Thread: Ass to the floor squats?

I definitely recommend this form of squatting assuming it doesn't cause knee pain for you, you can avoid rounding your lumbar spine that deep into a squat, and your mobility allows you to do it without coming up on your toes.

What does your entire program look like, particularly your leg routine?

I much prefer this kind of squat. I try and get as insanely low as possible for every rep, even at high weights.

Plus it really gets the glutes going.

ATG every rep every time for me.

Originally Posted by Gazhole

I much prefer this kind of squat. I try and get as insanely low as possible for every rep, even at high weights.

Plus it really gets the glutes going.

true, i love this exercise though it makes the hardest workout day ever

Aye. Ill be trying for a PR on them tomorrow since ive finally bought a squat rack.

It feels so good knowing i wont have to push it off my shoulders when im done :P.

My quads are gonna burn \m/.

Did them this morning, my ass hurts more than anything now.

Gotta love that glute activation :P.

Buns of steel!

Originally Posted by CowPimp

I definitely recommend this form of squatting assuming it doesn't cause knee pain for you, you can avoid rounding your lumbar spine that deep into a squat, and your mobility allows you to do it without coming up on your toes.

What does your entire program look like, particularly your leg routine?

To be 100% honest, I really have no set routine. My last leg day was Wed June 7th:

Smith Machine ass to floor squats 3 x 5-6 @ 225
Still getting use to this movement. I have difficulty using the squat rack for this exercise, so I use the Smith Machine.

Hack Squats 1 x 225 @ 10
2 x 315 @ 10
1 x 365 @ 10


Leg Press 1 X 315 @ 10
1 X 405 @ 10
1 x 495 @ 10
1 x 585 @ 6

Leg Extensions:

was fried by this time, don't remember the weight. I did 4 sets as heavy as I could go for 10 reps.

I think I tired myself out earlier in the day by seeing how heavy I could go in power cleans. I love power cleans.


From this next week on, I'm gonna be proffesional and write everything thing I eat and do in the weight room down.

Why do you have difficult time using the squat rack? Smith machine squats shouldn't be a mainstay in anyone's program in my opinion.

Originally Posted by CowPimp

Why do you have difficult time using the squat rack? Smith machine squats shouldn't be a mainstay in anyone's program in my opinion.

When I try to use the squat rack, I either lose my balance or hurt my knees. Or I have to go EXTREMLY light, no more than 155 or so, and the way I feel afterwards, I don't think that number would go up much.

You shouldn't lose your balance in a good squat. Work with lighter weight until you can do a ATG squat without losing form or falling over. I think getting the form down will help with both the balance and the knee problems.

Originally Posted by Soul of Sol

When I try to use the squat rack, I either lose my balance or hurt my knees. Or I have to go EXTREMLY light, no more than 155 or so, and the way I feel afterwards, I don't think that number would go up much.

If you're hurting your knees with back squats, yet smith squats feel fine, then I have a feeling you aren't sitting back far enough into the squat. A LOT of people just sit straight down and allow for too much anterior weight bearing which is a bad idea. You want to distribute that load better between your hips and knees; the hips are a much more solid joint structure.

Originally Posted by CowPimp

If you're hurting your knees with back squats, yet smith squats feel fine, then I have a feeling you aren't sitting back far enough into the squat. A LOT of people just sit straight down and allow for too much anterior weight bearing which is a bad idea. You want to distribute that load better between your hips and knees; the hips are a much more solid joint structure.

True, when I squat I usually lock in my lower back, but push my butt backwards to give a slight bend at the hips and sit back while bending my knees. I make sure to take a deep breath before I do this to stabilize my core ( this helps a lot ), keeping my eyes and head up as far as I can see peripherally(sp?) helps me keep my balance and the back straight.

Originally Posted by Soul of Sol

Your views, ladies and gents? All the trainers at my work < I work at a gym> advocate this exercise for maximal muscle recruitment. I recently started to do them the last two weeks, since I want my legs to explode.
Any tips on leg growth will be apprecieated.


Cheers,

Sol

I look at it this way. If I could secretly sneak into the gyms where 90% of you train, I would probably only find a handfull of you even doing SQUATS....PERIOD...As for a Tip, do them if you can.

Originally Posted by Tough Old Man

I look at it this way. If I could secretly sneak into the gyms where 90% of you train, I would probably only find a handfull of you even doing SQUATS....PERIOD...As for a Tip, do them if you can.

You're probably right tough.
Before I put in my home gym, about 5 guys (including me) did squats at the gym I used to train at, and 3 of them did 1/4 squats.

I don't have the flexibility to get that far down, but I go as far as I can each time, for whatever it's worth.

Originally Posted by Pedigree

You're probably right tough.
Before I put in my home gym, about 5 guys (including me) did squats at the gym I used to train at, and 3 of them did 1/4 squats.

u have 5 ppl squat cool cause i have 0 members in my gym squat .....sometimes i see ppl do 1/16 sqauats and i never see them again in the gym......

actually the gym owner tells ppl that they could just 2 leg extensions and curls on the machine for training legs and that he's gonna get the machine in a matter of days ...... i tried to tell some guys about the benefits of squats before, and it ended up with my balls exploding

Originally Posted by Pylon

I don't have the flexibility to get that far down, but I go as far as I can each time, for whatever it's worth.

Sounds like that's something you should work on. I don't have all my clients squat that deep. Some of them don't have the flexibility to do so and it will just lead to a rounded lumbar spine. I help them improve hip mobility/flexibility and slowly increase their squat depth over time as it becomes possible. Some of them will probably never get that deep because their mobility is so poor that they would need to work on it by themselves, and they never would, heh.

Ok, peoples.

Switched to GoPros P/RR/S system.



ATG Squats: 3 x 225 : 6

Leg Press 1 x 405 : 10
1 x 495 : 6
1 x 585 : 4



Leg Extensions 1 x 135 : 10
1 x 165 : 10
2 x 225 : 10

SL Deads 1 x 135 : 10
1 x 205 : 10
1 x 225 : 6
1 x 275 : 4


Yah, I know, weak numbers. But my form is perfect, and I've only been lifting for 6 months. I rested 1.5 minutes between each set. The hardest part was finding the weight for 4-6 reps, I am stronger than I thought I was.
I love the ATG squats. And I did them in a squat rack, no Smith Machine this time. Hopefully I can find a spotter for my next workout so I can go heavier.


Cheers.

Originally Posted by CowPimp

Sounds like that's something you should work on. I don't have all my clients squat that deep. Some of them don't have the flexibility to do so and it will just lead to a rounded lumbar spine. I help them improve hip mobility/flexibility and slowly increase their squat depth over time as it becomes possible. Some of them will probably never get that deep because their mobility is so poor that they would need to work on it by themselves, and they never would, heh.

What exactly do you do to increase mobility to go deeper for squats? I think that may have been one of my problems with front squats, and I'd like to constantly work on it so when I switch back to them I don't have to worry about it. Currently I pretty much do stretches for my back and hamstrings, with dynamic warm ups including butt kickers, high kicks and some light jogging.

Originally Posted by Squaggleboggin

What exactly do you do to increase mobility to go deeper for squats? I think that may have been one of my problems with front squats, and I'd like to constantly work on it so when I switch back to them I don't have to worry about it. Currently I pretty much do stretches for my back and hamstrings, with dynamic warm ups including butt kickers, high kicks and some light jogging.

I know this was directed at CowPimp, but I've some experience with this.

When I first started sqauting, I couldn't go very deep. I wish I could impart some great secret as to how I improved my squats, but all I did was focus on going lower each time I squated. I first start off with an empty bar and do three sets of 10. It's taken a few months, but now I go down until my hamstrings touch my calves.

It's not very technical, but that's how I did it.

Originally Posted by DOMS

I know this was directed at CowPimp, but I've some experience with this.

When I first started sqauting, I couldn't go very deep. I wish I could impart some great secret as to how I improved my squats, but all I did was focus on going lower each time I squated. I first start off with an empty bar and do three sets of 10. It's taken a few months, but now I go down until my hamstrings touch my calves.

It's not very technical, but that's how I did it.

It was directed at him, but anyone's welcome to answer, of course.

That's pretty much what I did. I was just too stubborn to start over with the weights when I went back to it after abstaining for a short period of time. I had already lost some strength in the movement and I didn't want to spend more time adjusting to it than I had to. I have the flexibility I need for back squats, but I'm not comfortable enough with front squats anymore to go any heavier than 250 or so. I do appreciate that advice, but I'm hoping to jump right into heavy front squats as soon as I switch over to them (within reason; after the typical acclimation), which is why I asked of anything additional. Thanks for the info, DOMS.

I'll say this about ass to the grass squats ( I love them ), but unless I'm doin front squats when I drop to far below parallel I tend to roll my back more to compensate for the weight. I naturally can't help it though. It's really hard for me to not go below parallel, it's almost like I can't stop myself until I sit back really far and into my hips and then drive from their. Has a lot to do with the fact that in football I play below parallel a lot. Low man wins in the trenches.

Originally Posted by DOMS

I know this was directed at CowPimp, but I've some experience with this.

When I first started sqauting, I couldn't go very deep. I wish I could impart some great secret as to how I improved my squats, but all I did was focus on going lower each time I squated. I first start off with an empty bar and do three sets of 10. It's taken a few months, but now I go down until my hamstrings touch my calves.

It's not very technical, but that's how I did it.

This is good too. Progressing over time is definitely helpful. A mixed regimen of dynamic and static flexibility exercises are best. Of course, it is often hard to determine where the fleixibility problem lies. Usually it's the hips, but the ankles are a biggie too, and both are often cuplrits. Sometimes kyphosis can make it that much harder to maintin good posture while doing exercises and creates excessive forward lean too.

I do a lot of exaggerated lunge variations for dynamic flexibility warmups. Straight legs marches are good. Reverse straight leg marches or kicks are good. Lying leg adducitons are good. Walking knee tucks are good. Spiderman crawls are good. Squats to lateral sidesteps are good. There are all kinds of different exercises I have people do to improve hip mobility. Ankle mobility usually seems to be more a problem of stretching from what I can tell, though there are a few good ankle mobility exercises you can do.

In all honesty it depends on what you are trainging for. In hypertrophy based exersises passed a certan point leads to less size. In practical aplication I.E. sports and real life you want strength through the entire range of motion. SO what do you want out of the movement? For example you would train a house wife looking for strength to do sholder presses passed her chin through the whole range of motion because what happens when she brings a top shelf box all the way down?????... Cow pimp you sound like a trainner just trying to make a buck off people.

Originally Posted by slider

In all honesty it depends on what you are trainging for. In hypertrophy based exersises passed a certan point leads to less size. In practical aplication I.E. sports and real life you want strength through the entire range of motion. SO what do you want out of the movement? For example you would train a house wife looking for strength to do sholder presses passed her chin through the whole range of motion because what happens when she brings a top shelf box all the way down?????... Cow pimp you sound like a trainner just trying to make a buck off people.

There are more reasons than a functional range of motion to train a squat deep. Most importantly is that your hips become involved to a greater extent when you reach the bottom of a squat. The average white collor worker who can afford personal training has plenty of strength in their quadriceps relative to their hamstrings already. Their hip flexors are also overactive/tight and the glutes weak/inhibited.

Beyond that, your vastus medialis oblique becomes more activated due to it's shared originating tendon with the adductor magnus (Which is a hip extensor, and thus activated to a larger degree in a deep squat), and this helps prevent people from having problems with a laterally tracking patella because of an uneven pull from the various heads in the quadricep.

Furthermore, it sounds like you are suggesting people never kneel down all the way and have to get up? That's a preposterous assumption, and I think clients appreciate the ability to do this with increased ease when the time comes (Squatting down to pick up small kid/grandkid.

Finally, improved joint mobility is not solely for the pupose of allowing someone to squat deeper. Improved joint mobility makes for better movement mechanics, maintaining a better ROM as you age (Assuming you continue to use it), and a lesser chance of injuries.

Don't try to tell me what my motivation to be a trainer is either. Obviously I need money to survive, but I put in a lot more time than your average trainer designing fun and effective workouts for my clients. If I don't have back to back clients and my clients are late, then I almost always stay late so they get their full time in. I also have trained people for free in the past, and in fact, I am about to do so today (On my day off). Don't make assumptions about me. You don't know me. If I didn't like helping people, then I wouldn't try to help people on these forums to the extent that I do. Granted, I also try to learn here, but I think I do a fair amount of helping out too.