Squat to Parallel

By Ryan Kelly

How low can you go? How low SHOULD you go?

I'm talking of course about Squats, and the never ending debate about whether it is better to go to parallel, where your legs are at a right angle, or if you should go as low as you can. The advantage of going all the way down, to the point where you buttocks touches your heels, is that you get a wider range of motion and thus more stimulation for the quadriceps and hamstrings. The disadvantage is that this is very hard on the knees. The situation is reversed for squats where you go to parallel, where you get less stimulation on the muscles of the leg but also less knee stress.

Ultimately, it depends on what you want. If you are a bodybuilder who needs to have every angle of every muscle perfectly proportioned, you will probably want to go as low as you can. Sure your knees will suffer, but if you really cared about your joints you would not be a bodybuilder. If you are someone who wants to be in better shape but who is not competing in any sports, the stress on the knees is not worth the minor extra muscle gains.

In the final equation, I strongly recommend that most people only go to parallel. The minor extra stimulation to the quadriceps and hamstrings provided by going past parallel is far outweighed by the extra stress on the knees. Fitness is a lifetime endeavor, and we are only slowing ourselves down by harming our joints!

The bottom line: squat to parallel

Ryan is a 275 pound natural bodybuilder from Arizona. He runs the Muscle Building Section of Good E-Books.com, where he lists his favorite books for building muscle mass. Visit http://www.goode-books.com/gainmuscle.html today to see Ryan's picks!