Squats all the way down?

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245

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  • DostThouEven
    DostThouEven Posts: 148
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    He\she is incorrect on both counts.
  • rmhand
    rmhand Posts: 1,067 Member
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    The 90 degree rule is getting pretty old, but its a good guideline to prevent injury. ATG (*kitten* to grass) squats do have more glute focus. When it come to form make sure you are not tucking you butt under, or rounding your back, in the deepest part of your squat. As long as you knees are pain free then keep it up!
  • Abells
    Abells Posts: 756 Member
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    I go past parallel sooooo go for it -- being able to get that low is a good sign of great flexibility in the hips

    agree if you have knee pains you shouldn't though
  • Charles4Jesus
    Charles4Jesus Posts: 89 Member
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    Disclaimer: I'm not an expert

    While working out, go as deep as your body will let you. Listen to your body , it will let you know when to stop.

    If you were just maxing out, then I would say go 90 degrees to just past 90.

    Good Day.
  • darkguardian419
    darkguardian419 Posts: 1,302 Member
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    If it doesn't hurt keep doing it.

    I do my best to go past 90, but if I go too far, I get pain in the front/top of my knee, I always hit 90, but I may not go too far past.
  • Docmahi
    Docmahi Posts: 1,603 Member
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    I'm not an expert on squats and I'm sure some experts will chime in but I wanted to say being an anesthesiologist does not make one an expert on squats either.

    I agree with this a lot

    Just cause you went to med school/are a physician does not give you the entitlement to tell people how to work out. I personally feel that deep squats are safer because:

    1) You tend to have to use less weight
    2) You will recruit a lot more accessory muscles - which just in general has helped my posture a ton.

    There is a definite counter argument regarding if you have had previous knee damage - but I have torn ligaments in my right knee that were repaired (happened ~ 10 years ago) and I have had no problem with going below parallel on squats
  • 99clmsntgr
    99clmsntgr Posts: 777 Member
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    Please remember:
    perfect-squat.jpg
  • dumbmango
    dumbmango Posts: 1
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    ATG (A.ss to grass) from my experience with people knee injuries come from bad form
  • Cognito1025
    Cognito1025 Posts: 323 Member
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    Please remember:
    perfect-squat.jpg

    Exactly.
  • _SABOTEUR_
    _SABOTEUR_ Posts: 6,833 Member
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    I always thought the 90 degrees thing was a minimum. As in, you should at least reach 90 degrees during a squat.

    As long as you knees aren't over your toes and you aren't in pain I say go for it.
  • grimendale
    grimendale Posts: 2,153 Member
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    I used to work out under the supervision of professionals, and they all said the same thing. Going past a 90 degree bend puts a lot of strain on the ligaments between the muscles and the knee join and can lead to tears in the ACL, whcih is extrememly painful and difficult to heal. I would recommend not going past 90 degrees unless under the direct supervision of a professional who says otherwise (and by professional, I'm more referring to a physical therapist or sports medicine professional than a standard gym trainer).
  • 714rah714
    714rah714 Posts: 759 Member
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    If I hurt my knees I'm basically on the sideline for all types of exercises for weeks, if not months, I'm not willing to take that risk. So I'd rather go heavier, then go lower.
  • kwilson18
    kwilson18 Posts: 42 Member
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    Now, as a pediatrician, I think I can weigh in on this photograph and say that this young child not only has excellent deep squat form, but is displaying age and developmental stage-appropriate manual and exploratory skills, though it appears what is in his hands may shortly go in to his mouth. Which I don't generally recommend with the bar at the gym.
  • witchy_wife
    witchy_wife Posts: 792 Member
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    I can't go all the way down, but go past 90. I find if I only go to a seated postion I use my knees more to straighten up which hurts after a while. If I go lower I tend to use power in my thighs to go up. Just my experience anyway.
  • IronMikeFox
    IronMikeFox Posts: 458
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    Maybe this will help: http://www.biomechfit.com/2012/02/09/3-squatting-myths-that-refuse-to-die

    Thanks for sharing this. That is a great article. To the OP, I would politely thank the gentleman for his well intentioned advice and continue doing your workout as you have been. Just listen to your body. Most of the issues I have seen and heard people attribute to squats are really related to going too heavy too soon and having poor form as a result. (Yes ... I am guilty of doing that to in my younger days and have paid the price!) You sound like you know what you are doing and are using good form, so I don't think you have anything to worry about.
  • Docmahi
    Docmahi Posts: 1,603 Member
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    Lol that picture is awesome - never noticed kids definitely have perfect squat form
  • MsJourno
    MsJourno Posts: 33 Member
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    He is right. The 90 degrees is the classic yoga 'chair' pose which really works out all the muscles involved, upper/lower belly, sides, thighs, calves. Going lower doesn't really help, except perhaps as cardio. I would say give both a trial and whichever works the largest group of muscles, go for it.
  • da_bears10089
    da_bears10089 Posts: 1,791 Member
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    i go to 90 degrees, but i see crossfitters going @$$ to the grass so i think there are multiple ways to do them.
  • IronPlayground
    IronPlayground Posts: 1,594 Member
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    I read an article several months ago in the Journal of Strength and Conditioning where they weighed the pros and cons of going past parallel. I don't have it on me now since it was book form and not online. However, the conclusion they came to was that there is no added value to going past parallel. There are actually more injury risks to stopping before parallel, though.

    So, while they didn't say you are setting yourself up for injury by going extremely deep on squats, they couldn't find any additional benefit from it.
  • VictoriaFL84
    VictoriaFL84 Posts: 37
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    thanks everyone! I think I will keep doing deep squats with weight progression until I feel any kind of pain or strain on my knees. Then I will readjust and not go as low

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