It’s not uncommon to read discussions (or is it arguments) about how deep someone should squat.
It never fails that someone says,”You should squat ass to the grass.”
Well, wouldn’t it be nice if we could all possess such extreme hip mobility to do such a thing because it’s actually pretty rare.
Based on my experience in working with “normal people,” it’s rather rare to have someone demonstrate the ability to squat to even parallel effectively and safely let alone go “ass to the grass”. Higher level athletes often don’t do much better.
Here’s a couple of suggestions to get you more depth right away:
Do front squats. The anterior placement of the weight increases trunk stiffness that can overcome stiffness in the hip that would typically limit depth.
Widen your stance. The wider stance reduces range of motion demands on the ankles and reduces tension in the stiffer or shorter muscles of the hips. Increasing toe out in your stance may even give you a little more. As you gain mobility, you can progressively return to your desired stance.
So how deep should you squat?
While it depends on several issues, let me give you some advice.
Avoid squatting deeper than the point where your butt tucks under. If you’re not sure what I mean, watch someone squat or video yourself. Watch the tailbone (sacrum) during the squat. At some point, you’ll see the sacrum tilt backward (counternutation). At that point the stiffness of the hips have overcome the stiffness of the spine which places the spine at risk for injury.
Bill
www.billhartmanpt.com