Pushtoday
MuscleChemistry Registered Member
Myles Worthington
It’s a debate as old as time. An argument that has divided nations, torn up relationships and destroyed even the strongest of bromances.
How deep should you go in your back squat?
There are some guys that don’t go low enough. You know who I’m talking about. The guy that overloads the bar to claim he can squat a ridiculous amount, but in actuality, he’s moving so little that his back squat looks more like a calf raise.
Then there’s the guy that squats too deep without proper mobility and puts himself at risk for back injury. As an avid weightlifter, I found myself getting critiqued by different coaches for just that problem. Now, in my head, I thought how can too deep be a bad thing? What happened to the old saying of “ass to grass”?
With so many schools of thought on the proper depth of a back squat, AskMen wanted to set the record straight once and for all, so we caught up with Sam Christopher, CrossFit Coach at Back Alley CrossFit in Phoenix, AZ to have him weigh in.
“Appropriate depth can vary by athlete as well as their chosen sport. For example, a powerlifting squat is going to have a much wider stance and more often than not have less depth than what we practice in CrossFit. In my opinion, someone learning to squat or looking to perfect the movement should aim to reach just below parallel.”
Photo courtesy of Mathew LeBron / Athlete: Joshua Martinez
To achieve this ideal depth, Sam recommends implementing the “rolling marble test.” Imagine there is a marble on your knee cap as you descend into your squat. If the marble would roll off the front of the knee, you are not reaching good depth. But if the marble would roll backwards towards the hip, you are below parallel and could potentially be squatting too deep.
Too much depth can also be an issue if you’re an athlete without the necessary mobility to reach those depths without sacrificing your lower back alignment. In some cases, an athlete can reach a depth that causes them to lose good positioning of the spine, causing the hips to actually turn underneath the torso, which yields the infamous “butt wink.”
“Overall, if you go too high, the squatter will not reach below parallel, which will not activate all the muscle used in a functional squat. Too low, and good position and posture can be lost, which can lead to potential injury.”
However, if you can keep the lumbar spine (lower back) neutral and have the flexibility to actually go “ass to grass” — a good, deep squat can be very healthy for your knees and also recruits the hamstrings and glutes even further.
Ryan Hopkins, co-owner and head Olympic weightlifting coach of SoHo Strength Lab, reminds us that when performing a squat, you should do so with an even tempo descent and ascent. More often than not, he sees athletes fall to the bottom of the squat and try and use that power and momentum to push themselves back up. That’s not only bad for the knees, but also makes it more likely for the athlete to lose that ideal spine position and puts him at a much higher risk of injury.
Photo courtesy of Mathew LeBron / Athlete: Joshua Martinez
Many novice weightlifters will complain about back pain as it relates to squatting, but those same lifters are likely the ones that develop a curve in their back at the bottom of the squat, which happens when they try to go lower than their individual range of motion actually allows. There are some great mobility exercises you can do to increase that range of motion and safely sit lower at the bottom of a squat, but until you can do so pain-free and without restriction, you should only squat as low as you can while maintaining a straight back.
Steps to achieve the perfect squat
It’s a debate as old as time. An argument that has divided nations, torn up relationships and destroyed even the strongest of bromances.
How deep should you go in your back squat?
There are some guys that don’t go low enough. You know who I’m talking about. The guy that overloads the bar to claim he can squat a ridiculous amount, but in actuality, he’s moving so little that his back squat looks more like a calf raise.
Then there’s the guy that squats too deep without proper mobility and puts himself at risk for back injury. As an avid weightlifter, I found myself getting critiqued by different coaches for just that problem. Now, in my head, I thought how can too deep be a bad thing? What happened to the old saying of “ass to grass”?
With so many schools of thought on the proper depth of a back squat, AskMen wanted to set the record straight once and for all, so we caught up with Sam Christopher, CrossFit Coach at Back Alley CrossFit in Phoenix, AZ to have him weigh in.
“Appropriate depth can vary by athlete as well as their chosen sport. For example, a powerlifting squat is going to have a much wider stance and more often than not have less depth than what we practice in CrossFit. In my opinion, someone learning to squat or looking to perfect the movement should aim to reach just below parallel.”
Photo courtesy of Mathew LeBron / Athlete: Joshua Martinez
To achieve this ideal depth, Sam recommends implementing the “rolling marble test.” Imagine there is a marble on your knee cap as you descend into your squat. If the marble would roll off the front of the knee, you are not reaching good depth. But if the marble would roll backwards towards the hip, you are below parallel and could potentially be squatting too deep.
Too much depth can also be an issue if you’re an athlete without the necessary mobility to reach those depths without sacrificing your lower back alignment. In some cases, an athlete can reach a depth that causes them to lose good positioning of the spine, causing the hips to actually turn underneath the torso, which yields the infamous “butt wink.”
“Overall, if you go too high, the squatter will not reach below parallel, which will not activate all the muscle used in a functional squat. Too low, and good position and posture can be lost, which can lead to potential injury.”
However, if you can keep the lumbar spine (lower back) neutral and have the flexibility to actually go “ass to grass” — a good, deep squat can be very healthy for your knees and also recruits the hamstrings and glutes even further.
Ryan Hopkins, co-owner and head Olympic weightlifting coach of SoHo Strength Lab, reminds us that when performing a squat, you should do so with an even tempo descent and ascent. More often than not, he sees athletes fall to the bottom of the squat and try and use that power and momentum to push themselves back up. That’s not only bad for the knees, but also makes it more likely for the athlete to lose that ideal spine position and puts him at a much higher risk of injury.
Photo courtesy of Mathew LeBron / Athlete: Joshua Martinez
Many novice weightlifters will complain about back pain as it relates to squatting, but those same lifters are likely the ones that develop a curve in their back at the bottom of the squat, which happens when they try to go lower than their individual range of motion actually allows. There are some great mobility exercises you can do to increase that range of motion and safely sit lower at the bottom of a squat, but until you can do so pain-free and without restriction, you should only squat as low as you can while maintaining a straight back.
Steps to achieve the perfect squat
- Tighten core muscles and keep them tight throughout the entire movement
- Send the hips back about 2-3 inches and then sink the butt down, driving the knees out over the toes.
- Keep torso as straight up and down as possible during the descent
- Full depth is reached when the hip crease passes below parallel, and you can still keep a straight back
- At that point, drive up through the heels until standing fully upright
