Figuring Out Squat Depth


Just a quick question: Are any of these squats at or below parallel? The more I am staring at the pictures, the higher the squats seem to be. So I figured, I’ll have more pairs of eyes have a look :slight_smile:

The first one is the deepest, second is little less than an 1 inch higher, and the last one is additional 1/2 - 2/3 of an inch higher.

The first one is pretty much as much as deep as I can go (mobility-wise), and I already start to round the lower back a bit. The last one is the most comfortable on my back and I feel tight all the way.

So please, have a look and let me know your opinion.

Thanks

The 3rd one appears to be at parallel while the first one appears to be just under it. I think the more important question is…why is there some guy laying on your bathroom floor?

Yeah first one is nice, but your knees are farther back than in the other ones - it looks like you really have to sit back in order to get your hip below parallel. The second one looks the highest, but I think that maybe that is just because the pants you are wearing are bunched up at the pocket? Either way, I prefer where your knees are / your torso angle in those second two. The third one I think might be calling it close for competition (I don;t know too much about competition though, I’m sure it depends on the fed), but if you say the second one is a tiny bit lower than I’m going to say stick with that depth, it seems to be the best of both worlds

In the IPF/USAPL the only one that would pass is the 1st and some of the judges (at least here in Canada) call it beyong strict so you might get one red light though undeserved. The other two would be reds for sure. In many federations all of the would pass but I am an IPF guy so thats what I will tell you. To be honest, if you put on a singlet it may be different because it is really hard to tell with those pants bunching up.

[quote]arramzy wrote:
In the IPF/USAPL the only one that would pass is the 1st. The other two would be reds for sure.[/quote]

That’s how I called it too.

Thank you guys. So, it seems that I have to hit the mobility exercises hard, if I want to squat deep enough without killing myself…

[quote]Chicksan wrote:
…why is there some guy laying on your bathroom floor? [/quote]

I kind of wish there was some more mysterious reason, but… it’s just a plummer fixing the sink. :slight_smile:

[quote]Palusko wrote:
Thank you guys. So, it seems that I have to hit the mobility exercises hard, if I want to squat deep enough without killing myself…
[/quote]

Your mobility doesn’t look too bad from those pics. MobilityWOD has some terrific mobility drills for the lower body, including some specific drills to prepare for squatting. Good luck!

[quote]Consul wrote:

[quote]Palusko wrote:
Thank you guys. So, it seems that I have to hit the mobility exercises hard, if I want to squat deep enough without killing myself…
[/quote]

Your mobility doesn’t look too bad from those pics. MobilityWOD has some terrific mobility drills for the lower body, including some specific drills to prepare for squatting. Good luck!
[/quote]

And of course Defrancos agile 8.

If you can keep your shins more vertical, the less you will have to travel down to break parallel.

In my opinion the first one is great, and the other two are high. But if you can keep your shins near vertical, i am sure you will break parallel with the box height of the second picture, possibly even third.

It comes down to how comfortable are you leaning into your squats.


This is about right, no?

[quote]grappling_hook wrote:
This is about right, no?

[/quote]

you are a bit high at the hip joint on some of those lines

From what I know, at a competition, it’s the hip CREASE that has to be at or below the knee. Having never competed, I can’t say how anal they are about it. Also, being a chick, I have the “why are you squatting that deep?” issue instead.

As for mobility, it’s important to figure out what’s tight before you just go over-mobilizing the shit out of everything. Some people have really tight ankles (your heels want to come up beyond a certain depth) and some people - probably most - have shitty hip mobility. It’s one of the blessing of living in the modern world with chairs and desks and all that garbage.

Check out Mobility WOD’s “couch” stretch. Both positions really address tight hip flexors. And, as lame as it sounds, if it’s posterior immobility (hammies), do some “downward dogs.” I also find that “pigeon” is a great mobilizer too.

Dude, work on your thoracic mobility. That would improve your depth tenfold.

The first one is good, the other 2 no, although I had to look twice at the first one because you pants bulge up near your hip making the squat look higher than it is. Wearing a singlet would make it a bit easier to tell.

[quote]rehanb_bl wrote:

[quote]grappling_hook wrote:
This is about right, no?

[/quote]

you are a bit high at the hip joint on some of those lines[/quote]

As m_6587 wrote, I was going for the hip crease, not the hip joint, which will always be lower than the hip crease. I don’t believe it would be possible to go to parallel if you only go as far as your hip joint going even with the top of the knee.