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Super-beginner tip: Squat LOW--it's good for you!
MamaBirdBoss
Posts: 1,516 Member
Some coaches used to (and maybe still do) give the advice to not drop all the way down into a squat for fear of injuring your knees.
You're more likely to injure your knees if you inappropriately develop some muscles over others, and when you don't drop all the way into a squat, that may happen to you.
(Reminded by a recent post--happened to me. And I blamed it on my running!)
I'm glad to see this is rare now, though!!!!
You're more likely to injure your knees if you inappropriately develop some muscles over others, and when you don't drop all the way into a squat, that may happen to you.
(Reminded by a recent post--happened to me. And I blamed it on my running!)
I'm glad to see this is rare now, though!!!!
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Can you link some studies or articles you're using to base your recommendation off of? It seems very generalized as their are a number of ways in which you can cause injury while performing the squat.....0
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Deep squats DON'T cause injury, with references: http://daily.barbellshrugged.com/you-need-to-squat-deep/0
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Looking for the article that PRECISELY described the knee pain I developed as common with shallow squatters. :P Hopefully I can find it...
Okay, it was a Mark Rippetoe article. Dunno where it was, but it's also repeated in Starting Strength.0 -
What if I can't get out of a deep squat? I thought keeping form is better than going all out.0
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I like the article - I prefer the below parallel squat myself. I was being your typical harda## on here who wants to argue the opposite just to argue.....lulz.
Anyways....the only problem I see isn't with the execution of the squat itself but the person teaching it. I unfortunately see CPT (insert other certifications/labels) training squats to beginners on the SMITH MACHINE and shoddy depth, etc, etc.....
How does someone know they are being trained properly???? (you don't know what you don't know......)0 -
I should probably have said it as...squat deeply IF you can do it comfortably.
Don't squat more shallowly just to avoid injury! Because it doesn't work. 0 -
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I like the article - I prefer the below parallel squat myself. I was being your typical harda## on here who wants to argue the opposite just to argue.....lulz.
Anyways....the only problem I see isn't with the execution of the squat itself but the person teaching it. I unfortunately see CPT (insert other certifications/labels) training squats to beginners on the SMITH MACHINE and shoddy depth, etc, etc.....
How does someone know they are being trained properly???? (you don't know what you don't know......)
Hehe. Well, at least I wasn't trained on a smith machine! Not the least of which was because they didn't have one in the school weight room....
I got into weight lifting in middle school and high school with standard kinesiology grads. THey REALLY weren't bad. I mean, they taught reverse pyramids for strength and more reps for endurance and basic stuff like that. But they weren't experts, either.
Apparently, weights in middle school is rare in some places? In Texas, it's standard for everyone in athletics to do weights. We did weights 2x per week from 7th grade up. They mostly focused on endurance.
I freaking loved weight days. Saved me from the utter humiliation of basketball and volleyball season. (Even though I was in the off-season then, they still had us do some stuff in BB and volleyball, and I REDEFINED terrible. I was The Kid who couldn't get the ball over the net out of sheer clumsiness.)0 -
MamaBirdBoss wrote: »
Also, I should add that most likely, you'd have to be doing quite a bit of weight to get any kind of injury from it, anyway. The force when you jump is going to be higher and more acute than most squat weights.0 -
As pointed out by Izzy here (about 4mins in), people really DO have slightly different hip shapes. Squatting deep is going to be different for different people. Basically, just make sure you get to the bottom of your mechanical range when squatting; Don't try to physically go any farther than your joints allow, that would be very unwise:
https://youtube.com/watch?v=rOJGzAgLWDc0 -
I am learning to squat from a book and my trainer, but the only option at the gym is a Smith machine (no squat racks). Is it really such a horrible thing? No one ever seems to have anything good to say about them...makes me nervous.0
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As pointed out by Izzy here (about 4mins in), people really DO have slightly different hip shapes. Squatting deep is going to be different for different people. Basically, just make sure you get to the bottom of your mechanical range when squatting; Don't try to physically go any farther than your joints allow, that would be very unwise:
https://youtube.com/watch?v=rOJGzAgLWDc
There are some out there that just shouldn't squat......
1. They lack the range of motion to do so...possible due to medical condition, excessive weight, mobility...etc.
2. They are MALE......lol. (I had to!!!)0 -
I am learning to squat from a book and my trainer, but the only option at the gym is a Smith machine (no squat racks). Is it really such a horrible thing? No one ever seems to have anything good to say about them...makes me nervous.
You'd be better off using dumbbells and doing sumo or goblet squats in my opinion.
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As pointed out by Izzy here (about 4mins in), people really DO have slightly different hip shapes. Squatting deep is going to be different for different people. Basically, just make sure you get to the bottom of your mechanical range when squatting; Don't try to physically go any farther than your joints allow, that would be very unwise:
https://youtube.com/watch?v=rOJGzAgLWDc
There are some out there that just shouldn't squat......
1. They lack the range of motion to do so...possible due to medical condition, excessive weight, mobility...etc.
2. They are MALE......lol. (I had to!!!)
Breh I squat like 300lbs and I'm just so tired of being so huge. #aesthetics4lyfe #everydayisupperbodyday
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As pointed out by Izzy here (about 4mins in), people really DO have slightly different hip shapes. Squatting deep is going to be different for different people. Basically, just make sure you get to the bottom of your mechanical range when squatting; Don't try to physically go any farther than your joints allow, that would be very unwise:
https://youtube.com/watch?v=rOJGzAgLWDc
There are some out there that just shouldn't squat......
1. They lack the range of motion to do so...possible due to medical condition, excessive weight, mobility...etc.
2. They are MALE......lol. (I had to!!!)
Very true about medical conditions/mobility problems. But then I hope somebody with these problems would realize they shouldn't be performing things that could aggravate their conditions either...that won't stop them, but I like my bubble of ignorance where people make intelligent decisions and not poor ones 0 -
As pointed out by Izzy here (about 4mins in), people really DO have slightly different hip shapes. Squatting deep is going to be different for different people. Basically, just make sure you get to the bottom of your mechanical range when squatting; Don't try to physically go any farther than your joints allow, that would be very unwise:
https://youtube.com/watch?v=rOJGzAgLWDc
Definitely! I totally overstated it above! But don't foreshorten your natural range, either.
In nice, flat shoes (or bare feet, I guess) you should feel less tippy in general.
I had to get a different pair of shoes for Crossfit so I didn't do a nose-dive in slanted running shoes. If I end up lifting seriously again, I'll use those.
I can't decide WHAT I want to do, honestly. Some things are mutually exclusive. You can run and you can lift, but you can't run at your best and lift at your best.0 -
I am learning to squat from a book and my trainer, but the only option at the gym is a Smith machine (no squat racks). Is it really such a horrible thing? No one ever seems to have anything good to say about them...makes me nervous.
They put a TON more stress on your joints because when you do a natural squat, your butt goes out and the load stays balanced. Smith machines prevent that.
Goblet squats will be plenty for quite a while for most people. My upper body has never been very strong, though.0 -
As pointed out by Izzy here (about 4mins in), people really DO have slightly different hip shapes. Squatting deep is going to be different for different people. Basically, just make sure you get to the bottom of your mechanical range when squatting; Don't try to physically go any farther than your joints allow, that would be very unwise:
https://youtube.com/watch?v=rOJGzAgLWDc
There are some out there that just shouldn't squat......
1. They lack the range of motion to do so...possible due to medical condition, excessive weight, mobility...etc.
2. They are MALE......lol. (I had to!!!)
Well, there's this... http://www.yocoy.com/blog/how-to-use-a-chinese-toilet/0 -
OK - will look into these alternatives. Thanks for the input!!0
This discussion has been closed.
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