Squats all the way down?

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.

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.

Lol that picture is awesome - never noticed kids definitely have perfect squat form

i go to 90 degrees, but i see crossfitters going @$$ to the grass so i think there are multiple ways to do them.

Everything I have been told is to watch your knees in these types of exercises to prevent injury. I would say you are probably straining your knees both on the way down and up if you go beyond 90 degress. Those knee ligaments are very sensitive to that motion and could lead to long term damage. I suggest slightly tilt your toes outward and make sure you get your knees over your toes, that should be proper form for a perfect workout. Hope this helps!

He's wrong and should really mind his own business at the gym. I can't stand unsolicited advice when I'm working out!

I think you should squat as deeply as you can without feeling pain. Deep ATG squats have only been good for me--I've had knee trouble on my left side all my life, but ATG squats don't hurt at all, and I believe they're actually helping with strengthening and such.

I've been doing "deep squats" at the gym where I go all the way down until my butt almost hits the ground. I had an anesthesiologist come up to me at the gym yesterday and tell me never to go down farther than 90 degrees because of risk of injury and nothing more is done after 90 degrees anyways.

Is there any truth to this? I kind of feel stupid if I've been doing it wrong this whole time. I just thought deep squats were better for my gluteal muscles

The lower I go the more my *kitten* hurts the next day. So it must work the glutes. Usually people say don't go that low cuz they're jealous that you can and they can't.

Please remember:

Funny...just the other day I was noticing that my toddler had perfect form without even trying. I actually ran and got my wife to show her as he was just squatting and playing with something. Then he pushed up and ran over to grab one of his tonka trucks...guess what? Perfect dead-lift form as well. It was awesome. I wonder where we all eventually go wrong and develop bad form since it's obviously so very natural.

I personally am not flexible enough to go much past parallel though.

going lower takes pressure OFF of the knees and helps to insure strength balance between quads and hamstrings which also helps prevent knee injury.

Please remember:

Exactly.

This is true -- but look closely. The knees are OUT (not straight in front, knee over ankle, like we're sometimes told to do). That's also why primitive people who eat, work, and relax in this position have NO knee or back issues like we do.

BUT, If you squat deep, you have to get the knees out.

The problem is that most fitness instructors are taught that knees must stay straight, and CANNOT go past the toes. You even get points off in certifications for anything different from this. And yes, if you try to go below 90 degrees with the knees straight ahead, it's a LOT of pressure on the knees, and the risk of injury goes WAY WAY up.

HOWEVER, squatting with the knees APART is much much safer. (But they never teach you this in traditional trainings). This is how weightlifters squat with a lot of weight on their bodies, and there is actually a lot LESS pressure on the knees as you go deep. The most pressure is exerted (if I remember correctly) at the bottom of the squat, but just for a second. The rest of the time pressure is evenly distributed through your legs, making it SAFER.

Hope this helps!

I have actually looked into this because I had knee surgery, an ACL repair, this year. I read everything I could. It seems that there is no great harmful stress placed on the knees from squatting, generally. It is what they are designed to do -- to bend, that is. In fact, the further down you go the more your ACL, at least, is protected because your hams and your glutes fire and come into play, and hold the knee joints together in the places they are supposed to be held.
At least, according to the research, your anesthesiologist is wrong.

90 degrees is actually the point of least tension, between flex and extension. The full range of motion (loaded or not) would be all the way up and all the way down. Of course, caution is important not to overload your joints. Ask a physical therapist their thoughts if you want someone who understand biomechanics and can help.

It doesn't matter how deep you squat. What matters is your form. When your knees go over your toes or farther forward, you risk injury. As long as your knees are over your heels, you're probably okay. It gets harder to maintain that correct form when you go deeper than 90 degree bend, but it's still possible.

This is not true. Look at children when they squat down, we all would have blown our knees out before six years old.








Edit: I did not see that someone else had covered this point.

Agreed. Not only is keeping your knees over your heels wrong, it's also physically impossible. Try it right now with no weight. If you keep your knees over your ankles, you will fall over backwards at about 5 degrees of knee bend.

IIRC for an Olympic squat to count you must go past parallel. Power lifters stop at 90˚

I could be wrong on that. Maybe someone else can chime in on that point?