Squatting AtG is not necessarily better than parallel

[sbarras]

@roger5599 This may be me being ignorant, but aren't you not supposed to do that little booty tooch thing when you're coming up out of a squat?

 

[sbarras]

@roger5599 That’s good to know, thanks for clarifying!

 

[livinginhislight]

@roger5599 Heavy squats: below parallel

High rep/lighter squats/front squats/overhead squats: ATG

 

[dreis]

@livinginhislight Yeah agree, any Olympic weightlifting accessory squats should def be ATG

 

[abril]

@roger5599 Don't have an opinion on squat depth, but I love seeing this kind of content and discussion on this sub! Feels like I'm actually learning something.

 

[dawn16]

@roger5599 I also think people should know about the concept of "progressions". I'm sure you (OP) does, but for those who don't know... any exercise you see can be broken down into easier exercises and people publish a list of increasingly difficult exercises that you can do to build your way up to a difficult exercise. All that to say, no one needs to walk into a gym, put a barbell on their back, and start squatting. You can do progressions.

I did when I was starting off. I couldn't even body-weight squat off a box. I more or less followed this squat progression until I could barbell squat: https://i.pinimg.com/originals/34/2c/92/342c92e940dac688fa5470b9761435f7.jpg.

The guy in this has an IG of "AchieveFitness" I believe. He and his wife run a gym... I love their IG tutorials.

 

[dawn16]

Is it just me or does the offset KB squat seem harder than front/back squats? Seems like it would require more core stabilization if you’re only holding it in one arm.

 

[dawn16]

For me, it would just depend on the load and reps. With barbell, I go heavy and low volume. With KB's, I'm more focused on movement, so very low weight, but high rep. I think that helps me with stabilization.

 

[acker18335]

@roger5599 What about this study showing that a deeper squat leads to greater gains?

 

[roger5599]

@acker18335 While this is an older article, I think Greg Nuckols says it best here:

Your sticking point is going to come at the same point in the lift (a bit above parallel) no matter how deep you go, so if you can catch the bounce just below parallel, you can ride it through the start of the ascent and still have more momentum left when you reach the sticking point.

So, as I mentioned, it is really dependent upon the person. So while I can maintain neutral spine until my ass is literally in the freshly mowed lawn, it leaves my sticking point too far out of reach to benefit from the bounce I generate.

 

[baohomotorprovn250932]

@roger5599 This is something I had never considered. Thanks for the insights!

 

[skyes]

@roger5599 I always found I was never squatting deep enough because I had pain in my knees.

Over the past few weeks, I've been concentrating on building strength around my knees and also my glutes and improving ankle mobility.

I spent my time doing goblet squats AtG to get that range of motion and improving my form going before transitioning back to the bar.
I go AtG with the bar now without knee pain so I think that's a win.

I'll look at parallel next time if my goals change

 

[roger5599]

@skyes Weight shouldn't be felt in the knees when squatting. If AtG works for you it's fine, I am just mentioning that it can also be a hinder your progress depending upon the individual. You might benefit from more glute activation warmups before you squat. I do goblet squats before I get under the bar and it helps quite a bit.

 

[musicandfaith]

@skyes For ankle mobility are you just doing the atg kettlebell squat or more? My ankle mobility is currently limiting.

 

[skyes]

@musicandfaith I'm not a fitness professional so I can't say what'll work for you specifically but there's a few things suggested here

I've been doing the resistance band one mostly and doing the one at the bottom of the list before I do my reps.

(And also foam rolling but not specifically for this)

 

[shawnmeyer]

@roger5599 Ok I didn’t know this, I go down too low. Good to know thank you!

 

[trentak]

@shawnmeyer When I try to go just to parallel I get knee pain. I fight hypermobility so my challenge is always to have a controlled descent into the hole (heh) instead of just letting gravity drop me ATG. It's the slow and steady downward bit that is hard for me while gearing up to go fast as anything on the ascent.

 

[roger5599]

@shawnmeyer If it works for you then you don't need to change anything. I'm just saying that, just because it is possible to go that low, it doesn't mean you should or need to. Paying attention to your body, much like in yoga, is very important in strength sports. General guidelines on form are important, but slight variations exist. So whether it is building strength in a weak point, or making small form alterations, you can find what works best for you.