doing ATG pause squats dramatically increased my core strength, which after a couple months, really improved my stability and the amount of weight I could squat. Being able to comfortably sit in the ATG position with weights was life changing. I went from being afraid of failing at the bottom of the motion to using it as a strength to be able to rest in.
Wheres the rules that you need to go ass to grass? Have you thought about not everyone has the ability to go that deep? Does your sport needs it? Does your adl need it? Ass to grass is not be all end all. Just ask any biomechanist. Not aesthetic bs body builder. They aint athletic facks. They are just posers 😂
Nope, going all the way down put your legs where they want to be because all your legs want to do is rise up because they cant go any lower. Where as going to parallel you're stopping the rep mid motion and you're legs are under constant tension throughout the entire rep. I only find deep squats harder because it takes more wind out of me, parallel squats give more muscle strain in my opinion.
@kakarot3963 Not if you control the eccentric in deep squats, no bounce and a slight pause at the bottom. That's constant tension and far more bang for your buck than a parallel squat.
I do both, but love doing paused deep squats for low reps. No pain at all even when i go to my max. 90 degrees i can put on extra weight but feel some pain ( knees, lower back) from time to time.
Squatting f rom my mobility terrible, never gained strength or mobility Started going all the way down, my legs took off like a rocket. Not only in the gym but just pure functional strength in everyday situations in my llfe
Just watched Joel Seedman and Mike Israel debate on this. Wanted some other insight. Of course Mind Pump is the place I go for the best info. Thanks for the insight and great take with non biased approach. Probably the biggest reason I love y’all’s content.
Agreed. Only powerlifting requires 90° or parallel squat. Some sports specific training or drills may require even quarter squat for their purpose. Other than that, general population trying to improve strength, body composition, leg development, etc should strive for full range squats but only after gaining all necessary mobility requirements. Even powerlifters and sports people may benefit in full squats after their main work. Full squats with moderate weights and higher reps itself is an excellent cardio, conditioner, metabolic finisher, etc.
im gonna start doing ultra light weight technique day with deep squats that are paused at the bottom of the concentric. because i can get below parallel but it is a WAR lemme tell you. such balance and mobility issues. ill get it tho king itll just take time
I can atg squat 290lbs and 90* squat 315lbs+. Only people that care about deep squats are Powerlifter imo because you get a lot more value developing vertical jump strength squatting 90 or above as opposed to atg. Not everyone in the gym wants to be a Powerlifter and it’s annoying when people critique a squat cus you’re not wiping your ass on the ground every rep
A few hundred bodyweight squats a day for 3-4 months will get most people full depth and pain free! (: I had gotten to 700rep body weight deep squats before going back under the barbell after my knee surgeries(:
One legged leg press as deep as mechanically possible changed my squat pretty significantly. I only put 140 on the press and it's only hard and only works out around the hips and upper thigh
It really depends on what your training for and your goals. You miss a good bit of gains and will have a weak link in your posterior chain if you don’t break parallel. Also breaking parallel is clearly better for overall mobility which can also aid in injury prevention. My dad has always told me in life “don’t half ass it” . In other words, if your gonna do something do it all the way..ATG FTW🤙🏼
That's not really the issue. The issue is what weight should be taken ATG, and should it be less than the weight you are using to go to around parallel.
@@spencergsmith Agreed, but the caveat is if the weight is close to max, "safely" one day can turn to injury the next -- it happens all the time. But, yes, it is a risk management maneuver that will not be necessary for some people.
@@wellnesspathforme6236 anytime you move with poor technique, you risk injury. So the focus isn't necessarily on the load, but the movement. You should be striving to move well all the time, but not lift heavy all the time.
I go ATG with light weights and parallel when I'm close to my 1 rep max. Also, pause ATG helps me learn how to brace my back and core way better than parallel.
My experience... Start light if you want to do full ROM. I had to start with just body weight. Then the bar. Then 10kg plates. Now I can do full ROM squat with 70kg for 10reps with good form. This is over 3 months. I can do 90kg for 10 reps at 90 degrees and 130kg at 60 degrees. I now use all ranges?
Maybe I’m wrong but I just don’t agree with the sport specific movements of say 90 degree for jumping. I get why athletes would work that way, but imo strength through loading the length and exploding will always translate better, even if you only bend a quarter or 90 degrees before jumping in a game. ROM is always better imo, and if ROM is an issue then you should regress and work on flexibility to reach that ROM.
I would squat 6 reps with 5 plates on each side...after 6 months of no squatting just machines here and there etc.. i lowered my weight to about 205..full ROM and really workong the muscle...man what a workout...I felt so weak but my soreness after is off the charts...it could also be my layoff from squats but im happy post a ham injury and being able to squat again
I think they were talking about Joel SeedMens squats (which are awful btw, it’s not good on you’re knees and don’t hypertrophy you’re quads) but they interprited it as ATG vs parallel Parallel is just fine, if you can go deeper do it but if not it’s not a big deal
Most people squat down on their toes not flat foot. Not because of mobility issues but because its more natural. Its allows you to remain explosive on your toes and is why its more natural becuase when our ancestors needed to be quick out of a squat position if a predator came along it allows that. The full flat foot squat is a resting position and was used to rest not for stength. Squating on your toes will also strengthen your knees, feet and ankles, calves, quads and hips alot better than flat foot squatting which will train the glues better but is not safer or more function. Squatting on your toes being bad is a huge myth. Next time you go to squat to get something from the floor or bottom shelf take not and you'll see for yourself
Structure must play a role.. A guy like Arnold Schwarzenegger couldn't do back squats after a certain level whilst Platz could easily. Dorian ditched traditional back squats after bad hip issues.. Lee Priest never squats below 90.
Yes squat depth is very specific to everyone depending upon leverages, mobility, specially in upper back and shoulders in addition to hips, ankles, etc. So we should figure out how much is safe for our fitness instead of dropping the squats completely. In the meantime, we should work to improve our limitations if possible.
I do quarter squat when I'm beginning i do that around 3 yrs but when i try ass to grass...and start doing it ...now i can't do quarter squat it doesn't satisfy me😅
