What about if you have tight hams? Aren’t you NOT supposed to stretch before a workout? I can get just above parallel without my ass dipping down, and I’m quite certain its because my hams are too tight…
[quote]acelement wrote:
What about if you have tight hams? Aren’t you NOT supposed to stretch before a workout? I can get just above parallel without my ass dipping down, and I’m quite certain its because my hams are too tight…[/quote]
Static stretching? No, I don’t recommend it. But you can do some dynamic stretching.
I always do squats as the last exercise in my workout, so by that time I’m already pretty warmed up. Even then though I usually use my warm-up sets to help me improve my squat ROM, so that when I eventually get to my working weight I have no problem getting ATG.
Just start with only the bar on your shoulders, make certain to keep your lower back arched and drop down into the squat until you feel tightness/restriction in your glutes/hammies from going lower. Come back up to standing and repeat.
You should be able to get a little lower on each rep until eventually you are hitting a full ROM without restriction/tightness. Then start to ramp your weights/warm-up properly.
That’s what I always do anyhow, and it’s worked for everyone who I know who has tried it.
Use the bar?? ^
If you cant squat ATG then try body squatting while your holding onto a door. I couldn’t do ATG squats so I practiced on body squats. It was really hard to get the flexibility down but it was possible.
[quote]acelement wrote:
What about if you have tight hams? Aren’t you NOT supposed to stretch before a workout? I can get just above parallel without my ass dipping down, and I’m quite certain its because my hams are too tight…[/quote]
stretch after you workout. stretch your hams. stretch your calves. that is what works.
[quote]Fabregas wrote:
Use the bar?? ^
If you cant squat ATG then try body squatting while your holding onto a door. I couldn’t do ATG squats so I practiced on body squats. It was really hard to get the flexibility down but it was possible.[/quote]
Yes, the added weight will help to pull you down into the ATG position.
In most cases that I’ve seen, or worked with, it’s not the length of the muscles that limits peoples ROM, but instead neurological, lack of strength, or due to incorrect motor patterns.
Holding onto a door can be another viable option, and even better yet would be to have someone who knows what they’re doing help guide you into the ATG position. Both examples illustrate that the muscles have the ability to reach that ROM though.
I reckon if someone can sit on a chair they have the potential to squat to parallel.
Does he push his knees out?
[quote]bushidobadboy wrote:
DragnCarry wrote:
I reckon if someone can sit on a chair they have the potential to squat to parallel.
Does he push his knees out?
If you look at people as the sit, quite a few of them only make it to a few inches above the seat before allowing themselves to drop onto it. Very few use a deliberate, controlled mathod, like you would in a squat.
Also, once folks get to the seated position, they oftern do not rest their feet flat on the floor, which means that they may or may not have the necessary calf flexibility to squat to parallel without feeling like they are going to tip backwards.
BBB[/quote]
Exactly. His knees get pushed forward and his ankles come off the ground as he descends. Today is squat today, so I’m going to tell him about a lot of these tips given. I’m going to start him off with gastrocsoleus stretches, and just use a process of elimination until we figure out what’s wrong.
Not only that, but because he’s a newb, I’m also really trying to teach him that he needs to listen to his body. Obviously that’s hard to do when you have no clue what the hell you’re doing, but I think this could actually be something good for him in disguise.
I have shitty ankle mobility on my left side that I can’t seem to fix no matter what I do. What I’ve done is put a 5lb plate underneath each heel and I’ve been able to hit depth with good form whereas usually I’d turn it into a good morning or my heel would pop off the ground. From a power lifter’s perspective this may not be the answer, but if you’re in it solely for quad development I doubt it makes much a difference.
Been doing this for 2 weeks now … hopefully I can finally get these things to grow …
My theory on this is that not being able to go below parallel is less about flexibility and more about reflexes. I believe that a lot of people won’t go below parallel becasue when they get to a certain depth they feel like they are falling and have a subconcious reflex to stop and stand back up.
I discoverd a solution to this accidentaly. Warming up with 135 I dropped down to as low as I normally went, just about parallel. I stayed in this position and just tried to relax and release my hips and it worked. I was quickly able to drop down to Hamstrings to calves.
Now after warming up I can go full ROM on a squat in Chuck Taylors with feet shoulder width and turned slightly outwards. I am not flexible. I can barely touch my toes.
Look at the hips first, not the calves
[quote]sandbagger wrote:
I just thought I would share my experience since I ran cross country and track and field in high school and also have trouble squatting. I ran for three years without lifting weights and in my senior year I began to weightlift.
I ran a lot of miles throughout those years and when I did start to squat, for some reason I could never get below parallel with any amount of weight on, even if I tried to do body weight squats. In order to get lower, I needed to rotate my feet outwards so they were not pointed straight ahead of me, and also keep a wider stance. Whenever I tried to squat with good form, like you said with your friend My heels actually needed to be elevated, and it felt like I was only working my quads, not my glutes and hamstrings.(Maybe your friend has the same issue)
Also, whenever I had a personal trainer or someone that knows what they are talking about try to help me squat, and I try to go down lower, it actually feels as though I will fall backwards, even though I’m not really out of balance.I heard somewhere that it could be a core stability issue.
Not sure if your friend has had the same experience and trouble as me, but to help get a little lower, I have to stretch out my hip flexors really good. I have the magnificent mobility dvd and some of the exercises/stretches in there also help.
[/quote]
x2
I thought my stance always had to be wide for be to get good depth. The key that I’ve found is just pointing my feet really far out. Kind of like the exact opposite of what you would do if your slowing down while skiing.
I also make sure to stretch my hips out and sometimes I even have to stretch my quads pretty hardcore to get good depth.
[quote]SSC wrote:
bushidobadboy wrote:
DragnCarry wrote:
I reckon if someone can sit on a chair they have the potential to squat to parallel.
Does he push his knees out?
If you look at people as the sit, quite a few of them only make it to a few inches above the seat before allowing themselves to drop onto it. Very few use a deliberate, controlled mathod, like you would in a squat.
Also, once folks get to the seated position, they oftern do not rest their feet flat on the floor, which means that they may or may not have the necessary calf flexibility to squat to parallel without feeling like they are going to tip backwards.
BBB
Exactly. His knees get pushed forward and his ankles come off the ground as he descends. Today is squat today, so I’m going to tell him about a lot of these tips given. I’m going to start him off with gastrocsoleus stretches, and just use a process of elimination until we figure out what’s wrong.
Not only that, but because he’s a newb, I’m also really trying to teach him that he needs to listen to his body. Obviously that’s hard to do when you have no clue what the hell you’re doing, but I think this could actually be something good for him in disguise.[/quote]
Cool. Good luck.
Another suggestion is to have him do a general hip/ankle mobility warm-up prior to squatting.
Here is a vid by Joe Defranco that shows a general hip mobility warm-up:
Here is a vid with some ankle mobility and soft tissue work for the lower leg:
Here are some vids demonstrating soft tissue work for the hip and upper leg musculature:
Here is a general soft tissue warm-up:
Hope these help.
SSC,
I have nothing helpful to contribute to the thread, and I don’t know you, but I can’t stop laughing at your original post. I can just imagine you thinking ‘what is wrong with this guy why he is being such a pussy why can’t he go lower?’ Lol. This is just classic “Since I’m an asshole, I will probably freak out and call him a pussy if he doesn’t start squatting lower.” I appreciate the good comedy.
Good luck with your new partner.