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artificialaspirations
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mythbusters?
argument with my dad about squats led to an interesting phone call
- Thread starter JDid23
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djeclipse
New member
ha, ya! I would love to see how they would incorporate some kind of explosives to help bust the squatting myth, lol
Im not gonna do this...good luck on your quest!
B
Big_BK
Guest
I think the reason 90% of the trainers out there suck is becuase they don't care about the clients becuase they don't care about them selves. The ones that do, do it on their own they don't need to pay someone to hound them to do simple shit.
artificialaspirations
New member
I've squated both ways and my body tells me below parallel is right. That and I believe those guys in the olympics know what their doing more than a few internet rack curlers.
djeclipse
New member
So true, but there are those that truly don't know any better and look to these so called "trainers" for guidance, to be taught proper form. These people simply assume the personal trainer (that charged them money) knows what they are talking about and will teach them proper form. After all they took a course and have some lame "certificate", they must know what is right.
This is why I said I feel sorry for the clients of these personal trainers that truly don't know what proper form is. They are paying for someone to show them and teach them improper form that is actually detrimental to their body.
What is even worse is that the original poster the "personal trainer" that is teaching bad form tells us that he himself doesn't squat to "protect his back". This alone should tell him that something is wrong with the way he is squatting. If your squat form is good as well as the rest of your training, you won't have to worry about "protecting your back"...
And apparently some of the mods don't like hearing things like this as my posts got deleted.
I like this post.
oso0960
New member
here's an excerpt from Rippetoe's book "Strong Enough?"
"The quadriceps are not the only muscles that are supposed to be involved in the exercise. The hamstring muscles on the back of the thigh attach at the front of the tibia, at the bottom of the knee, wrap around it on both sides and pull back on the knee from below it as they get tight. The adductors connect the groin area of the pelvis to the medial aspect of the femur, and these muscles also pull back on the knee when they tighten, but from above the knee and toward the inside. Both of these muscle groups tighten from behind the knee as the torso leans forward, the knees travel out to stay parallel to the feet, and the hips reach back for correct depth, balancing the forward-pulling stress from the quadriceps and the patellar tendon around the front of the knee. But they only exert this, in the full squat position. At the bottom of the squat, where the hamstrings and adductors are fully stretched there is as much pull on the knee from the posterior as from the anterior. In this position, the quadriceps' knee extension force is balanced by the hamstrings' knee flexion force. At the same time, the adductors have stretched too, and if the knees stay parallel to the feet, as they should, the adductors will get tight and pull on the femurs. This knee-out position anchors the femur so that adductor contraction and hamstring contraction produce hip extension."
"Because the hamstrings attach to the pelvis at the ischial tuberosity, and forward tilting of the top of the pelvis will stretch the hamstrings away from their insertion points at the knee. When the pelvis and the back are properly locked in a flat rigid unit by the back muscles, the forward angle of the torso and pelvis tightens up the hamstrings. At the same time, if the knees are shoved out to the sides at the bottom of the squat, not forward over - or, god forbid, inside - the toes, the adductors are tightened as well. If this is done correctly, there is a slight "bounce" or muscular "rebound" off the hamstrings and adductors at the bottom of the squat, which initiates the upward drive out of the hole. This hip extension is accomplished much more efficiently and much, much more safely for the knee when it occurs frmo this correct position - A POSITION THAT CANNOT BE ACHIEVED UNLESS THE SQUAT IS DEEP.
This is what happens in a half ass squat:
"The only muscles under any stress are the quads, since the hamstrings, glutes, and adductors are not involved due to the limited range of motion. The spine is invariably loaded too heavily, since it is incredibly easy to "squat" big weights if you have to move them only a few inches. The knees are disproportionately subjected to anterior stress, since the lack of depth does not engage the hamstrings and activate their posterior balancing effect. The lower back muscles, used in the full squat to maintain spinal alignment and the back and pelvis angle, get little work in the half squat because it is not deep enough to ever put the low back at much of an angle."
*sorry for mispelled words I typed it as I read it through the book and didn't proofread it.
I could also pull exerpts out of Bill Starr's "The strongest Shall Survive" because he states the same exact thing that full squats are proper. Bill Starr says there is a reason for the "quarter squat" since it overloads the body to be able to handle the heavier weight but strongly cautions that it only be used by an advanced trainee since novices haven't built the supporting strength to handle it.
"The quadriceps are not the only muscles that are supposed to be involved in the exercise. The hamstring muscles on the back of the thigh attach at the front of the tibia, at the bottom of the knee, wrap around it on both sides and pull back on the knee from below it as they get tight. The adductors connect the groin area of the pelvis to the medial aspect of the femur, and these muscles also pull back on the knee when they tighten, but from above the knee and toward the inside. Both of these muscle groups tighten from behind the knee as the torso leans forward, the knees travel out to stay parallel to the feet, and the hips reach back for correct depth, balancing the forward-pulling stress from the quadriceps and the patellar tendon around the front of the knee. But they only exert this, in the full squat position. At the bottom of the squat, where the hamstrings and adductors are fully stretched there is as much pull on the knee from the posterior as from the anterior. In this position, the quadriceps' knee extension force is balanced by the hamstrings' knee flexion force. At the same time, the adductors have stretched too, and if the knees stay parallel to the feet, as they should, the adductors will get tight and pull on the femurs. This knee-out position anchors the femur so that adductor contraction and hamstring contraction produce hip extension."
"Because the hamstrings attach to the pelvis at the ischial tuberosity, and forward tilting of the top of the pelvis will stretch the hamstrings away from their insertion points at the knee. When the pelvis and the back are properly locked in a flat rigid unit by the back muscles, the forward angle of the torso and pelvis tightens up the hamstrings. At the same time, if the knees are shoved out to the sides at the bottom of the squat, not forward over - or, god forbid, inside - the toes, the adductors are tightened as well. If this is done correctly, there is a slight "bounce" or muscular "rebound" off the hamstrings and adductors at the bottom of the squat, which initiates the upward drive out of the hole. This hip extension is accomplished much more efficiently and much, much more safely for the knee when it occurs frmo this correct position - A POSITION THAT CANNOT BE ACHIEVED UNLESS THE SQUAT IS DEEP.
This is what happens in a half ass squat:
"The only muscles under any stress are the quads, since the hamstrings, glutes, and adductors are not involved due to the limited range of motion. The spine is invariably loaded too heavily, since it is incredibly easy to "squat" big weights if you have to move them only a few inches. The knees are disproportionately subjected to anterior stress, since the lack of depth does not engage the hamstrings and activate their posterior balancing effect. The lower back muscles, used in the full squat to maintain spinal alignment and the back and pelvis angle, get little work in the half squat because it is not deep enough to ever put the low back at much of an angle."
*sorry for mispelled words I typed it as I read it through the book and didn't proofread it.
I could also pull exerpts out of Bill Starr's "The strongest Shall Survive" because he states the same exact thing that full squats are proper. Bill Starr says there is a reason for the "quarter squat" since it overloads the body to be able to handle the heavier weight but strongly cautions that it only be used by an advanced trainee since novices haven't built the supporting strength to handle it.
Rip on full squats.......
"The full squat is a perfectly natural position for the leg to occupy. That's why there's a joint in the middle of it, and why humans have been occupying this position, both unloaded and loaded, for millions of years. Much longer, in fact, than quasi-intellectual morons have been telling us that it's "bad" for the knees."
"Anyone who says that full squats are "bad for the knees" has, with that statement, demonstrated conclusively that they are not entitled to an opinion about the matter. People who know nothing about a topic, especially a very technical one that requires specific training, knowledge, and experience, are not due an opinion about that topic and are better served by being quiet when it is asked about or discussed. For example, when brain surgery, or string theory, or the NFL draft, or women's dress sizes, or white wine is being discussed, I remain quiet, odd though that may seem. But seldom is this the case when orthopedic surgeons, athletic trainers, physical therapists, or nurses are asked about full squats"
"The full squat is a perfectly natural position for the leg to occupy. That's why there's a joint in the middle of it, and why humans have been occupying this position, both unloaded and loaded, for millions of years. Much longer, in fact, than quasi-intellectual morons have been telling us that it's "bad" for the knees."
"Anyone who says that full squats are "bad for the knees" has, with that statement, demonstrated conclusively that they are not entitled to an opinion about the matter. People who know nothing about a topic, especially a very technical one that requires specific training, knowledge, and experience, are not due an opinion about that topic and are better served by being quiet when it is asked about or discussed. For example, when brain surgery, or string theory, or the NFL draft, or women's dress sizes, or white wine is being discussed, I remain quiet, odd though that may seem. But seldom is this the case when orthopedic surgeons, athletic trainers, physical therapists, or nurses are asked about full squats"
oso0960
New member
lol I remember reading that.
Also, check out a 2 year old when they pick something up from the ground. What do they do? A perfect squat below parallel! It's funny to see that most people actually lose the ability to perform a squat correctly once they get older. I believe it's from sitting and improper posture?
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