Squat form?

[dustmybroom82]

I been watching people for years, and lately I've been doing a bunch of research, but I still am lost on squat form. So far I have come up with:

1) Feet around two waist widths apart, toes pointed as is comfortable.
2) Avoid bowing your knees either in or out.
3) Of course minimize lower back motion.

My confusion is with the simplest point. How fucking far down do you go? Some guys drop till the tops of their thighs are a few NEGATIVE degrees with the floor (owe!), others (and I am guilty) stop at maybe 10-15 positive degrees.

Is there a serious detriment/benefit to either form? I have come up with the theory that both is better (though maybe not negative degrees, zero is best, right?) Do a few less intense sets all the way down, and then add some weight for the less demanding form. I mean for me, I have to drop maybe %50 of load to make it a parallel thigh stance. Maybe I just have weak ass muscles from doing these the wrong way.

Any personal experiences would be awesome.

BTW, I am 5'10", 180lb with a fairly mesomorphic metabolism. I have never made is past a 250ish squat the easy way. My goal is def not a 400+ squat, but 300ish would be fine with me. Just enough to maximize agility.

I mean I have seen guys my size doing 300+ with their asses touching their heels, WTF?

[Awakened615]

Wear a back support when doing squats bro! Feet shoulder width apart and sit in the bucket. IMO for you to practice on form you should use the smith machine to do squats brother.

[Achilles]

Your hip joint should be just below your knee joint. That is the rule for a passing squat in powerlifting. However, the deeper you go the more your glutes and hamstrings become involved. That is why squats are so awesome. The deeper you go the more of your physique you can put stress on. Get as much deapth as possible,even at the expense of weight. Good lifting to you!

[Midevil]

nothing beats a good squat day at the gym. I'm tossing the idea that working without a belt is the way to go. After having hernia surgery I'll wear a belt from now on.

[Achilles]

I always wear a belt when squatting. If I were younger and injury free then I would not wear one until I got near my max.If I were training for a powerlifting contest then I would not wear one until a few weeks from peak day. But those days are gone so I will wear the damn thing.

[SHINE]

Well if ur training for powerlifting then depth is of importance but imo if your bodybuilding than imo inch to two inches near parallel is deep enuff.

save ur knees without the extra stress of deep squats imo.

[Achilles]

Going deep is important in both powerlifting and bodybuilding. You must break parallel in powerlifting for the lift to pass. In bodybuilding the deeper you go the more your Hamstrings and Glutes come into play.

[SHINE]

Originally Posted by Achilles

Going deep is important in both powerlifting and bodybuilding. You must break parallel in powerlifting for the lift to pass. In bodybuilding the deeper you go the more your Hamstrings and Glutes come into play.

Na, if ur an old fuck like me with sore knees as long as ur within an inch to two inches from parallel you will still build good muscles bro. Imo adding dead-lift and good strickt form stiff legged dead lift fills the gap for the other muscle groops. (somthin Old Lee Haney advised and it works for me)

Well that's my opinion and it has helped my knees a lot, each to his own.


peace.

[dustmybroom82]

Yeah, thanks for all the feedback.

I have been hitting parallel my past few legs days, and I am starting to inch back toward my former intensity. I have also been throwing in a few "cheater" sets at the end with more weight just to better agitate my glutes and quads at their stronger angles.

I actually just tried dead lifts for the first time last week. Holy shit! That was worse than a first legs workout. I'm still feein it. My lower back blew up though, only after one workout. Dead lifts rule!

[marx]

http://www.performancemenu.com/exerc.../backSquat.mov

Check it out