So how low should you be squatting ?
Have you ever been told by a trainer to not squat past parallel because it's bad for your knees ?
Or maybe you had someone else tell you that have to squat ATG (ass to grass), as deep as possible.
If you look into the internet deep enough, you'll find conflicting information everywhere. This pretty much happens with everything else as well.
Here's my take on it and opinion on the matter. All based on my past decade improving the squat on hundreds of clients and myself.
First lets identify what a squat is. Well what is it ?
If we look at the squat beyond the gym. The squat is something that was meant to be part of our daily human movement. It's also a cultural thing as well. Human beings are meant to defecate in a full squat positions. But comfortable chairs and toilet seats have taken us far away from that capability. This is mostly true for humans in the Western hemisphere. You go out to the EAST and most people can squat to full depth without having to think twice about it.
Culturally you see the squat everywhere else. Many eastern and indigenous cultures sit in a squat to REST throughout the day or to even go about their day to day activities. Such as eating, working outside, having a conversation with friends, or just hanging out outdoors.
If you as people here in the WEST what a squat is. We tend to think about squats in the gym. Simply because that's what you mostly hear it referred to. We taken something that is human and cultural and turned it into a QUANTITATIVE thing. How much can you squat ? how many reps can you do? etc etc. When using weights (resistance) in a squat, we've been able to learn how to receive great strength benefits. There's nothing wrong with that.
So when it's come to coaching, I teach people about both aspects of the squat. And how low should they squat ? It DEPENDS. It depends what the GOAL is or what the TASK at hand is.
I'm all about improving CAPACITY of our bodies and joints. So having STRENGTH in all ranges it what matters to me. So I train it in all depths with myself and my clients. Not only do I train my clients to squat with resistance but also aim them to treat the squat as a RESTING position as well. Those 2 may look a little different depths wise, but that's okay.
Not everyone's squat depth is going to look the same. Simply because we have different hip anatomy's. Here's a link from Dr. Stuart McGill, where he goes in depth about hip anatomy and it's relation to squatting.
Sometimes people CAN squat to a particular depth. However, should you always squat to that depth in training? Having proper joint prerequisites can help insure that you can effectively squat with optimal load. That's why joint mobility work can help insure that when practicing congruently with squatting patterns. Just because you CAN does NOT mean that you should. Always training within your current capacity is optimal for health and longevity. Progressive overload .
What can you do RIGHT NOW to start squatting better ? Try out this 30 day squat challenge! Basically it's holding a squat cumulatively for 30 minutes everyday for 30 days. However I have modified it for some clients.
You can start by doing 10min everyday for 1 week. Then 20min everyday the week after, And then work your way up to 30min everyday when you're ready. Here's some more background on the Squat Challenge:
Basic takeaways:
Have a STRONG squat that compliments your lifestyle (performance capacity)
Have the mobility to be able to REST in a squat position (human capacity)
Have strength in all ranges of the squat (resiliency)
Squat in as many different ways as possible. Work on the joints that relate to the squat: ankles, knees, hips, thoracic spine.
