Ass to Grass or Parallel squats, which is more effective?

Who cares if someone is squatting a few inches above or below parallel. Even quarter squatting has its place.

Unweighted you should probably work on being able to sit, more or less, comfortably in a deep squat, but with a heavy barbell? You don't need it, and many people are not suited for below parallel anyway.
 
I choose "balls-to-mantle" squats, where I dip my balls in the earths core every rep
 
NurseKnuckles said:
You said 75% of the way and that any lower and your form breaks down. I'd reassess your form, personally. But I have not seen you squat.
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Understandable but it's about 2in above parallel. I worked with a S&C coach in college for 4 years and he said it was common in taller, ectomorph athletes. It is what it is
 
JonJonesLines said:
Understandable but it's about 2in above parallel. I worked with a S&C coach in college for 4 years and he said it was common in taller, ectomorph athletes. It is what it is
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Interesting. I have never heard that this was a common thing. I feel like the main obstacle getting in the way of "parallel" would be physical anatomy not conducive to what defines an ectomorph and not necessarily an excuse to not hit a reasonable depth. TBH if I watched an ectomorph not hitting depth, I'd assume he would need to work on improving the technique and mobility, or he's squatting extremely wide in a multi-ply suit.

I'm a tall ectoplasmamomorph and I squat well below parallel, in fact because I'm an ectomorphinranger I find it hard not to hit depth.

HOWEVER I remain open for dispute.
 
I never feel my quads when squatting even when doing them high bar. Maybe I need to do higher reps or something.
 
deadshot138 said:
I never feel my quads when squatting even when doing them high bar. Maybe I need to do higher reps or something.
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I know what you mean, and yes. Try 4x8 or more.

I have done the 20 rep program. I can tell you that this program will remind you how much the quads are a major player in the squat.
 
NurseKnuckles said:
I know what you mean, and yes. Try 4x8 or more.

I have done the 20 rep program. I can tell you that this program will remind you how much the quads are a major player in the squat.
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What can I do to develop my tear drop? My outer quads are huge but inner near the knee is shit. I'm at home and have no leg press or extension machine
 
deadshot138 said:
What can I do to develop my tear drop? My outer quads are huge but inner near the knee is shit. I'm at home and have no leg press or extension machine
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There has been a lot of contention about the idea that it's even possible to target the VMO/teardrop from the rest of the quadriceps. Still, there's some evidence showing that the VMO is more active during the final part of knee extension. Also, and you're going to dread this, that unstable surfaces skews the ratio towards more VMO activation. Again, it's not set in stone, but I'd argue there is some truth to it, along with having raised heels/doing incline squats (this could just target the quad overall more, instead of the VMO specificly).

Anyway:

Leg extension machine, hold at the top, slow on the way down and don't go all the way down (I know you don't have access to a leg extension machine).
Single leg/pistol squats variations.
Single leg/squats on unstable surface.

Try the Peterson Step Up:


High reps and see if you can't feel that in your teardrop. I think you might. Control and stability over a lot of weight on this one. Again, controlled eccentric and don't use something that is too high to stand on.
 
NurseKnuckles said:
Interesting. I have never heard that this was a common thing. I feel like the main obstacle getting in the way of "parallel" would be physical anatomy not conducive to what defines an ectomorph and not necessarily an excuse to not hit a reasonable depth. TBH if I watched an ectomorph not hitting depth, I'd assume he would need to work on improving the technique and mobility, or he's squatting extremely wide in a multi-ply suit.

I'm a tall ectoplasmamomorph and I squat well below parallel, in fact because I'm an ectomorphinranger I find it hard not to hit depth.

HOWEVER I remain open for dispute.
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It is certainly a mobility issue that was worked hard on and then went to shit when I hurt my back. 3 bulging discs and 15 years later certainly hasn't helped.

I get the sentiment of what you're saying but I see it quite frequently with my HS athletes and their lack of mobility, especially those who are tall and skinny
 
NurseKnuckles said:
Interesting. I have never heard that this was a common thing. I feel like the main obstacle getting in the way of "parallel" would be physical anatomy not conducive to what defines an ectomorph and not necessarily an excuse to not hit a reasonable depth. TBH if I watched an ectomorph not hitting depth, I'd assume he would need to work on improving the technique and mobility, or he's squatting extremely wide in a multi-ply suit.

I'm a tall ectoplasmamomorph and I squat well below parallel, in fact because I'm an ectomorphinranger I find it hard not to hit depth.

HOWEVER I remain open for dispute.
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It seems that people who don't squat to at least parallel always have an excuse ready.
 
MatterOverMind said:
It seems that people who don't squat to at least parallel always have an excuse ready.
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@ me next time. No excuse. Just a lack of mobility due to how my body is, that was worked on for years and can't be anymore.

There is no need to squat with anything heavy past parallel.
 
JimRussel said:
It's very natural, actually.
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Of course it isn't natural. The human body isnt designed to have a heavy barbell across the back and then squat into a very low squat for reps. The shearing of the spine is huge.

Squatting low with just bodyweight or a weight across the front of the body is natural.
Putting a bar across your traps or across your upper chest isn't natural.
Think about heavy manual labour, you will encounter many different movement patterns. Putting a weight above your spine and squatting low is not one of them.
 
CamMan14 said:
Of course it isn't natural. The human body isnt designed to have a heavy barbell across the back and then squat into a very low squat for reps. The shearing of the spine is huge.

Squatting low with just bodyweight or a weight across the front of the body is natural.
Putting a bar across your traps or across your upper chest isn't natural.
Think about heavy manual labour, you will encounter many different movement patterns. Putting a weight above your spine and squatting low is not one of them.
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i think he meant the third world squat which is indeed very natural. doing it with weight isn't, yes.
 
Slightly below parallel, anything more and you lose some of the muscle tension.
 
overhead-squat.jpg

The ass to grass overhead squat is the pinnacle of human movement.
 
Why does Clarence Kennedy squat ass to grass, and then push his hips forward at the bottom to get even lower?
 
I shoot for parrelling. I don't like the idea of torque past parrellel put on my knees. Besides that, parrelle feels very close to a leg press which feels right.

My form looks close to this chicks.

(she has a nicer ass than I do though)

maxresdefault.jpg
 
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