A Young Buck's Training Journal

[Hellawulf]

Just out of interest, how low do you squat?

I break parallel on every rep... I know its supposed to be fairly controversial, but I heard that stopping at parallel can be even worse for your knees than going below parallel, because going below parallel is better for your tendons to get the full stretch, takes more pressure off the joints.

 

[ExtraMile]

May aswell go ATG and get the full benefit if your going deeper than parrallel anyway... thats what I think but your choice...

 

[OneBreath]

Go as deep as possible without breaking lumbar extension (don't go so deep that your lower back curves in, as you get more flexible this will be deeper and deeper). Always go below parallel. A correctly performed full range of motion squat is beneficial, not harmful to knees.

The knee thing is a terrible misconception. Unfortunate really. Kind of like lifting weights stunts your growth.

 

[Hellawulf]

ATG Squats are normally what I shoot for... I'm very flexible from football and martial arts, so I've got a little advantage coming into it

 

[ExtraMile]

Kind of like lifting weights stunts your growth.

damn I hear that fucking phrase all the time and it annoys me so bad. even my school p.e teacher has said that lol.

 

[Hellawulf]

April 27 Diet

Breakfast: 10:00 AM Tuna and Bannana
Post Workout: 12:00 PM Protein Shake
Lunch: 1:30 PM Chicken Fetuccini - Large Plate
Snack: 2:30 PM Cashews
Snack: 4:30 PM Wheat Thins
Dinner: 7:00 PM Chicken w/ cheese and Ham on top, Medium serving of steamed vegetables (broccoli, carrots, squash, something that looked like green squash)
Snack: 9:00 PM Large Salad
Pre - Sleep: 10:00 PM Protein Shake

Edit: Weird Day, today was senior skip day, so I didn't wake up when I normally do, and my diet wasn't structured around my school like it normally is throughout the week, I think I didn't do to bad though, I know it is easy on a day off from work and school when your routine is thrown off to eat and drink unhealthy, I just used this day to workout, eat as right as I could, and rest, now I'm studying for some major tests and exams I've got coming up soon.

 

[djeclipse]

I break parallel on every rep... I know its supposed to be fairly controversial, but I heard that stopping at parallel can be even worse for your knees than going below parallel, because going below parallel is better for your tendons to get the full stretch, takes more pressure off the joints.

Going below parallel takes the weight/ pressure off your knees and transferes it to your hips. Your hips are much stronger and better geared to taking the weight than your knees. It is physics, ATG squat, below parallel squat is the proper way to squat.

It is too bad squatting has such a bad rep form years and years of mis information, spread by people repeating form someone else that didn't have a clue what they were talking about. It probably the best exercise for you, best at promoting entire body growth, yet so many people are uneducated about it.

 

[Hellawulf]

For sure, I think football, which is prob where the most young people are doing squats, is partially to blame, I don't think I've ever been to a training facility or workout event where they promoted going below parallel, hell I've been to a few in which people not even hitting parallel were getting their reps counted, just stat padding.

Edit: just like 40 times, 13-18 year old kids claiming 4.3 40 times, so fake... After five years of training, with professionals and other atheletes, including track training, I was running a 4.89 40 in my prime, granted I was at 215, and I don't have the best natural genetics.

 

[Hellawulf]

Oh, and btw, I was 196.2 last week when I started this thread, and I gained 4 pounds in a week, I just weighed in at 200.0 pounds. My weight fluctuates a good bit but this is a good sign for my current plan.

 

[Hellawulf]

April 28, 2009
Cardio
Warmup - 5 min. 3-4 mph
30 min. 5.5 mph
Cool Down - 6 min. 4-3 mph

Good