Squatting ATG for the first time....need advice

[jjasd]

So I've been on the Fierce 5 program (http://forum.bodybuilding.com/showth...hp?t=159678631) for a solid 2 months now (and have gained around 10-11 lbs) but only incorporated squats a month ago (did leg presses, stupid decision, i know)

For my squats, I used to just go to parallel or slightly above parallel. I could get 3x8 of 205 lbs, and probably could increase a little more, but I decided to try ATG squats since almost everyone said they are the only way to do them.

WOW, they really kick your butt. I dropped to 135 lbs and went full ATG and was barely able to get 3x8, but it felt amazing. I feel like ATG works everything better and more efficiently.

My question is should I only stick with ATG and work my weight up from 135?

Or should I alternate and do light-weight ATG for one workout, and then heavy-weight parallel for the next workout?

[skel1977]

Despite what some will tell you atg isnt the only way to squat. Some would argue that going to parallel or slightly below parallel 100 degrees is enough. It depends on what feels best to you.

[Xuaxace]

The main rule of thumb is to squat as low as you can with a given set up. If you squat high bar, narrow stance and have good flexibility, you will most likely do a "atg" squat. If you squat wide, low bar, you will most likely squat just a tad bellow parallel.

There is no right or wrong way, this whole "atg is the only way to squat" is ****ing stupid.

[-Lucifer]

Going 'below parallel' will fully activate everything. There's no need to go ATG.

[Retoaded]

If going to parallel doesn't wreck your glutes already then you probably aren't going to parallel.

[Itinerus]

I didn't believe in ATG for a long time, I thought it was pointless.

Then I noticed I had a huge outer sweep but no teardrop to my quads at all and wondered why. My friend always squatted ATG, high bar olympic style, and told me that was the problem - I wasn't doing the same.

I tried it and found that the very bottom part of the squat worked the hell out of my inner thighs and vastus medialis. My inner thighs and teardrop area were sore for days after the first leg day even though the rest of my thigh was just fine.

Thus, ATG all the way from now on.

Consider this also: balance between vastus medialis and vastus lateralis is supposedly one of several things keeping your knees in alignment. If you started to get too much outer quad and too little inner quad, you can get lateral knee wander and that can cause all kinds of orthopedic problems.

I personally never had any problems with it but I could see where the old "squats ruin your knees" BS comes from. It might actually be possible if you do it wrong.

[krush58]

Front squatter checking in. I usually only go to slightly below parallel because i squat mainly for my quads and a little glute work and this works best for me. Used to try ATG with back squats and didn't really feel anything different than only going parallel. If you care about ego in the gym, just go to parallel cause you'll probably do a bit more weight than going ATG.

[jjasd]

Going 'below parallel' will fully activate everything. There's no need to go ATG.

So in your pic, that's where you recommend going to?

[-Lucifer]

So in your pic, that's where you recommend going to?

Yes.

[tidnab]

Going 'below parallel' will fully activate everything. There's no need to go ATG.

Cutting your depth arbitrarily is not the way to "activate everything". Xuaxe said it best. Depending on your stance, bar position, etc, the deepest you're going to be able to go without losing form may not necessarily be ATG but that's how low you should go.

Also, most people don't realize that the bar travels pretty much the same distance for a parallel low bar squat vs. an ATG high bar squat, which in my opinion is a better way of thinking about "depth".

[Riffo]

Cutting your depth arbitrarily is not the way to "activate everything". Xuaxe said it best. Depending on your stance, bar position, etc, the deepest you're going to be able to go without losing form may not necessarily be ATG but that's how low you should go.

Also, most people don't realize that the bar travels pretty much the same distance for a parallel low bar squat vs. an ATG high bar squat, which in my opinion is a better way of thinking about "depth".

Not breaking parallel on either squat won't fully activate the muscles though.

[-Lucifer]

Cutting your depth arbitrarily is not the way to "activate everything". Xuaxe said it best. Depending on your stance, bar position, etc, the deepest you're going to be able to go without losing form may not necessarily be ATG but that's how low you should go.

Also, most people don't realize that the bar travels pretty much the same distance for a parallel low bar squat vs. an ATG high bar squat, which in my opinion is a better way of thinking about "depth".

Not this again. You're making atg vs parallel sound like a bench press vs a board press. A below parallel squat fully activates your PC and you get to use more weight compared to an ATG squat. That's precisely what the OP should be doing.

[kanis999]

I don't think ATG squat is something you just go and 'do for the first time'.

All an ATG squat is is correct high bar/front squat technique on a person with good flexibility. That's all it is.

You should always squat with consistent, tight, balanced form and go as low as you can without letting your butt tuck under.

You will gradually get more flexibile over time, but it isn't going to happen overnight. Eventually you will look like an ATG squatter when you squat. Don't force it.

[Itinerus]

Not this again. You're making atg vs parallel sound like a bench press vs a board press. A below parallel squat fully activates your PC and you get to use more weight compared to an ATG squat. That's precisely what the OP should be doing.

Are you basically saying that as long as you get significantly below parallel (like your thighs in your avi, going downwards 45º), it doesn't really matter much if you go the last few inches until your glutes touch your calves?

[kanis999]

There is no right or wrong way, this whole "atg is the only way to squat" is ****ing stupid.

Yeah it is very annoying when dealing with a hardcore ATG zealot

[jwagz]

good on you OP. i remember at a time i stopped increasing my weight and simply worked on getting lower and lower in my squat depth. i took maybe 2 months doing this.

i recommend recording your heaviest sets, so that you can check your depth (see if you are really going as low as you think you are) and check your form (make sure your knees aren't caving in and that your back is rigid).

[-Lucifer]

Are you basically saying that as long as you get significantly below parallel (like your thighs in your avi, going downwards 45º), it doesn't really matter much if you go the last few inches until your glutes touch your calves?

Not really. Going all the way down will hit the glutes and hams harder for sure. I'm saying that you need not go that deep unless you want to. There are better ways to target the glutes and hams for complete development - GM's and RDL's.

FWIW, I do below parallel low bar squats and ATG front squats to make sure I hit my legs from every angle. Then I finish off with some good mornings.

[jwagz]

forgot to add. when maxing my form tends to break down in some aspect or another. going well below parallel during my work sets ensures that i will hit proper depth when maxing....

[lee__d]

This is why powerlifting>bb'ing. Squat deep enough for that white light.


^tongue-in-cheek

[tidnab]

Not this again. You're making atg vs parallel sound like a bench press vs a board press.

No I'm not. I think "parallel" and "ATG" are fairly useless terms tbh. A "parallel" high bar squat, Olympic style squat when the lifter is flexible enough to squat deeper than that might be comparable to a board press. But that comparison is not necessarily valid when we're talking about any other kind of squat.

A below parallel squat fully activates your PC

No it doesn't, not necessarily. The general principle is, the more you stretch a muscle in the eccentric phase, the more it is activated in the concentric phase. The deeper the squat, the more the muscles of your PC are stretched.

Full depth ought to be the point where these muscles are at the fullest stretch possible, whereever that might be given your flexibility and the way you squat.

[tidnab]

I don't think ATG squat is something you just go and 'do for the first time'.

All an ATG squat is is correct high bar/front squat technique on a person with good flexibility. That's all it is.

You should always squat with consistent, tight, balanced form and go as low as you can without letting your butt tuck under.

You will gradually get more flexibile over time, but it isn't going to happen overnight. Eventually you will look like an ATG squatter when you squat. Don't force it.

Well said.

[JSNeves]

.... The general principle is, the more you stretch a muscle in the eccentric phase, the more it is activated in the concentric phase.....

Full depth ought to be the point where these muscles are at the fullest stretch possible, whereever that might be given your flexibility.....

I think the majority of people can apply this to ALL of their lifts!

Obviously there are exceptions... but if your advanced enough to be thinking about using partials and such you wouldn't be asking what range of motion is appropriate in the first place.