Squat or Full Squat?

Sangre · 10-07-2007 1:00pm #1

Just wondering if people here would recommended a squat or a full squat (i.e knees fully bent and ass nearly on floor)? I do my squats on leg day to work quads/core. Is there any real difference between these?

Thanks.

Leon11 · 10-07-2007 2:51pm

Just below parallel if possible. I really don't like going deeper than that as my groin starts to bother me if I do.

pwd · 10-07-2007 3:15pm

Full squat is better exercise

mloc · 10-07-2007 3:32pm

just below parallel... you train in UCD?

Sangre · 10-07-2007 3:38pm

No, TCD actually. I've been doing just below parallel until now, only noticed the full squat form when randomly browsing exrx.net. For some reason I thought a full squat was bad on the knees but is that just an urban legend?

pwd · 10-07-2007 3:39pm

Sangre wrote:

No, TCD actually. I've been doing just below parallel until now, only noticed the full squat form when randomly browsing exrx.net. For some reason I thought a full squat was bad on the knees but is that just an urban legend?

yes

wasabi · 10-07-2007 3:56pm

Sangre wrote:

No, TCD actually. I've been doing just below parallel until now, only noticed the full squat form when randomly browsing exrx.net. For some reason I thought a full squat was bad on the knees but is that just an urban legend?

When you squat down there's a force exerted on the front of your knee joint. When you go below parallel your hamstrings get stretched and exert an opposing force on the back of the knee joint, so it becomes balanced. It's actually safer than stopping higher, less stressful on your joint, all more stable.

Also, the deeper you go, the better your arse will look

http://www.stumptuous.com/cms/displayarticle.php?aid=52

brianon · 10-07-2007 5:16pm

If you don't go below parallel then it would be bad for your knees.

HammerHeadGym · 11-07-2007 11:29am

For me, it's the full (or rock bottom) squat every time. In the long run this saves wear and tear on the oul knees. In fact before I switched to rock bottoms I would get a shooting pain all through the knee cap, now it's fine though. Hooray!!

Hanley · 11-07-2007 7:10pm

Keep in mind a "rock bottom" squat will look different for different people.

Those with long femurs can pretty much sit on the ground, whereas guys like me with short legs (30'' inside leg, 5'11 tall) can go rock bottom but still not look THAT deep.

Leon11 · 12-07-2007 11:09am

Changed my mind, full squat! No pressure on knees at all imo where as with a parallel if you cheat you may stop above parallel and exert unnecessary pressure on the knees

rubadub · 12-07-2007 4:23pm

Whenever I go lower than parallel I get sore in the legs the next day (normal "good" sorness). So I have been recently going lower, probably halfways between the
full squat
http://www.exrx.net/WeightExercises/Quadriceps/BBFullSquat.html

and regular squat
http://www.exrx.net/WeightExercises/Quadriceps/BBSquat.html

Last week I did 3 sets of 20, was fine the next day, but the next 2 days my legs were in bits!

I have no rack so can only lift what I can press over my head, which is about 58kg.

exrx mentions to be careful of knees on the full squat page. I never had an injury but my left knee sometimes makes a grinding sound. Have started taking fish oils and it seems to help.

Squat or Full Squat?

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