When I'm training volume or speed I go ATG / hamstrings on calves but if I'm testing a 1RM then I get someone to shout a 'yep' when I've passed parallel just so I know its gone deep enough :bigsmile:

there are no extra prizes for going deeper than an inch below parallel.. however I guess the lower you go the more you may recruit different sets of muscles? I only ever go to parallel!

I say I go between parallel and ATG personally. I don't feel comfortable / don't think I can quite get, all the way down but I like to be sufficiently beyond parallel for the sake of competitions. I have to go at least to parallel in those and I figured if I've practised going even further, there should be no doubt over my depth. Plus it involves more hamstrings and glutes when you go lower and that's always a good thing in my eyes!

Regarding knee issues, in general knee problems are worse for a person when they cut it short at parallel. By taking it all the way down you are supposedly taking less pressure off the knees as it goes into hamstrings/glutes.

I have trouble with my knees right now, so I de loaded all the way to just the bar and go ATG to see if it might help

Unless you plan on competing, you don't need to go ATG. Parallel or slightly above parallel is perfectly fine for the majority of people. You just don't want to get caught in a trap of only doing like half squats. They can serve a purpose, but not on a regular basis and not in a program like SL.

there are no extra prizes for going deeper than an inch below parallel.. however I guess the lower you go the more you may recruit different sets of muscles? I only ever go to parallel!

Ditto here...even with just body weight I only ever went parallel...feel it more in my quads...

I say I go between parallel and ATG personally. I don't feel comfortable / don't think I can quite get, all the way down but I like to be sufficiently beyond parallel for the sake of competitions. I have to go at least to parallel in those and I figured if I've practised going even further, there should be no doubt over my depth. Plus it involves more hamstrings and glutes when you go lower and that's always a good thing in my eyes!

Regarding knee issues, in general knee problems are worse for a person when they cut it short at parallel. By taking it all the way down you are supposedly taking less pressure off the knees as it goes into hamstrings/glutes.

I was amazed at how much less strain there is on my knees going farther down. It seems counter-intuitive, but it works.

I was just curious as to what people do.

Hm, that's interesting. I would think it would be harder on the knees. I'll have to keep this in mind.

there are no extra prizes for going deeper than an inch below parallel.. however I guess the lower you go the more you may recruit different sets of muscles? I only ever go to parallel!

Ditto here...even with just body weight I only ever went parallel...feel it more in my quads...

Same here, I hit parallel or maybe just an inch below.

I have tried ATG squats, and when I do them, I position the barbell higher on my shoulders, so it's a different movement for me than what low bar feels like.

K I have to change mine now....when I got my form check videos up I was just barely parallel...so I deloaded last night by 30lbs and got almost atg...what a difference that made...I might have to change where the bar sits tho too.

I will now be concentrating on getting as low as I can while still increasing my weight but I will now always ensure I am below parallel...maybe no atg...but below parallel...my bum hurts today....:sad: :blushing: :sad: :blushing: :sad: but that is a good thing

I go at least parallel, preferably lower. As weights are heavier I have a harder time going less than parallel.

K I have to change mine now....when I got my form check videos up I was just barely parallel...so I deloaded last night by 30lbs and got almost atg...what a difference that made...I might have to change where the bar sits tho too.

I will now be concentrating on getting as low as I can while still increasing my weight but I will now always ensure I am below parallel...maybe no atg...but below parallel...my bum hurts today....:sad: :blushing: :sad: :blushing: :sad: but that is a good thing

bar position and hip flexibility/stance will play a big part in depth. You will get much deeper from a front squat or Oly squat than from a low bar just because your torso is more upright and you can drop in easier

Now this is proper ATG!!!:laugh: :laugh: :laugh:

Totally agree! I've hit that depth with back squats, but with considerable less weight :P

@ SezxyStef, bar placement and depth really depends on the type of squats you want to do. I'm not an expert on this by any means, but my first form videos showed me with a bar high on my shoulders and not quite hitting depth. I posted them in the ETP group, and this what I interpreted from the answers I got.

Typically people can lift more weight with low bar, but they only go to parallel or an inch below.

High bar (ATG or Olympic squats) typically people can't lift as much weight, and the bar is much higher on the shoulders, and you go way below parallel.

They both work legs and core, but in slightly different ways (this is where I got lost in the technical part a bit).

For low bar, you'll place the bar lower on your back, lean forward a bit more than you would with the bar higher (so it lines up with your midfoot), and you want to go to parallel or a bit below, as long as your form doesn't break. When I do them, my feet are placed slightly wider than shoulder width, and I push through my heels to get out of the hole.

For high bar, you want the bar about where you've got it now (from your videos), you want to have an upright straight back, (less leaning forward than in a low bar), and then you sort of just drop down as low as you can go, until you're just about sitting on your feet. For feet placement, mine are typically closer together, with my feet turned out more, and I concentrate on pushing through the middle of my feet, rather than through my heels (I fall over if I push through my heels with ATG because there's less leaning forward).

Medhi does recommend low bar for the SL program, but I was told in ETP to do whatever type I'm the most comfortable with, but to make sure my bar placement, depth, and feet placement all lined up for the type of squat I'm doing.

Essentially, I had high bar placement, but I was only hitting parallel depth, so they told me to either move the bar lower on my back (low bar) or lean forward less and go ATG (high bar).

Sorry for the long post, hopefully that's not too confusing!

I value my knee health so I always squat to just below parallel. If I can't get there, then it's time to take some weight off the bar.