I have always been told that squatting below parallel with the floor is very hard on your knees. I have never really cared much though cuz I've always hated leg work and never really did any. Lately Ive been trying to get my ass in shape and my legs and lower back have really suffered due to not working them and then babying them after my back surgery.
I have been doing regular squats for a few months and my legs are still weak but Im making progress. I was noticing though that the past couple weeks Ive been cheating a bit on my form and not going quite parallel. I have also read in several places that if you arent going below parallel "its for shit". Ive also read its easier on your knees to go below parallel due to shearing forces etc.
Its probably one of those issues like whats the perfect rep range or the best brand of tires/oil but does anyone have an informed opinion I can add to the pile?
I did some ATG (ass to grass) squats today and fuck me...I could not do nearly the already embarrasingly low weight I was doing and even with less weight I still ran out of steam before I hit my target reps. I could definitely feel it in my glutes which is good since I have basically no ass. Unless someone convinces me that atg squats are terrible Im going to start doing all my squats below parallel. The workout I got from it today was fantastic. I can see where some hard core mofos throw up after a hard leg workout.
Full Version: Squatters
At first I hated it, but now I love working legs. I have a different workout for everyday of the week and each workout has a leg component.
However my lifting workouts are purposefully designed to be a cardio workout as well. I workout during the middle of the day when no one is in the weight room. I take no breaks between sets - right from one exercise to the next for 45 minutes to an hour. To really get my heart and lungs working I need to do legs. If you're working out to lose weight and be in better cardio shape, you must work legs. Ok I'm being a little preachy here, sorry.
About squats. My weight with squats is much, much lower than most people. I do 135 lbs. for two sets of 16 reps, slow controlled motion using the smith machine. I also like the stretch I get from squatting, but I don't go below parallel. Really I don't care about the amount of weight I'm moving. Unlike my younger days I now lift for flexibility, to be in shape and lose weight.
Here's the other leg exercises I use:
Dead Lift
Stationary Lunges
Reverse Lunges (stepping back)
Leg Press
Leg Extensions
Leg Curls
Calf Raises
Step-Ups
Heel Lifts
However my lifting workouts are purposefully designed to be a cardio workout as well. I workout during the middle of the day when no one is in the weight room. I take no breaks between sets - right from one exercise to the next for 45 minutes to an hour. To really get my heart and lungs working I need to do legs. If you're working out to lose weight and be in better cardio shape, you must work legs. Ok I'm being a little preachy here, sorry.
About squats. My weight with squats is much, much lower than most people. I do 135 lbs. for two sets of 16 reps, slow controlled motion using the smith machine. I also like the stretch I get from squatting, but I don't go below parallel. Really I don't care about the amount of weight I'm moving. Unlike my younger days I now lift for flexibility, to be in shape and lose weight.
Here's the other leg exercises I use:
Dead Lift
Stationary Lunges
Reverse Lunges (stepping back)
Leg Press
Leg Extensions
Leg Curls
Calf Raises
Step-Ups
Heel Lifts
Yes I'm in agreement, if it's not parallel it's for shit.
When I was young and started to lift(I lift to maximize size gains), I also cheated and short stroked the exercise. I wasted years of my life because of it. I was made fun of when I finally got to a real gym by the owner and taught myself how to go to parallel(a bit harder as I'm 6'4"). Of course I had to eat humble pie because the weights I could do were half of what I was used to.
But years later I'm thankful I do them the right way. And from my experience at gyms since the middle '90's, about 10% of people actually do a squat correctly. The rest are poseurs either only concerned with how much weight they can slap on, or they don't really want to do legs and do the minimum just to get home.
But if you really want to get fit overall, squats are an absolute necessity.
On any given week now(33 years old) I will work up to a 315lbs squat for 4-6 reps. That is parallel or slightly below.
When I was young and started to lift(I lift to maximize size gains), I also cheated and short stroked the exercise. I wasted years of my life because of it. I was made fun of when I finally got to a real gym by the owner and taught myself how to go to parallel(a bit harder as I'm 6'4"). Of course I had to eat humble pie because the weights I could do were half of what I was used to.
But years later I'm thankful I do them the right way. And from my experience at gyms since the middle '90's, about 10% of people actually do a squat correctly. The rest are poseurs either only concerned with how much weight they can slap on, or they don't really want to do legs and do the minimum just to get home.
But if you really want to get fit overall, squats are an absolute necessity.
On any given week now(33 years old) I will work up to a 315lbs squat for 4-6 reps. That is parallel or slightly below.
QUOTE(Ian @ Apr 8 2007, 09:03 AM) 
Yes I'm in agreement, if it's not parallel it's for shit.
When I was young and started to lift(I lift to maximize size gains), I also cheated and short stroked the exercise. I wasted years of my life because of it. I was made fun of when I finally got to a real gym by the owner and taught myself how to go to parallel(a bit harder as I'm 6'4"). Of course I had to eat humble pie because the weights I could do were half of what I was used to.
But years later I'm thankful I do them the right way. And from my experience at gyms since the middle '90's, about 10% of people actually do a squat correctly. The rest are poseurs either only concerned with how much weight they can slap on, or they don't really want to do legs and do the minimum just to get home.
But if you really want to get fit overall, squats are an absolute necessity.
On any given week now(33 years old) I will work up to a 315lbs squat for 4-6 reps. That is parallel or slightly below.
When I was young and started to lift(I lift to maximize size gains), I also cheated and short stroked the exercise. I wasted years of my life because of it. I was made fun of when I finally got to a real gym by the owner and taught myself how to go to parallel(a bit harder as I'm 6'4"). Of course I had to eat humble pie because the weights I could do were half of what I was used to.
But years later I'm thankful I do them the right way. And from my experience at gyms since the middle '90's, about 10% of people actually do a squat correctly. The rest are poseurs either only concerned with how much weight they can slap on, or they don't really want to do legs and do the minimum just to get home.
But if you really want to get fit overall, squats are an absolute necessity.
On any given week now(33 years old) I will work up to a 315lbs squat for 4-6 reps. That is parallel or slightly below.
My glutes are still a bit sore from doing ATG squats last week. BTW Im also 33 and 6'4".
My current/previous workout. I'm switching this week. I'm going to experiment with a couple of different routines over the next few months.
Monday: Back/Bi
Lat Pull Down - 3 sets
Seated Cable Row - 3 sets
Deadlifts - 3 sets
Barbell Curl - 2 sets
Cable Rope Crunch - 2 sets
Crunches - 2 sets
Tuesday: Chest
Flat Bench - 3 sets
Incline Bench - 3 sets
Cable dips - 3 sets
Tricep Rope Pushdown - 2 sets
Thurssday: Legs/Abs
Squats - 3 sets
Stiff Legged Deadlifts - 3 sets
Calf Raises - 3 sets
Crunches - 2 sets
Bench Leg lift - - 3 sets
Friday: Shoulders/Traps
Military Press - 3 sets
Lateral Raise - 3 sets
Rear Lateral Raise - 3 sets
Shrug - 3 sets
Upright Row - 3 sets
I have never done ass on the ground squats, (on a regular basis) because i didn't see the need. For me, i saw much larger risk to loosing your balance and killing yourself, then with full parallell (ll) squats.
I used to lift for legs for weight, now i lift for volume. Sounds crazy right? Legs are flat out different muscles then your chest or your bicepts. They should be trained differently because of this.
As with any muscle group, i never do more then two excercises each workout. Meaning, if i'm doing legs, i do 3 sets of excercise A, then 3 sets of excercise B, and i'm done for that muscle group.
My leg routien goes like this...
Squat:
Warm up 135 x 10 reps
225 x 20+ reps
245 x 14+ reps
245 x 10+ reps
I will also do lunges or another compound movement. I almost NEVER do an isolation movement, because no one has ever been able to prove to me they are worth anything.
I used to lift for legs for weight, now i lift for volume. Sounds crazy right? Legs are flat out different muscles then your chest or your bicepts. They should be trained differently because of this.
As with any muscle group, i never do more then two excercises each workout. Meaning, if i'm doing legs, i do 3 sets of excercise A, then 3 sets of excercise B, and i'm done for that muscle group.
My leg routien goes like this...
Squat:
Warm up 135 x 10 reps
225 x 20+ reps
245 x 14+ reps
245 x 10+ reps
I will also do lunges or another compound movement. I almost NEVER do an isolation movement, because no one has ever been able to prove to me they are worth anything.
Legs are great....exercising the legs WILL promote upper body growth...helps to release more natural growth hormones.
If you have a week back...I would work on strengthening your hamstrings first. Leg curls, Straight Legged Dead Lifts, Lunges. Be careful with squats when lifting heavy weight if you have back issues. One way you could do squats to help lower back issues is to use a fit ball and dumbbells for weight. Put the ball between you and the wall and hold the dumbbells in each hand to the side. Then squat...full range of motion is best. The ball will roll up and down the wall so that you can keep your back straight.
I won't list my lifts since weight is relative to each person.
If you have a week back...I would work on strengthening your hamstrings first. Leg curls, Straight Legged Dead Lifts, Lunges. Be careful with squats when lifting heavy weight if you have back issues. One way you could do squats to help lower back issues is to use a fit ball and dumbbells for weight. Put the ball between you and the wall and hold the dumbbells in each hand to the side. Then squat...full range of motion is best. The ball will roll up and down the wall so that you can keep your back straight.
I won't list my lifts since weight is relative to each person.
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