Let's have a conversation about squatting, and ignorance

judee

New member
After seeing some really ignorant comments from users on this post (OP by /@flipflops82 )I wanted to make a post.

Firstly, your ignorant ideas about what is an is not a squat need to be checked at the door. There is no wrong way to squat provided it:
  • Helps you get stronger
  • Helps you stay healthier
We should be promoting anyone's efforts to get stronger and healthier as long as it's working for them, and not attacking them from a place of complete inexperience.

There are dozens and dozens of ways to perform a squat movement and putting your hands on your legs while doing SSBs is basically a modified
Hatfield Squat.

Don't know what a Hatfield Squat is? Sure you don't. It doesn't surprise me. It was invented by one of the very first people on the planet to ever squat over 1000lbs in competition when he was 45 years old. The whole point is to work the legs while mitigating undue stress on the joint.



Reading all the comments by people saying "lower the weight", "good arm workout bro", and many more made me very frustrated at not only how completely off brand they were with the purpose of this sub, but how absolutely moronic and not in line with reality they were. Especially likely by people who have never dealt with horrible chronic dysfunction or actual injury.



If you don't understand something, ask. But it's very evident there's a ton of people in here who speak from a place of extreme ignorance and zero experience by not only the amount of comments, but the excessive upvotes they received.
 
@judee Rippetoe is an interesting force in the fitness world. On one hand, the guy is responsible for getting a lot of people with severe fuckarounditis to just get under the bar, including getting old people out of the zimmerframe.

And on the other hand, is any person more responsible for creating an entire generation of dogmatic fitness gurus who have less than 3 months training under their belts...
 
@judee The gatekeeping in the fitness community can be some of the worst. I don’t care if you are doing fucking zumba. Movement is better than stagnation and we should applaud anyone with the discipline to become fit because of you look around the country, we are the minority. The mere physiological stress racking a heavy squat does more for your body than sitting on the couch all day.
 
@alcazar I hear it all the time. "You gotta do this. You gotta do that."

I don't care if you go to a speed breakdance knitting class. I just want people to move, enjoy themselves, and be happy.
 
@judee Agreed completely. It’s hard to get up every day and do the things that make us uncomfortable. No one needs someone with a protractor measuring their squat degrees.
 
@judee I always liked "there is a difference between training and competing".

The depth police kill me. If someone is not competing they do not need to hit parallel. I am all for a higher range of motion, and agree that a 500lb squat below parallel is better than one above but, but training is for getting bigger and stronger. If they hit the same depth consistently and can add weight to it they are getting bigger and stronger in the movement. They may not be valid in any competitions, but that is not everyone's goal.

Some people's body's prefer a narrow stance. Other prefer a width. Low bar squat usually involves more hinging at the hips with the torso leaning forward whe high bar usually has the torso more upright. Some people may be training through shoulder or elbow injuries so their arm placement might be weird.

Obviously there are things that should be flagged -such as losing their bracing and knees caving, but if you feel the need to flag it, do so, and it is up to the squatter to take or disregard your advice.
 
@abbie333 Since it's a "30 plus" site, I'll be a grumpy old man for a minute.

I completely agree with you. As envious as I am of the amount of info available to a 15 or 16 year old (or any age starting out, I suppose) compared to when I got started in the mid 80s, I'm constantly amazed at how a little information/exposure turns people into experts despite having very little experience, or even personal success.

The one that always cracks me up is people in their 20s who just know that you can't do compound lifts in your 40s, or that you will regret lifting heavy when you're older. Or really any references to "snap city," especially when it's on a post of someone just squatting or deadlifting.

You know what I regretted in my mid 40s? Letting myself get fat after my kids were born. Then I got back on it. After consistently squatting and deadlifting and losing weight my back doesn't hurt anymore.

The really annoying thing is I've been kind of avoiding fitness subs lately because I find a lot of them too negative...and now I'm posting a really ranty/negative comment.
 
@shaul Preach it. I had a back injury in my late 20s and I’m 42 now and the only thing that keeps my back from hurting is lifting heavy (deads/squat). I’m not breaking any records, and progress slowly, but I was close to the 1k lbs club before the pandemic. And guess what happened when I stopped lifting for a while during the pandemic? My back pain came back.
 
@flmom I have had a home gym since about 2011. I dropped some more money on it during a rogue Black Friday sale in 2018, and in mid 2019 I cleaned some dude out of his used plates for like a buck a pound. I was so incredibly fortunate to have it this last year.
 
@shaul I have extremely limited gym time at the moment so just doing sumo deads as kinda a hybrid squat/deadlift, but regarding back pain. Bit it's kid's will never understand, gotta get older to see the full picture. Sitting (especially with bad posture) is what causes the back pain, the lifts are what cures it.
 
@abbie333 While I don't disagree with the premise of what you're saying I think it's worth pointing out that extra depth actually reduces sheer forces on the knees and will probably be a better option for most people
 

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