[Diezel]

I"m hearing that full squats are bad for the knees, is there any truth to this? i'm being told that parallel squats (box squats) are better/safer. I'm actually a little surprised to hear
this. Any thoughts?

[BigRick]

I am not sure what the medical community will tell you however here are my personal experiences:

1. When I do parallel squats or higher, my knees begin to hurt rather quickly
- This could be possible because doing a parallel squat or higher allowes me to use much more weight, 100+ pounds more. Or it may actually be that a smaller range of motion is actually worse for me.

2. I almost never have gotten pain in my knees when doing full Range of motion ATG squats.

Take that for what you will. Despite most people beleiving that full squats are bad on their knees, they are actually much easier on my kness personally. I think correct form may have alot to do with knee problems in general.

Hope you find the answer you are looking for.

[todd]

I myself have always done deep squats and have never had any problems with my knees other than maybe some mild soreness from time to time. I've actually injured my knees more outside the gym playing recreation softball or a pick-up basketball game than by lifting weights. I'm 35 and have been squatting since I was 17-18 and still have no problems at all. I lift with a few guys who are close to 50 and have been squatting heavy(powerlifters) since the late 70s/early 80s. I think it all depends on the individual. If you tear your MCL or something or have numerous past related knee injuries or surgeries I could see where squatting could be difficult but for the most part I don't think it is bad on the knees. Just my 2 cents....

[SquatMax]

good morning,

and good grief...

I've been lifting and coaching for 35 years... and have yet to find a sports medicine professional who says full squats are bad for you... not a single one...

folks who say full squats are bad for the knees are a true detriment to sports in general and lifters in particular... I've coached high school football for twenty years plus now, and in programs where I'm the weight room guy, AFTER My first year in a given program, we've NEVER had a knee injury... hmmmm... probably because stronger muscles and ligaments... from squatting... support protect and defend the knee joint better... the times that a kid SHOULD have lost his knee and been done for the season, turned out to be strain and sprain, and not ligament tears/traumatic season ending injuries...

LIFTERS who say full squats are bad are pretty much one of two categories... injured athletes who simply couldn't recover from a devastating injury... or folks who aren't willing to handle the pain... yup... pain... that comes from full squats... they hurt... anything that actually makes us work and grow is going to hurt... and those folks want excuses for not doing them, and keep looking for doctors who give them that excuse...

please don't misunderstand... I truly despise squats... I'd rather do lots of things than full squats... I do NOT go looking for things to hurt Me when I do them... and I do them anyway... I also do box squats, front squats, lunges, and good mornings... because they allow Me to do more weight in the squat rack, and hence they help Me enhance overall size and strength...

they will check your fortitude, yup they will... and they will check your determination, yup they will... and they will check your drive to excellence, yup they will... done correctly, they will NOT cause damage to muscles tendons or joints...

~steps off His lunge box, and ambles back over to the squat rack...~

have a great day,

[Diezel]

Thanks SquatMax, you hit the nail on the head. Truth is, i don't know why i let comments like that from other ppl bother me, especially where there's no qualification behind it.. It came from exacly the type of person you mentioned.. one who is against lifters in general and said to me "yeah but those ppl don't care about their bodies etc.. they lose and gain weight all the time etc." Total steriotyper

thanks

[bharrop]

Originally Posted by Diezel

I"m hearing that full squats are bad for the knees, is there any truth to this? i'm being told that parallel squats (box squats) are better/safer. I'm actually a little surprised to hear
this. Any thoughts?

Chris,

Ahhh yes I believe the same people who spread this BS are the same ones who have their clients exercising on balance balls.

Like Todd I have been squatting for 20+ years (below parallel), now 44, and I am hitting PR on a regular basis with no problems to the knees. Train smart and safe.

Bert

[DFBB76712]

Let me echo this group (as well as one of my new mentors, Bert) in saying I just completed my 25th year of training and have squatted everyone of them. Just this past week I matched one of my PRs in the squat that was 10 years old. I believe in this 26th year of training I will surpass many of my squat records. I have squats (microsmally speaking, that's not a word, is it?) to thank for this longevity in my health, my training & my competitive career as I am more competitive now than ever in the past! Squats in part are my fountain of youth!

[bharrop]

Originally Posted by DFBB76712

Let me echo this group (as well as one of my new mentors, Bert) i

Mentor... I'm humbled. Thanks Kevin. Anyway we both are getting back to basic barbell compound movement training and getting results.

I think I read deads are bad for the back as well (LMAO)
Benching will tear pec's (Yada Yada Yada)

[Diezel]

thanks guys,

yeah, i kinda think of Bert (with all the help he's givin' me) on "everything" as a mentor too.. hey we should have some type of "mentor voting".. i vote in Bert!..

[Justin Morgan]

I was watching a video with Layne Norton, and he made a really great comment about this very subject. He said that by going below parallel to do a full squat you pull more of your hamstring and glutes into the lift which causes less stress to be put on your knees as you perform the lift.

So it's really the opposite of what "those people" say. I never would have really thought it through the way he did, but after listening to him say it, it made perfect sense to me.

[Diezel]

Interesting.. you saw that video on the web? i'll have to locate it and forward it to "those people" whom i'll now refer to as Charlie (the enemy) lol

thanks for the post

[Justin Morgan]

Yes, the video was on the web. Layne Norton has a series that was run through Bodybulding.com, but I watched on Youtube. the series is called "Layne Norton, inside the life of a natural pro." There are a lot of video's, but I think the one I was referring to was somewhere in the teens of over 20 video's. That doesn't exactly narrow it down, but if you're interested in doing some further research that might help.

[james pate]

I can have an issue with squats if I'm not careful; but this is due to a nasty knee injury from about 10 years ago. In a way it is a blessing as I have to pay strict attention to form, in order to prevent my tweaking the old wound. For me this means I have to be very conscience of not locking my knees out at the top and most importantly not bouncing of up out of the bottom. I have to make a conscience pause at the bottom. I'm by no means the strongest at squats. 225lbs for reps make for a great workout for me. I can even tweak my knee with only 90lbs if I get sloppy and bounce out of the bottom.