--SQUATS--who goes parallel??

[Papi93]

I agree completely, and I will give this a shot, and see if it indeed makes a difference.
Thanks.

You will probably have to reduce the weight because the Smith Machine stabilizes the weight for you. Don't get frustrated; patience will be the key to your success.

[novastepp]

Going any further than slightly past parallel wrecks my knees. i always hit parallel or just a tad below.
and if you use a smith machine it will torch your quads if you pause at the squat portion of the exercise. have fun with that....

[tretch187]

Going any further than slightly past parallel wrecks my knees. i always hit parallel or just a tad below.
and if you use a smith machine it will torch your quads if you pause at the squat portion of the exercise. have fun with that....

the reason your knees are getting wrecked is not necessarily because of depth.

[Papi93]

I prefer free weight box squats, myself. That way, you always know you are going deep enough into your ROM.

[novastepp]

well they grind a little when i go too far... so what would you think it is then?

[Papi93]

The box squat as reinforces that you sit back during your squat. This will help people who have knee problems. Sitting back forces you to recruit more from your hip extensors (glutes and hams) than your knee extensors (quads).

[Jimmya73]

i just got back from doing legs... how far down do you guys go on front squats, if you do them?
i go ass to calves on these,much lower than regular squats, and its more comfortable on these. i do those on the smith machine too

[BigJames]

Below parallel or you might as well have stayed home...

[BigJames]

i just got back from doing legs... how far down do you guys go on front squats, if you do them?
i go ass to calves on these,much lower than regular squats, and its more comfortable on these. i do those on the smith machine too

I go below parallel on fronts and backs.

[Papi93]

We all see how everyone is boasting about going beyond parallel but let's all stop and think. How many people do you see even going parallel in the gyms? I think somebody might be lying here.

[tretch187]

well they grind a little when i go too far... so what would you think it is then?

Papi addressed it a bit in his post.

Box squats are how many people need to do squats IMO. It helps you have better form(most of the time) as Papi described, and it also helps to make sure of the depth($1 to Papi again )

Most of the time... I see people having trouble not "kicking their knees out" and by that I mean... you can see the knee go inward a little bit as they rise. Add that to the fact that the toes are usually slighly pointing outward...your knees coming inward makes for OW. lol

[sputnik]

i think box squats have their place definitely, but in my opinion not to learn how to squat for the first time. There's a good explanation by strenght coach Bill Starr on this which i will find.

As to knees hurting beyond parellel..that's strange...stopping your depth at parallel tends to put more pressure on your knees, as opposed to doing the full movement...I find stoppig my squat at parallel or higher very uncomfortable on my knees...

[chest6]

Like I've said, once I go past parallel my form suffers. I start bending over and my knees come forward. My knees are no longer over my feet.
Box squats really helped me perfect my form. I may need to even start supplementing with them again.

[Pinnacle]

strength phase i squat to parallel.

hypertrophy phase so I squat ass to calves.

Anything over parallel as my man sputnik said.. is not a squat... lol

Ditto.........

[Son Of Khadafi]

I go past parallel. I try to get as much of a range of motion as possible to make the muscle grow

[Jimmya73]

We all see how everyone is boasting about going beyond parallel but let's all stop and think. How many people do you see even going parallel in the gyms? I think somebody might be lying here.

by virtue of the fact that we are even here on this particular board...i believe it. maybe there are some here who are lying, but probably very few. most of the guys here are not your average person in the gym, in that we know what we are doing for the most part.

[steve0]

ass to calves, IMO ouch !!!!!! bury it baby

[sputnik]

hey Steve, i hope u don't do so wearing those heels!

[lowstace]

U Gotta Switch Em Up

[Johns329]

Too tall to go parellel. Im 6'4 and it kills my knees!!