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How low do you go in the squat?

T

Tall_Tim

New member
How low do you go when squatting?

I workout at home and do not have a squat rack so thats gonna make things harder till I either get one or find another way to hoist it up...but thats not the issue at hand...

We have all been told at some point "squats will ruin the cartilage in your knees if you go too low" Ive been told opposite that only going with hamstrings parallel is what causes damage due to the stress of stopping at an unnatural point and you should go as low as possible ie "arse to calves"
Ive been going as low as I can to work the legs harder (even though I don't use as much weight as I would with the parallel version) and I feel it so much more for the next 2-3 days.

Is it squats in general or one of the variations in particular that causes joint damage down the track? Which version do you use?
 
I think the upper legs parallel to the ground is the power lifting standard of a proper lift.

I go right down in the warmup, but only parallel doing heavier sets.

Usually any range of motion that causes a joint to go much less than 90degrees will start to put strain on joints and ligaments, But having said that maybe just go to a comfortable point.
 
Working on arse to calves. More modern reports show that a full squat puts no additional stress on knees, and hit more of the glutes and hammies, rather than quads.
 
I go only slightly below parallel, but this still gets my arse to only 8 inches off the ground, at 6ft tall.

Arse to calves would put you about 2 inches from the ground, right?
I can't do that anymore, as my lower back tends to round right at the bottom and gets injured.
 
Partial squats cause greater stress on the knees. Also doing squats slowly causes a longer period of time the knees are being stressed. If your having issues with your back your probably lifting too much. Try a few reps at a very light weight and see if your back is still bending. Just cause you can lift something doesnt mean its doing you any good.
 
Thighs parallel - Or generally with Hack Squats until my shoulders are in line with my knees
 
with the barbell on my back i go as low as i can to incorporate the glutes, i do a front squat to hit my quads more, which is putting your hand on oppisite shoulders and holdoing your elbows out, 90deg from body and lifting the bar in the groves of yoour shoulders, you cant go low with this lift cause it feels real ackward.
 
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