the squats and deads.
http://www.clintdarden.com/pics/Lifting Pics/
iron addict
New member
You are a study of ONE. Work with a LOT of people over time and you will see how much variance there actually is.
Iron Addict
Iron Addict
T
Toranaga
Guest
iron addict said:
That's one thing you got right ==> with a sample of 1, you cannot presume statistical significance and a hypothesis cannot be statistically "true" (or to be mathematically precise==> not false). But, I have seen " a lot" of people try and justify their bad technique. Once corrected, they have taken up correct form.
"A Lot" is actually slightly more than 30 ; as per the Central Limit Theorem of Statistics, that's the approximate sample size we need to assert that a sample follows the normal distribution and thus we can use the normal tables to assert as to whether the hypothesis (or in laymans terms, any statement. Here, it can be "weak back leads to bad squatting technique" ) is true/false. And yes, I have seen countless such people. Many Many samples of much more than 30.
I teach Mathematical Statistics to undergrads bubba. Don't try and lecture me on this shit.
In general, I do agree with the premise that any one concept usually does not apply universally to the vast majority. But this is an exception.
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iron addict
New member
I train at least 50 people at a time on an ongoing basis and many do great on ATF squats, others backs round a bunch and form ends up being horrible. Universal statements like that fail many.
Iron Addict
Iron Addict
iron addict said:
This as you know is the easiest exercise to fuck up, kepping your chest out, shoulders back, nothing is better than ass in the grass, I have a trainee right now who had surgery 4 years ago, he Squated parallel for 15 years, after surgery no way, I got him going all the way down, he is 6s now for 8 reps, 0 pain, oh he is 6' 2"...
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