How Deep Should You Squat?

I am someone who can appreciate the huge variety of squats in the world. High squats, low squats, front squats, back squats—they’re all great. And yet people on the Internet love to argue about which squat is best.

So here’s a little guide to squat depth and how to find the squat that’s right for you. The short and simple answer is that you probably want to squat “parallel” and I’ll explain what that means, but there are benefits to squatting lower and higher than parallel, depending on your goals in the gym.

What is squat depth anyway?

When people talk about how “deep” a squat is, they are talking about how low you drop your hips. Some strong and flexible people can squat until their thighs touch their calves and their butt is almost on the ground. This is sometimes called a butt-to-grass squat.

If you can only bend your knees halfway before the movement falls apart, you may be told that you are squatting “high” or that you are not squatting “deep.” If the person saying this is a coach, instructor, or friend whose advice you value, listen to him and try to sit deeper. (I’ll give you some tips on how to do this in a minute.) On the other hand, if this person is some internet casualty or a busy person at the local gym, you don’t owe him any specific squat depth and he should be doing by your own affairs.

Typically, the higher the squat, the lighter it is, meaning you can lift more weight. When you’re training, you’ll want someone to find a way to be consistent. For example, if you squat 225 lbs to parallel at the beginning of a training program, and 315 lbs as an ultra high half squat at the end, you cannot legally say that you have added 90 lbs to your squat, since parallel squats and high squats are both Essentially, two different exercises. Pick a depth and stick to it.

Most people should parallel squat

The most common way to evaluate the squat, even when you’re alone in the gym, is by powerlifting standards – not because anyone expects you to compete in powerlifting (although you can if you want!), but because it It’s relatively easy to know when someone has reached this depth, and it’s as good a standard as any.

Powerlifters compete in the squat, bench press and deadlift, and when they squat, a literal judge (actually three of them) decides whether the squat passes the test. You can look at the rule book of the federation you are participating in to see exactly how they determine the permitted depth of squats. The general rule is that the hip joint (or crease of the thigh) should be positioned below the top of the kneecap. Roughly speaking, this corresponds to your thigh being parallel to the floor, so people will describe this position as “parallel.” Here’s a video showing what this depth means and how the judges see it:

Don’t try to judge this in the mirror while squatting! Your eyes are not at the level to accurately judge this. Instead, video yourself from the side (with the camera at hip height or below) or have a friend watch you squat and tell you if you’re reaching the right depth.

Benefits of parallel squats:

• You get a greater range of motion, thereby engaging your muscles better than if you squat at a higher height.

• Most people can achieve a parallel squat with training, so even if your mobility is limited when you first start training, it is an achievable goal.

• You may be able to squat heavier this way than if you went lower.

• It is easier to keep your heels stable on the floor in a parallel squat than in a low squat (see point above about mobility).

• You have a consistent basis for comparing one set to another. (If your squats get higher the more weight you put on the bar, then you’re actually not as strong as you think.)

When You May Need to Squat Butt to Grass

What about squats below parallel? First, if you are using “parallel” as a reference, technically any squat below parallel still meets the requirement. If you compete in powerlifting and squat until your butt almost touches your boots, it will still be a legitimate squat. There is no such thing as a red light for going too low.

But usually people only squat this low if they have a good reason for doing so. Sometimes the reason is personal preference: you may find that your squats become more comfortable (and you can even lift more weight!) if you allow your hamstrings to sort of bounce off your calves at the bottom of the squat. If it is a controlled and precise movement, it is safe and may be effective for you, depending on your body type.

You will also often see Olympic weightlifters squatting very low. This is because they use squats to help train leg strength for exercises like the clean or snatch, and when you perform a clean or snatch, you typically end up in a low squat position. Essentially, they train specific positions that are required in their sport.

Low squats are also popular among some gym-goers who want to work on mobility at the same time as strength or want to make sure they are training their legs through a full range of motion.

An important caveat is that not everyone feels comfortable squatting low. If you don’t have good ankle mobility , you may not be able to get into a low squat position while keeping your body balanced and your feet firmly on the ground. This position can also put more stress on the knees than desired, causing some people with knee injuries to prefer higher squats. (However, deep squats have not been proven to cause knee injuries, no matter what that annoying person at your gym says.)

Benefits of low squats:

• You train a greater range of motion in your legs and hips than with a parallel squat.

• According to some studies , you may see greater muscle growth in your glutes and adductors.

• You maintain flexibility in your hips and ankles.

• You’ll be better prepared for snatches, cleans, pistol squats , and other movements that require mobility in a deep squat position.

When You May Need to Squat High

Let me pause while the purists clutch their pearls, pass out, and wait to be revived before I point out that it’s actually not such a bad idea to deliberately squat above parallel. This has a place in many people’s workouts!

I define high squats as those in which your hip joint is not even close to the same level as your knee. They are sometimes called “half squats” (because you’re only doing half parallel) and sometimes even “quarter squats” if you just bend your knees a little.

Half/quarter squats can be a legitimate training tool, especially for people who participate in sports that involve running and jumping. You rarely find yourself in a full squat position in, say, basketball, so training full squats may not be a priority in the gym. On the other hand, half squat training can allow you to lift even more weight than a parallel squat, allowing you to overload the upper part of that range of motion.

High squats are also often performed as needed. If you don’t yet have the mobility for a parallel squat, your choice is to squat high or not squat at all. In most of these cases, high squats are the better option of the two. To make sure you have a consistent goal for each set of squats, you can use a box located directly behind you and squat until your butt touches the box. (You can also use a shorter box over time if you’re aiming for a lower squat.)

Benefits of high squats:

• Half squats will help you develop strength for running and jumping.

• Squatting high is better than not squatting at all.

• The high squat can be a stepping stone to returning to normal depth if you have an injury or other problem that prevents you from performing parallel or lower squats.

How to squat deeper

What to do if you want to squat deeper but can’t? In most cases, your problem is ankle mobility. Even though your legs do most of the work and your back helps support the weight of the barbell, the weak link of the squat is ankle flexibility. Your ankles should be bent quite deeply so that you can squat down to parallel or below.

I’ve put together a guide to improving ankle mobility when squatting , but a quick fix is ​​to put weight plates under your heels or wear weightlifting shoes like this one . Also, be sure to stretch your calves and ankles before you begin your day’s squats. A few more stretches at the end of the day (or on non-workout days) will help improve ankle mobility in the long run.

You can also improve ankle mobility over time by stretching and foam rolling. Also, try different rack widths and different squat types (front squats, goblet squats, high bar, low bar) to see which ones are more comfortable for you than others.

How to understand what squat depth is right for you

Okay, what if you don’t participate in any squat-oriented sports and can see the positives of each of the depths we discussed above? Here’s the dirty secret about squats: It doesn’t matter . The squat police won’t come to arrest you if you squat too high (although some of your gym buddies might nag you about it, because why don’t you go deeper?).

You can lift more weight if you only do partial squats, and there are people in every gym who will tell you about their huge squat records, but then it turns out that they are not even close to parallel. If you’re cheating on your squats to show off your numbers, swallow your ego and squat to parallel already.

The squat police also won’t come after you if you squat very low, but once a week or so a stranger tells you that you’ll ruin your knees by squatting like that. You can ignore them. Low squats are not inherently bad for your knees, so if you feel good, you can continue. (I discuss this myth in detail in my guide to squats .)

However, if you don’t like squatting low but are doing it because someone told you you “should”, feel free to reject that advice and squat to the level you prefer. Squatting with your butt on the grass doesn’t make you any better.

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