What Squatters Knee'd to know

[Tobias]

I thought this is very good article, especially if you squat/leg press/leg curl more than once a week
http://www.bodybuilding.com/fun/drsquat12.htm

[Tim]

Great article. You need to know about these things. I know I'm dangerously blase about injuries. I'm going to make sure I focus on my technique when I squat tomorrow, especially having my feet stick out.

[Creatine Dreams]

Also, make sure to go below parallel when you squat!
And the knees should not go beyond the toes!

[Tobias]

Going below parallel when you squat increases the risk of knee injury because the knees are more likely to go beyond the toes. What I do to make sure that my hips hit parallel is to sit down on a bench between descent and ascent.

[Halo Effect]

(03-21-2012 11:09 AM)Tobias Wrote:  Going below parallel when you squat increases the risk of knee injury because the knees are more likely to go beyond the toes. What I do to make sure that my hips hit parallel is to sit down on a bench between descent and ascent.

What do you base this on? I am fairly sure that Mark Rippetoe (writer of Starting Strength) strongly disagrees with all of this, and he knows his shit about squatting.

[Creatine Dreams]

Yeah, most good squatters (Mark Rippetoe included) say that you should go below parallel.
It actually causes less stress on the knee if your form is good.

[lapuma]

If you're squatting and your back rounds at all, doing this daily will help you get more flexible:

http://www.t-nation.com/free_online_arti...orld_squat

[CHB2]

Your flexibility is the primary factor in how deep you can squat - ankles, calves, hips, etc all need to be able to move through the whole range of motion. If they cannot then your back will round to compensate, which is not ideal, especially once you start packing weight onto the bar.

Below parallel is good, but not everyone can do ATG (Ass to Grass - basically all the way to floor) without rounding back.

[Creatine Dreams]

That is all very true CHB2.
Which is why it is also important to work on flexibility, especially hip mobility.