who squats deep ?

[jamiejamie6661]

the past few months i have been squating super deep
but i am confused about how weak i am

i squat about 110 kg 4 times
but this is in comparosin to a
160 kg dead 4 times

this ratio seems a bit off? ?? or is that normal for someone who sqauts deeply

 

[rEmY]

*raises hand*

i squat deeply. at my best my 1RM for squat was 295 and my 1RM for my deadlift was 385. some people are just better at one or the other.

 

[johnnydussimo]

I also squat deep, such that the limiting factor is my hammies and calves squash together

It's a lot harder, and you can't move nearly as much weight as if you were squatting to parallel, but in terms of building strength for wrestling I think it's much better

 

[threnody]

i haven't maxed out on squat but i pyramid up to 360x6. my ass drops below parallel. meanwhile, i rep 405x4 for deadlifts. i really have no idea if this is unproportional, and really don't care.

 

[jamiejamie6661]

ok so you ratio Remy is similar to mine
thats not so bad then

 

[johnnydussimo]

Remember that the ratios of most people you see are people who squat to parallel. You can never expect to match that ratio if you are squatting ass to grass, because it means you can't use as much weight

 

[Alon]

I squat 180 vs a dead of 195, and that's with years of work on my squat and only a little bit of deadlift specific work (however I'm sure I got a lot of carryover from pulls etc).

Most of the people I know have higher deadlift numbers.

 

[chia]

If you are training for Powerlifting, then the poundage matters. If you are training for MMA/BJJ/Wrestling, then who cares how much you can squat? Go ass to the grass with a medium-wide stance. Aim to increase your poundage, but don't worry if your numbers aren't high. There are guys who 1/4 squat 405 lbs but can't deadlift 315 lbs. Squatting deep means you will use less weight, but your entire lower body will get stronger faster (meaning more weight on the deadlifts).

 

[Madmick]

i haven't maxed out on squat but i pyramid up to 360x6. my ass drops below parallel. meanwhile, i rep 405x4 for deadlifts. i really have no idea if this is unproportional, and really don't care.

I don't believe you.

 

[Ted-P]

I only accept ass to the grass.

 

[unearth]

deep is the only way to go imho. its always a good laugh to see people barely moving down like a 1/4 of the way at the gym. how ridiculous would it look if u did a pullup only 1/4 of the way or a bench that way lol. full deep squats are the way to go for strength

 

[Urban]

I have no idea how deep I squat. I squat untill I can see my ass clearly go below my knees in the mirror. Appearently I squat low enough to get the local bench jockeys to tell me I'm going too low.

 

[SmashiusClay]

I squat as low as physically possible, hamstrings touching calves, and found that this gives me a similar ratio to the thread starter. I see this type of squat as being superior for MA training as its massiveely helped my grappling for strength from low down and on the ground.

 

[thomas87]

Going all the way down can't be too good for your knees, can it? I go deep myself, but I dont go that deep.

 

[Alon]

Going all the way down can't be too good for your knees, can it? I go deep myself, but I dont go that deep.

Bouncing out of the bottom is what hurts the knees, going deep is alright.

As an odd aside, doing 3/4 squats increases my leg power and strength (only when I do it for a short cycle inbetween full squats).

 

[krellik]

Good thread, I have been conteplating the optimal squat depth myself. I think im weighing towards ass to the grass myself, for mma purposes atleast. And as an extra plus, if your doing ass to the grass + no equipment there arent a chanse in hell your ego lifting and cheating the squat.

 

[Ian Coe]

I squat as far as the squat rack allows (ie until the bar touches the rails), which looks in the mirror to be a few inches below parallel,


I've done 145 for 4's going that deep, but when it comes to deadlifting...I suck. I have no real grip and probably in 2 years only done 10 deadlift sessions, everything else is squat. Which is why I only deadlift about 145 for 3 (but that was last June, the last time I did dead)

 

[fat_wilhelm]

I think if you want to choose one way to squat, then go deep.

Every variation recruits different muscles, however, so I find it beneficial to mix it up. I do light sets to the floor, heavy sets to parallel and super heavy sets to much less than parallel. I even get on the Smith Machine (backwards) from time to time and put my feet way back in my stance. I've found that it's a good simulation of pushing into someone (kind of like a football sled) and it helps a great deal w/ jumping, too.

 

[Rjkd12]

Don't rip on bodybuilders who do 1/4 squats. EMG work has shown that the only difference in activation of muscle is as you go lower your glutes are activated more, and hamstring and quad activation are the same. So, if you want maximum stimulation of the hams and quads, its better to do a 1/4 squat with a lot more weight than to go ass to the grass. Now, I think bodybuilders should do full squats, but heavy short range partials do have their place. Granted probably 50% of the guys are doing it wrong, just don't assume everyone doing it is a moron.

For MMA, who cares about the weight (as Urban says, just make sure its more than before), and go ass to the grass. If you are concerned about how much harder it is, add a few bands or chains to make the motion at the top of the lift harder.

 

[Ted-P]

I think every exercise has its place.

But for athletics in general IMO, I think you should always start with the ass to the grass and stick to it for a while.