Squatting Question

[ExtremeStandard]

My question is for those who have done squatting for a long time. Do you find it more beneficial to to ass to the ground squats versus parallel squats. I don't know I've been doing squats for a bit now and I do parallel squats, but I also have this idea in the back of my head that ATG squats would be better overall.

 

[chia]

My question is for those who have done squatting for a long time. Do you find it more beneficial to to ass to the ground squats versus parallel squats. I don't know I've been doing squats for a bit now and I do parallel squats, but I also have this idea in the back of my head that ATG squats would be better overall.

The way I squat "ass to the grass" and parallel are like 1" of difference. I squat through a full range of motion. I don't know if it's "ass to the grass", that's just an arbitrary phrase that doesn't really mean much.

If you squat with a closer stance and high bar position you can sink your squats deep and get a little rebound out of the hole. But parallel will also be much deeper than most people think since the knees come forward (varying with leverages). If you squat with a low bar and wide stance your ROM is reduced and it's hard to go too far below parallel without messing up your form so only go as low as you can maintain good form. Either way, you should only go deep enough so that you can maintain a neutral lower back in the bottom position.

 

[guilineseguy]

The way I squat "ass to the grass" and parallel are like 1" of difference. I squat through a full range of motion. I don't know if it's "ass to the grass", that's just an arbitrary phrase that doesn't really mean much.

If you squat with a closer stance and high bar position you can sink your squats deep and get a little rebound out of the hole. But parallel will also be much deeper than most people think since the knees come forward (varying with leverages). If you squat with a low bar and wide stance your ROM is reduced and it's hard to go too far below parallel without messing up your form so only go as low as you can maintain good form. Either way, you should only go deep enough so that you can maintain a neutral lower back in the bottom position.

That might be my problem, too wide of stance, and low bar. Because I can get to parallel but that is about it.....unless i use a board or small weight to elevate my heels off the ground. totally inflexable in those areas

 

[cheez whiz]

TMUSCLE.com | Squat 900 Pounds

 

[callador]

It really depends on your goals I think. If you want to powerlift you will use a wider stance. You have to take gear into consideration too. Feds like IPA allow all sorts of stuff, so the guys squat really wide to take advantage of it. If you go the the IPF or some RAW competition, you might want to bring the legs in a little bit. If you are just squatting for general health/fun, do what feels comfortable. I can tell you that squatting real wide can make your hips sore, so I usually wear power briefs to help out a little with that.

Good luck. Either way you go, squats will be challenging and a lot of fun!

 

[Klotz]

Do both. Squat parallel for a while then ATG for a while.