Suntzu
04-01-2004, 01:20 PM
Hey Charles, Question on squatting: I am trying to go for power and strength would doing squats all the way down be beneficial or detrimental?
Thank You —Marcos Parga
Coach Staley responds:
Hey Marcos, Power and strength for what? I'd tailor the depth of the squat such that it approximates the joint angles you'll use for the activity or event you're trying to generate more strength and power for. Most athletes are typically trying to improve jumping and sprinting skills, and for these objectives, I normally (but not always) recommend a slightly higher than parallel (parallel meaning, the tops of the thighs are parallel to the floor) position. This type of squat actually requires greater flexion at the hip and knee as compared to jumps or sprints, so it's more than deep enough. Since the so-called "ideal" squat depth is such a point of contention, allow me to go into more depth on the subject...
The parallel position as a lifting standard comes from the sport of powerlifting, where judges needed an easy and convenient way to (supposedly) create an equal playing field for all the athletes. There is a problem with blindly adopting this standard however: Successful powerlifters are, by definition, mechanically efficient in terms of leverage. In other words, they have relatively short limbs relative to their torsos. Most successful powerlifters also tend to be short relative to their bodyweight. Here's the problem: most successful athletes in other sports (baseball, football, tennis, hockey, track & field, etc., etc) tend to be taller with less advantageous levers. If you're 6'2" and you're doing parallel squats with your buddy who's 5'4", chances are you have to move the bar almost twice as far than he does to hit parallel!
So, when identifying an appropriate squat depth, think about your morphology, the event or task you're training for, and also your orthopedic status— often, a previous knee or hip injury will permit a shallow squat but not a deep squat.
Next, consider contractile specificity: Think about the prevalence of stretch-shortening cycle in your training task. A jump, for example, exploits the pre-stretch as you crouch in preparation of the jump. Other skills, such as exploding out of the blocks in the sprints, do not allow the athlete to take advantage of this pre-stretch phenomenon (that's why you always see sprinters jumping up and down and pumping their hips immediately before they take their position in the blocks— they're trying to generate some pre-stretch that (hopefully) will last long enough to benefit them in the start.
If your training task doesn't involve pre-stretch, you should consider the following techniques:
1) Do at least some of your squats down to a box or a bench. When you perform squats in this manner, you're forced to slow down as your butt approaches the bench. This more closely approximates an explosion from a dead-stop.
2) Perform squats from a pause at the deepest position: simply squat down and pause for at least 4 seconds, which will dissipate any advantage you would otherwise gain from the eccentric pre-stretch. Then explode upward as aggressively as possible
3) Try squats starting at the bottom position: position a loaded barbell on pins (inside a power rack) so that you'll be starting the squat in your deepest position. Just wedge yourself under the bar, take a deep breath, and explode to the top. After each rep, lower the bar back to the pins, wait a few seconds, and then perform the next rep.
Also, consider this useful technique that (for some reason) I rarely see used these days: at the top of the squat, continue up on your toes. This maneuver more closely approximates a great majority of sports skills, and it'll help to beef up your calves a bit I the process.
Finally, a recent meta-analysis of the World's most successful squatters has shown a mean increase of 12.3% in 1RM values in only 3 weeks when subjects wore the coveted Staley Training Systems T-Shirt during the squat performance (OK, now THAT was a slick way to get a product plug in here, you gotta admit!). The shirt features our cool logo on front, and on back, our training mantra "Exploiting The Opponent’s Weakness Starts With Identifying Your Own." We've got both black and white shirts in stock ready to ship. Just click below: http://www.1shoppingcart.com/app/adtrack.asp?AdID=72883
Thank You —Marcos Parga
Coach Staley responds:
Hey Marcos, Power and strength for what? I'd tailor the depth of the squat such that it approximates the joint angles you'll use for the activity or event you're trying to generate more strength and power for. Most athletes are typically trying to improve jumping and sprinting skills, and for these objectives, I normally (but not always) recommend a slightly higher than parallel (parallel meaning, the tops of the thighs are parallel to the floor) position. This type of squat actually requires greater flexion at the hip and knee as compared to jumps or sprints, so it's more than deep enough. Since the so-called "ideal" squat depth is such a point of contention, allow me to go into more depth on the subject...
The parallel position as a lifting standard comes from the sport of powerlifting, where judges needed an easy and convenient way to (supposedly) create an equal playing field for all the athletes. There is a problem with blindly adopting this standard however: Successful powerlifters are, by definition, mechanically efficient in terms of leverage. In other words, they have relatively short limbs relative to their torsos. Most successful powerlifters also tend to be short relative to their bodyweight. Here's the problem: most successful athletes in other sports (baseball, football, tennis, hockey, track & field, etc., etc) tend to be taller with less advantageous levers. If you're 6'2" and you're doing parallel squats with your buddy who's 5'4", chances are you have to move the bar almost twice as far than he does to hit parallel!
So, when identifying an appropriate squat depth, think about your morphology, the event or task you're training for, and also your orthopedic status— often, a previous knee or hip injury will permit a shallow squat but not a deep squat.
Next, consider contractile specificity: Think about the prevalence of stretch-shortening cycle in your training task. A jump, for example, exploits the pre-stretch as you crouch in preparation of the jump. Other skills, such as exploding out of the blocks in the sprints, do not allow the athlete to take advantage of this pre-stretch phenomenon (that's why you always see sprinters jumping up and down and pumping their hips immediately before they take their position in the blocks— they're trying to generate some pre-stretch that (hopefully) will last long enough to benefit them in the start.
If your training task doesn't involve pre-stretch, you should consider the following techniques:
1) Do at least some of your squats down to a box or a bench. When you perform squats in this manner, you're forced to slow down as your butt approaches the bench. This more closely approximates an explosion from a dead-stop.
2) Perform squats from a pause at the deepest position: simply squat down and pause for at least 4 seconds, which will dissipate any advantage you would otherwise gain from the eccentric pre-stretch. Then explode upward as aggressively as possible
3) Try squats starting at the bottom position: position a loaded barbell on pins (inside a power rack) so that you'll be starting the squat in your deepest position. Just wedge yourself under the bar, take a deep breath, and explode to the top. After each rep, lower the bar back to the pins, wait a few seconds, and then perform the next rep.
Also, consider this useful technique that (for some reason) I rarely see used these days: at the top of the squat, continue up on your toes. This maneuver more closely approximates a great majority of sports skills, and it'll help to beef up your calves a bit I the process.
Finally, a recent meta-analysis of the World's most successful squatters has shown a mean increase of 12.3% in 1RM values in only 3 weeks when subjects wore the coveted Staley Training Systems T-Shirt during the squat performance (OK, now THAT was a slick way to get a product plug in here, you gotta admit!). The shirt features our cool logo on front, and on back, our training mantra "Exploiting The Opponent’s Weakness Starts With Identifying Your Own." We've got both black and white shirts in stock ready to ship. Just click below: http://www.1shoppingcart.com/app/adtrack.asp?AdID=72883