# SQUATS HOW LOW SHOULD I GO ?



## bottleneck25 (Sep 25, 2009)

im 6 ft 4 at first i was going right the way down as far as possible then i was advised that i shouldnt be going that low i should just go a little under parallel how low should i actually go ?


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## MRSTRONG (Apr 18, 2009)

All the way down unless you have a reason not to .


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## bottleneck25 (Sep 25, 2009)

The reason i was told is i am to tall and it puts to much stress on my joints ..ill stick with going all the way down then thanks for the advice mate .


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## NoGutsNoGlory (Jun 11, 2009)

Until you feel that "oh sh1t" feeling in the pit of your stomach.


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## Ahal84 (Jun 2, 2010)

ATG (ass to grass) as yanks say.


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## Rick89 (Feb 27, 2009)

ass to grass always feels like my knees are going to blow on back squats

although i can go alot lower front squat

i always break parellel then up again for reg squats


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## MRSTRONG (Apr 18, 2009)

Whoever told you that is a knob mate .

Brian shaw is very 6'9 and squats low as poss .

Why would being taller affect the mechanics of it ? Afterall your not that tall .


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## biglbs (Jan 26, 2012)

When you pass parallel,the bio mechanics of knee become exposed to injury,the only reason you have heard it is tall people who are more at risk is because of "The law of the levers"which can be your friend(strength wise-depending on inserts)or your enemy(can lead to more exposure to damage too).http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/11194098

Please read conclusions.


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## MRSTRONG (Apr 18, 2009)

chilisi said:


> Longer way to go down and back up again Ofcourse  . You guys with long legs have it much harder apparently.


Haha we both know 100kg is 100kg no matter how tall or short the litter .

But short people have it easier


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## eezy1 (Dec 14, 2010)

4 inches :laugh:


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## biglbs (Jan 26, 2012)

biglbs said:


> When you pass parallel,the bio mechanics of knee become exposed to injury,the only reason you have heard it is tall people who are more at risk is because of "The law of the levers"which can be your friend(strength wise-depending on inserts)or your enemy(can lead to more exposure to damage too).http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/11194098
> 
> Please read conclusions.


I did struggle a bit with 7 plates aside going back a bit,yes,you may be right:whistling:


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## leeds_01 (Aug 6, 2008)

OP squat as low as possible

dramatically reduce the weight if need be so u can do it low


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## Ahal84 (Jun 2, 2010)

biglbs said:


> When you pass parallel,the bio mechanics of knee become exposed to injury,the only reason you have heard it is tall people who are more at risk is because of "The law of the levers"which can be your friend(strength wise-depending on inserts)or your enemy(can lead to more exposure to damage too).http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/11194098
> 
> Please read conclusions.


Interesting. Says not to go low for athletes with healthy knees, but to parallel.


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## eezy1 (Dec 14, 2010)

biglbs said:


> I did struggle a bit with 7 plates aside going back a bit,yes,you may be right:whistling:


7 plates? mg:


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## retro-mental (Dec 2, 2010)

eezy1 said:


> 7 plates? mg:


Yeah he means diner plates and by squat he means sit down in front of the T.V !!!


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## reza85 (Jan 11, 2009)

How low can you go ? How low can you go ?

Sing this to your self before every set works for me....!

All jokes aside if you are struggling to go lower than parer-ell it might be that you have tight calf complex or compensating muscles?

Cant really tell instill I have seen you squat


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## Guest (Jun 13, 2012)

I go as low as I can, as does my mrs.

Everyone else in my gym goes three to four inches as far as far as I can tell lol


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## infernal0988 (Jun 16, 2011)

ATG mate!


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## Rick89 (Feb 27, 2009)

I am pretty shocked at how many people advocate ass2grass squats

now im no expert here so before everyone goes all crazy, surely a heavy weight on your back and going down to that point is bad for knee health

UK-M users are the first to say "deadlift are better off left, too dangerous yadda yadda|"

i would say heavy squats ass to grass with anything over 180 got to be painful or is it just me


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## Guest (Jun 13, 2012)

Rick89 said:


> UK-M users are the first to say "deadlift are better off left, too dangerous yadda yadda|"


who the hell says this?????

heavy ass deadlifts, atg squats, bench, rows and pullups = everything I ever do.


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## eezy1 (Dec 14, 2010)

do what ur comfortable with. ur legs will grow either way


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## antere07 (Sep 29, 2011)

To be fair i go just below parallel i find if i go too low my lower back gives up before my legs do. Found this out the other day when i had to have 2 days off cause i fvcked my back


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## JANIKvonD (Jul 7, 2011)

bolt a 10" dildo to the ground, allow a couple inch to penetrate....thats enough.


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## Rick89 (Feb 27, 2009)

FrankDangerMaus said:


> who the hell says this?????
> 
> heavy ass deadlifts, atg squats, bench, rows and pullups = everything I ever do.


ive read alot of random thread where people say it

nobody i recall specifically


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## craigyk (Nov 5, 2004)

I always used to squat to parallel but read on Internet the other day to go as deep as you can. 9 weeks ago I tore my quad clean off the patella going deep!! Be carefull


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## retro-mental (Dec 2, 2010)

I cant really do ATG Due to massivley **** hips / hams

I think the real question is Whats your goal ?

If your goal is to do big squats with full range of motion then ATG it is !! Have always wondered with This type of question wether weight out weighs ROM. E.g 150kg squat to just below parallel or a 120kg squat ATG. so would that 30kg stimulate the cns more than a full ROM ?

If you find it hard going ATG then your probably lifting more than you can handle with tight or unbalanced muscles. Lighten the load and go lower unless your goal is to lift as heavy as you can to just below paralell.

I can do in the range of 110-120 for 6-8 reps at just below paralell but can only do 70-80 ATG for the same reps. What stimulates me the most ? 70-80 ATG everytime


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## Guest (Jun 13, 2012)

craigyk said:


> I always used to squat to parallel but read on Internet the other day to go as deep as you can. 9 weeks ago I tore my quad clean off the patella going deep!! Be carefull


So the other day you heard you should go deep but 9 weeks ago you tried going deep and injured yourself?

Mmmmmhmmmmm


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## Guest (Jun 13, 2012)

retro-mental said:


> I cant really do ATG Due to massivley **** hips / hams
> 
> I think the real question is Whats your goal ?
> 
> ...


I wonder about this too.

I'm currently injured so can't squat at all (ankle) but before that I was going deep as it's what I've always done, my cousin swears he squats 250kg (never seen it) but I doubt he goes below parallel, wonder which is tougher.


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## gummyp (Aug 16, 2011)

are you high bar or low bar squatting?


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## Big_Idiot (Feb 14, 2012)

Just look at olympic lifters mate, in most lifts they ATG and probably have the strongest joints.

Do what you're comfortable with i say.

Although for people with inflexible ankles/hips going too low can round the lower back lots and cause trouble.


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## biglbs (Jan 26, 2012)

eezy1 said:


> 7 plates? mg:


7 Years ago mate,now i would be lucky with three,but am not allowed to squat at all at mo.


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## biglbs (Jan 26, 2012)

retro-mental said:


> Yeah he means diner plates and by squat he means sit down in front of the T.V !!!


MMMMnOm give me pie,,,yum,,,,,Ya cvnt!


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## biglbs (Jan 26, 2012)

Rick89 said:


> I am pretty shocked at how many people advocate ass2grass squats
> 
> now im no expert here so before everyone goes all crazy, surely a heavy weight on your back and going down to that point is bad for knee health
> 
> ...


Rick most of the monkees that say ass to grass can't lift 100k,so would not know...........Flame away cvnts i am in a fookin bad mood!


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## Guest (Jun 13, 2012)

biglbs said:


> Rick most of the monkees that say ass to grass can't lift 100k,so would not know...........Flame away cvnts i am in a fookin bad mood!


I can do 150-160kg atg before my ankle gave up!

Now I can't squat 50kg w/o pain


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## biglbs (Jan 26, 2012)

FrankDangerMaus said:


> I can do 150-160kg atg before my ankle gave up!
> 
> Now I can't squat 50kg w/o pain


My point regarding it exactly


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## Tassotti (Feb 27, 2011)

Going just below parallel engages all the muscles required to go atg, so that is all that is necessary


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## biglbs (Jan 26, 2012)

Tassotti said:


> Going just below parallel engages all the muscles required to go atg, so that is all that is necessary


You are missing EGO though!


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## retro-mental (Dec 2, 2010)

FrankDangerMaus said:


> I can do 150-160kg atg before my ankle gave up!
> 
> Now I can't squat 50kg w/o pain


Its ok, I can only just do that !!


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## XRichHx (Mar 7, 2012)

Any tips for not hurting your lower back with squats?

I dont even think im hitting parallel, im too worried incase i hurt my back again! damn sore last time.


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## Guest (Jun 13, 2012)

biglbs said:


> My point regarding it exactly


it's a totally unrelated injury though, I broke it falling down a river bank in the dark, and now my ankle is weak

weird thing is though it's not just the weight as i can DL 180 no prob, but put 150 on my back n it starts aching.

not sure if its because of the greater mobility needed or the time under the weight is so much higher on squats?


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## Bamse (Feb 5, 2011)

Tassotti said:


> Going just below parallel engages all the muscles required to go atg, so that is all that is necessary


By that rationale, why do any exercise with a full range of motion?


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## biglbs (Jan 26, 2012)

FrankDangerMaus said:


> it's a totally unrelated injury though, I broke it falling down a river bank in the dark, and now my ankle is weak
> 
> weird thing is though it's not just the weight as i can DL 180 no prob, but put 150 on my back n it starts aching.
> 
> not sure if its because of the greater mobility needed or the time under the weight is so much higher on squats?


If you had have just done them paralell it would have been stronger and not broken:lol:


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## Bamse (Feb 5, 2011)

XRichHx said:


> Any tips for not hurting your lower back with squats?


Yes. Find a good powerlifting coach and learn how to squat. Not having a go (ok, maybe a little) but a lot of people don't really understand the squat, which is fine until they start piling on weight (which most people don't so they never find out their technique is off).


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## Bamse (Feb 5, 2011)

biglbs said:


> You are missing EGO though!


I find it's the other way around - people don't go deep because of ego as it allows them to put more weight on the bar. And the more weight they put on, the shallower and shallower they go. Sometimes until it gets embarrassing for all involved. That's actually the main reason I go as far down as possible: only then am I sure I'm not cheating myself.


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## Tassotti (Feb 27, 2011)

What depth does a powerlifter go to?


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## jamiedilk (Jul 6, 2010)

Rick89 said:


> I am pretty shocked at how many people advocate ass2grass squats
> 
> now im no expert here so before everyone goes all crazy, surely a heavy weight on your back and going down to that point is bad for knee health
> 
> ...


 i get terrible knee pain past a certain point so i dont do ATG i do leg press aswell to make up for it lol


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## biglbs (Jan 26, 2012)

Bamse said:


> I find it's the other way around - people don't go deep because of ego as it allows them to put more weight on the bar. And the more weight they put on, the shallower and shallower they go. Sometimes until it gets embarrassing for all involved. That's actually the main reason I go as far down as possible: only then am I sure I'm not cheating myself.


Did you read the post i put up with medicle reasons for not doing it?I always go dead parallel and after using reasonable weights for years,i have no knee problems,even after a major bike prang and cruciate(spell)surgery,that is a lot of reps,many lads knees are fooked so bad now as they followed ass to the grass,when i argued they should not,but hay here is another to read





Hahahhaha see,hurts knees lol


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## MRSTRONG (Apr 18, 2009)

bare in mind this is a bodybuilding forum so the answer should be atg , powerlifting has a different set of rules .

sprinters do half squats so if your a skinny sprinter looking cnut you can tell that to people :thumbup1:


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## gummyp (Aug 16, 2011)

jamiedilk said:


> i get terrible knee pain past a certain point so i dont do ATG i do leg press aswell to make up for it lol


Get it checked out with a physio. I was having terrible knee pain as I got to 160kg high bar ATG.

Went to physio (who is also strength and conditioning coach) and my quads had been over compensating on the weight as I lacked control and my form had got ****ty. I had to get a sports massage on them that hurt like hell.


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## Kimball (Feb 26, 2012)

FrankDangerMaus said:


> I can do 150-160kg atg before my ankle gave up!
> 
> Now I can't squat 50kg w/o pain


Isn't that exactly the point then?


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## Guest (Jun 14, 2012)

Kimball said:


> Isn't that exactly the point then?


No cuz i broke my ankle in an unrelated way, it's not the ATG that irritates it its the movement/weight on it so even parallel is impossible right now


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## Kimball (Feb 26, 2012)

FrankDangerMaus said:


> No cuz i broke my ankle in an unrelated way, it's not the ATG that irritates it its the movement/weight on it so even parallel is impossible right now


Oh right, sorry made an assumption after reading biglbs referenced article I'm def. going to parallel max. Avoiding injury takes precedence over looking cool and I'd rather slow down results than wait months for an injury to heal, which will slow them down a lot more!

Since I started doing things 'properly' my injury rate has increased dramatically!!!


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## craigyk (Nov 5, 2004)

FrankDangerMaus said:


> So the other day you heard you should go deep but 9 weeks ago you tried going deep and injured yourself?
> 
> Mmmmmhmmmmm


 the other day was figure of speech, here's the pic to prove the injury


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## Dirk McQuickly (Dec 29, 2010)

XRichHx said:


> Any tips for not hurting your lower back with squats?
> 
> I dont even think im hitting parallel, im too worried incase i hurt my back again! damn sore last time.


If your posture is right and your abs are engaged you won't hurt your lower back. It's when your posture slips that your lower back comes into the equation. I speak from experience! If your form's slipping there's to much weight on the bar. Read the squat chapter in 'Starting Strength' by Rippetoe. It's very good.


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## Dirk McQuickly (Dec 29, 2010)

I aim for ATG, but if I can't get at least below parallel I take some weight off.


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## Mingster (Mar 25, 2011)

I go to parallel as that is what is required for powerlifting purposes. I used to go lower in my Olympic lifting days and can honestly say I've never noticed any difference in my leg development from using either style.

Most powerlifters have very muscular legs, they are just hidden under all the pie crusts and pizzas....


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## antere07 (Sep 29, 2011)

Think im going to have to re assess my squatting cause i just about go parallel then feels like my knees are going to fall out! squatting videos for the next week for me then haha


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## martin brown (Dec 31, 2008)

90% of people can't do a good squat to save their life. I'll even bet 90% of people here giving advice on squatting can't do a proper rep.

Everyone thinks they squat properly, hardly anybody does. Not many people have the flexibility to squat right.

Injuries are caused by bad form or tightness/lack of mobility in hip or ankle joints.

P.S. Not being able to go to parallel because it's too heavy is ridiculous. More weight makes it easy to go deep - just harder to come back up!


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## Bamse (Feb 5, 2011)

martin brown said:


> 90% of people can't do a good squat to save their life. I'll even bet 90% of people here giving advice on squatting can't do a proper rep.


Guilty as charged.


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## Dirk McQuickly (Dec 29, 2010)

martin brown said:


> 90% of people can't do a good squat to save their life. I'll even bet 90% of people here giving advice on squatting can't do a proper rep.
> 
> Everyone thinks they squat properly, hardly anybody does. Not many people have the flexibility to squat right.
> 
> ...


guilty as charged too! In my defence though what I meant was if I know I'm not going to get the rep out with good form I'll go lighter. But I do struggle with squats. I've got a weak back that keeps going so I only ever squat light and try to get my form as good as I can. If I could find a strength coach to come and do a session twith me just for squats and deads every couple of weeks he'd be worth his weight in gold.


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## Rick89 (Feb 27, 2009)

martin brown said:


> 90% of people can't do a good squat to save their life. I'll even bet 90% of people here giving advice on squatting can't do a proper rep.
> 
> Everyone thinks they squat properly, hardly anybody does. Not many people have the flexibility to squat right.
> 
> ...


this is spot on good post


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## martin brown (Dec 31, 2008)

chilli said:


> guilty as charged too! In my defence though what I meant was if I know I'm not going to get the rep out with good form I'll go lighter. But I do struggle with squats. I've got a weak back that keeps going so I only ever squat light and try to get my form as good as I can.


I know what you mean - mentally people 'bottle' it half way down because you think you wont come back up if you go to a decent depth. I think we've all been there


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## Guest (Jun 18, 2012)

martin brown said:


> I know what you mean - mentally people 'bottle' it half way down because you think you wont come back up if you go to a decent depth. I think we've all been there


This is why I stand behind my gf, she's been squatting three months and does 65kg atg, but only has the confidence to go deep when i'm right behind . If someone was capable of standing behind me and could lift 160kg off me if I failed i'd feel a lot more confident too!!


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## Tassotti (Feb 27, 2011)

If only there was some sort of cage-type thing which had bars which you could just dump the weight on if you were too much of a pussy to lift it ......hmmmm


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## Guest (Jun 18, 2012)

Tassotti said:


> If only there was some sort of cage-type thing which had bars which you could just dump the weight on if you were too much of a pussy to lift it ......hmmmm


Yeah that'd be ideal


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## Dirk McQuickly (Dec 29, 2010)

Tassotti said:


> If only there was some sort of cage-type thing which had bars which you could just dump the weight on if you were too much of a pussy to lift it ......hmmmm


yeah, but what could we call it?


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## Guest (Jun 18, 2012)

chilli said:


> yeah, but what could we call it?


anti-squat-failing device?


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## Tassotti (Feb 27, 2011)

FrankDangerMaus said:


> anti-squat-failing device?


catchy


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## Tassotti (Feb 27, 2011)

or maybe 'catchy'


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## antere07 (Sep 29, 2011)

Looking at "so you think you can squat" and checking the form with no weight just trying to get the form right at home for me i dont think i have the flexibility to get that deep its mad my @rse will end up falling out haha


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## cat1471 (Jun 18, 2012)

leeds_01 said:


> OP squat as low as possible
> 
> dramatically reduce the weight if need be so u can do it low


Do you mean go as low as you can on squats where you stick your bum out and more parallel on straight backed squats??


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## renshaw (Jun 5, 2012)

I think squat isn't suited to all people.. Its completely based on your own flexibility and depending on your history of back injury.

I'd say go to straight leg position (as if you are sitting on a seat)

If you can go lower then do so, although i cannot really see an advantage of going lower apart from it giving a slightly bigger stretch.

Just don't be the guy in the gym whos 9 stone wet through with 100 kg in the bar and doing nothing more then what i can see as "Knee bends"


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## martin brown (Dec 31, 2008)

renshaw said:


> I think squat isn't suited to all people.. Its completely based on your own flexibility and depending on your history of back injury.
> 
> I'd say go to straight leg position (as if you are sitting on a seat)
> 
> ...


If you're broke you need to get fixed IMO. Everyone has the ability to squat well - it's a basic human movement pattern.


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## MRSTRONG (Apr 18, 2009)

renshaw said:


> I think squat isn't suited to all people.. Its completely based on your own flexibility and depending on your history of back injury.
> 
> I'd say go to straight leg position (as if you are sitting on a seat)
> 
> ...


they could be sprinters ...


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## Dezw (May 13, 2009)

At least to parallel.


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## Home Physique (Jun 9, 2012)

Dezw said:


> At least to parallel.


This.


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## Lazyballs (Apr 22, 2012)

I was atg when I started and found it ok it was when I joined another fourm and people saying don't let knees go over toes it was then I started to losse interest in squats . But I'm gona go atg again start lighter 50kg build er bk up again and not over think things


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## deeppurple (Mar 13, 2010)

bum out, legs to parallel. trust me x


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## 36-26 (Jun 30, 2009)

I think people who injure themselves ATG are bouncing at the bottom, if you go slow and controlled it shouldn't be a problem. I go as low as I can until I feel my back would round and come back up. If your back is rounding you are going too low or you are not flexible. I think I go ATG but a vid might tell me different lol, anyone who seen me is shocked at how much lower I go than their quarter squats lol


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