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Squatting below parallel

C

chrome

Member
Sep 14, 2010
33
1
I have been doing well with squats but I'm having a hard time going below parallel because i am afraid of losing my balance or not getting the weight up. any tips to help me overcome this?
 
Q

Qwerty1424

MuscleHead
Mar 2, 2011
429
13
spotter.... smith machine.... knee wraps... one of them
 
AllTheWay

AllTheWay

TID Lady Member
Mar 17, 2011
4,240
411
why do you want to go below parallel?
 
S

soinkid

Senior Member
Mar 14, 2011
231
8
i only go below paralell when im doing front squats. and as far as worrying about losing ur balance, then ur going to heavy. but i always use boxs, start out with a tall box, and squat to it for ur first set, and ur warm up set, then drop to the low box, and squat to it, if u lose ur balance u can sit down...lol. but i prefer a spotter still. either way with ur concerns id recomend starting lighter, get used to the new movements and build those muscles, and start increasing ur weight...
 
J

jute

Senior Member
Dec 22, 2010
142
9
we always squat to break parallel. There really is no reason to go any further. You need to start out light.. Make sure your sitting back and flaring your knees hard
 

ajdos

Friends Remembered
Sep 8, 2010
2,282
399
I have heard all the nonsense for years about going below parallel and got given a lot of shit for only going too parallel yet I have been squatting heavy for 21 years and have no knee problems and not many people touch me in the leg dept.
Its all a bunch of gym lore bullshit if you ask me, going below parallel only involves hamstrings and glutes more and quads a little less, its also the reason a lot of people fuck up their knees and cannot do squats any more after a while.
When I do anything below parallel its only slightly and with a lighter weigh and higher reps.
 
AllTheWay

AllTheWay

TID Lady Member
Mar 17, 2011
4,240
411
I have heard all the nonsense for years about going below parallel and got given a lot of shit for only going too parallel yet I have been squatting heavy for 21 years and have no knee problems and not many people touch me in the leg dept.
Its all a bunch of gym lore bullshit if you ask me, going below parallel only involves hamstrings and glutes more and quads a little less, its also the reason a lot of people fuck up their knees and cannot do squats any more after a while.
When I do anything below parallel its only slightly and with a lighter weigh and higher reps.

awesome advice! save your knees! once you drop below parallel you bunch your meniscus up in the back of your knee and will subject it to tearing, folding and bruising.
 
MAYO

MAYO

Bad Mother
Sep 27, 2010
2,159
675
hmm. i'm still a noob as far as bodybuilding, but i was brought up on sub-parallel squats. Not ass to grass, but hips below the level of the knee joint. Any thoughts on this depth Doc, Jute or AJ?
 
AllTheWay

AllTheWay

TID Lady Member
Mar 17, 2011
4,240
411
hmm. i'm still a noob as far as bodybuilding, but i was brought up on sub-parallel squats. Not ass to grass, but hips below the level of the knee joint. Any thoughts on this depth Doc, Jute or AJ?

what is parallel is often in question. some go to the hams being parallel, some it is the quads but i would agree that from a anatomical point, hips and knees aligned would be true parallel as that would make the femur parallel and the femur never changes shape. quads and hammies will grow and the dynamics of the physics behind it all then changes. the hip to the femur to the knee joint, solid line. so is it sub parallel? no probably the true parallel!
 

ajdos

Friends Remembered
Sep 8, 2010
2,282
399
hmm. i'm still a noob as far as bodybuilding, but i was brought up on sub-parallel squats. Not ass to grass, but hips below the level of the knee joint. Any thoughts on this depth Doc, Jute or AJ?

Slightly is ok, I mean are your legs growing? If you can hit parallel and your legs are blowing up why risk an injury just because "they" say its what your supposed to do.
One of my things I used to do was go up high above what I could do for good reps and do 2/3's reps, it was a great way to get your legs and lower back (and the rest of your body) to adapt to the heavier load, week by week you would go a little further with the weight until you were doing it for good reps, you have to start somewhere, form is a key element to training but not the RULE 100% of the time for breaking barriers and training...I think a lot of trainees get caught up in the wash of the orthodoxy of "how to train properly" if your training and growing then you are training properly....look at branch warren or jay cutler or even ronnie sometimes, there form is not ALWAYS spot on but they get bigger and bigger at a phenomenal rate compared to others...is that by accident?
I doubt it, eventually you will be able to handle these less than perfect forms sets with great form and on to the next.
Its always funny to me when people at the gym are so stuck thinking in the box and afraid to try something for fear of criticism of doing something wrong...fuck the haters...they are small for a reason.
 
W

Wolf

MuscleHead
Dec 25, 2010
274
45
Mark Rippetoe once said "Yes, if you squat wrong it fucks things up. If you squat correctly, those same fucked-up things will unfuck themselves.".

I can't recall the name of the study right now, but there was one done on squatting in terms of knee placement and the stress that derived from it. When knee movement was restricted from going past the toes the stress was placed on the hips and lower back and away from the knee, as it should be. Most knee problems you will see from squatting occur from improper form.
 
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