Squats: How far do you go down?

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betsy789

New member
I am an intermediate lifter who started lifting weights during COVID and love it. I thought I would hate leg day but it is my favorite part of my routine. I do a 4 day split (upper/lower).

My question is this: How far do you go down on Squats?

I heard ass to grass is for power lifters.

I was told to squat as far as my ass goes past my knees. I squat until I am sitting on a bench.

I watched a great video by Alan Thrall and he mentions that ass to grass is for power lifters while squatting part B is for guys who just want to be in shape.

The only routine I hate is Abs. I have been ignoring them and just using my workout routine. Any tips on a quick 10 minute routine I can do at the end of my workouts?

Here is a video of my squat. I had a hard time gripping the floor. I now go barefoot.

 
@betsy789 I think it varies. But ass to the grass is more of a CrossFit saying. Riding the line sometimes doesn’t count in competition setting. It’s probably what you feel is most comfortable and where you’re receiving the most benefit from.
 
@betsy789 I prefer ATG because it feels more natural where it feels awkward to stop before I get to that point.

For abs I just throw on a MadFit ab YouTube video on my cardio days. She’s got everywhere from 5-30 min; I usually do the 12-15min ones.
 
@betsy789 I go ass to grass. I have had numerous ankle and knee injuries over the years (soccer not lifting related) and as such squatting low is good for my mobility.

But I've been told that as long as you break parallell your fine. After that the gains are negligible.
 
@betsy789 Ass to grass is for Olympic lifters, not powerlifters. That's because we need to comfortably catch the bar in the bottom position. Do whatever you feel most comfortable with. And if you are wanting to build more mobility and increase your range of motion, build up to it slowly. 😊
 
@betsy789 To where your squat doesn’t go into a different movement, but like also it doesn’t really matter you can change up depth and use all of them I. Your training
 
@betsy789 Tbh I go as low as I can, but I usually only make it to parallel with the ground.

My knees have been unhappy for more than half my life, and quite frankly, they’ve only been able to bend under load that far in the past 5 years! Sitting down on anything used to be a struggle, standing up was even worse. So, for me, parallel to the floor is a huge improvement!

I would say… go as low as you safely can, without hurting yourself. Everyone is different!
 
@betsy789 Go down until either you lose comfort or until you lose form. If you're not competing, there isn't much reason to go farther.

That isn't to say you shouldn't strive to improve your hip mobility - there's a wealth of benefits to doing so. But you're not squatting wrong just because you don't get as low as the next person. Don't stress about it.
 
@cid555 This. Don’t go lower than you’re ready to just because you think you “should”. You’ll develop that mobility over time.
 
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