IM THE FINAL WORD
SQUATTING BELOW PARALLEL?
HERE’S THE TRUTH!
Visually it’s impressive to squat ass to
grass with the plates loaded. Whenever
you see someone load up the weight
for squats, you can’t help but watch
and wonder: “How low will they go?”
No one wants to be that guy who puts
on tons of weight, barely dips down
and then have that moment go viral on
the Internet. Whether squats should
go below parallel or not is a debate
older than low or high intensity cardio.
It actually depends a lot on your goals
and body. Here’s the truth on whether
you should be squatting below parallel.Squatting Below Parallel
Before thinking about squatting below
parallel you need to honestly evaluate
if you can squat that low with stability
and comfort without using weight. If
not, that means you are compressing
your joints and connective tissue into
positions they can’t naturally move
into. On the other hand, if you can
squat that way but it takes you 20
minutes of foam rolling and stretching
to get there, it isn’t any better. Extend-ed periods of stretching can lengthen
the sarcomeres, or muscle fibers,
and that’s been shown to reduce the
amount of force those muscles can
produce. So you may squat lower, but
you won’t be as strong. The truth is
that squatting below parallel exposes
you to a much higher risk of injury
without a worthwhile increase in ben-
efits no matter what anyone says.Squatting To Parallel
Squatting to parallel has long been the
standard and for good reason – it’s
relatively safe and you can load up a
lot of weight. The biggest naysayers
to squatting to parallel claim that the
smaller range of motion means less
muscle activation and thus micro-
trauma, which creates the opportunity
for recovery and growth. While that
does hold clout for most exercises,
when it comes to squats, going to
parallel is already a substantial range
of motion. Going further can lengthen
the muscles so much that it takes
them out of an optimal length to pro-duce force. Plus, you can load up the
bar with significantly more weight to
build more strength and muscle.The Bottom Line
Virtually everyone benefits long term
from squatting to parallel – and not
below – for working sets. If your focus
is to build muscle, look better or get
stronger, then parallel squats are for
you. The only exceptions are if you’re
competing in Olympic weightlifting,
CrossFit or a sport that requires you to
be strong in a deep squat position.What you need to remember is that
you have your goals. Don’t be swayed
by what you see or hear others doing.
Your goals, not someone else’s, are
what matters. You have to remain
mentally strong with your exercise
choices so that you can reach your
physical goals. Squatting to parallel
gives you the stimulus you need for
your goals without unnecessary risk.
How you squat is your choice and only
you know what’s right for your body.By Raphael Konforti, MS, CPTForget everything else and train to achieve your specific goals.
ironmanmagazine.com | AUGUST 201 7 75