[StrikeBack]

(06-01-2015 10:13 AM)Samseau Wrote:  

I didn't see any proper squat form in any of these squat videos. The first video almost has it right.

Letting your thighs drop below the floor parallel = bum knees in the future.

You do not want to squat deep. It may be good for your glutes and hamstrings but it's gonna cost you your knees, which are notoriously fragile. Knees do not get stronger with time. Go easy on your knees by stopping the squat when your thighs are parallel with the floor.

There's research showing the exact opposite, but I'm too lazy to find them right now. Stopping at parallel uses many things to break the descent that actually hurt your knees more.

We're evolved to squat rock bottom. Look at tribes, third world countries, our ancestors etc.

At rock bottom, glutes don't work that much. Glutes work near lockout. Hamstrings don't get worked much in the squat, period.

My dad had knee issues for years that doctors gave up on. Deep squatting fixed it, and he was already a retired 61 y.o when I started teaching him how to squat. Now he's repping 110kg at 63kg bodyweight. Knees in fact can get stronger with proper training.

Olympic weightlifters squat deeper than anyone else on the planet, and they hardly ever have knee issues (shoulders and wrists OTOH...)

IPF raw powerlifters rarely get knee issues from squat, usually it's hips, particularly SIJ.

Now, if you normally squat high or only to parallel and accidentally go deeper because you loosen up, you may end up hurting your knees. This is because your body has never been in that position before with resistance (weights) and it is weak / untrained there, which is a very high risk for injury. This applies to many movements not just the squat. It is one reason why you always train with maximal ROM when possible, if not in the main movement then in variations of it.

And finally, all of those videos feature the best squatters on the planet, one being the actual World Championships, the others having world medalists and record holders. I think it's worth studying their forms if you are learning how to squat.