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"Most people shouldn't squat!"

PeterDolan

By PeterDolan
in Powerlifting & strength

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PeterDolan Veteran member

PeterDolan

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I hear this said so much it's fucking starting to piss me off. My view is that this statement is true from the stand point that most people are too weak minded to put everything they have got in to really squatting properly and to failure.

I understand there may be tightness or weakness that prevent it from being safe, problems that can be fixed before moving in to one of the more complex movements there are. So I open up the floor to you guys to explain why "most people shouldn't squat".

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HarryB Veteran member

HarryB

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because they do their squats on a smith machine with belt,gloves and a bum bag even from warm up. poor form and technique. kness flaring out wildly.... :roll:

When did you see me squatting? ha ha ha ha I need the bumbag cos it looks cool and apparently flaring my knees out wildly activates my adductors better!

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HarryB Veteran member

HarryB

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That doesn't answer my question, technique can be corrected, I wanna know why people say that others shouldn't squat at all

People predominantly say that squats are dangerous because of "supposed" pressure on the knees and lower back. I think people try and justify why they don't like squatting. Plus the downward pressure of the bar on your upper vertebrae. The best one I have heard yet was by one of my old training partners who said his shoulders were too big to get his hands back far enough to be able to hold the bar while squatting....

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nate225 Veteran member

nate225

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Two questions for you Pete:

1) Who actually says this?

2) Why haven't you punched those people named in question 1) :pfft: :grin:

Seriously tho, I don't get to hear shit like this these days being based in a strength & conditioning gym (we have 5 squat racks with a total gym membership of less than 100!). Also being in the SM / PLing scene I don't really ever hear such comments?

Does anyone truly subscribe to "squats are bad" mentality?

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crazyfacials Veteran member

crazyfacials

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at my previous gym one of the PT's said I shouldn't train legs at all since I do judo and that's enough cardio + leg workout (lol? he was serious too btw)

the other PT said I shouldn't do squats since I am not flexable enough to do A2G squats, and if I were to do them I should use a smith machine and have my feet in front (the ROM he showed me looked more hack squat like than a barbell squat) his theory was that I was better off doing legpress than squats...

needless to say I did squats anyway just with a wider leg stance

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Chemo Senior member

Chemo

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at my previous gym one of the PT's said I shouldn't train legs at all since I do judo and that's enough cardio + leg workout (lol? he was serious too btw)

the other PT said I shouldn't do squats since I am not flexable enough to do A2G squats, and if I were to do them I should use a smith machine and have my feet in front (the ROM he showed me looked more hack squat like than a barbell squat) his theory was that I was better off doing legpress than squats...

needless to say I did squats anyway just with a wider leg stance

Yeah I agree you gotta adapt the squat to suit, but I dont think its for everyone. I'm not built for squats, I'm a two legged spider, I need to widen the stance and take care during past parallel squats. I injured myself when doing a squat with good form, mainly because I had weakness and inflexibilities, but still my determination fxx'd me over big time. It was a serious injury, It would've been safer to tail tuck with that weight.

Just from personal experience I don't like it when people straight up say, "heavy A2G squats or your a pussy" I think a lot of things can go wrong when performing a full squat, and thats why "most people shouldn't do squats" or at least to failure. If they do, they gotta realise that is much more taxing on the body, knees and back especially, if you get that wrong there is a chance of injury from a potentially large load.

I understand the huge benefits of squatting heavy, thats why I still try to do it but I now know how I need to squat, what I shouldn't do yet. (narrow stance back squats)

The trainers you are talking about are preventing potential catastrophe, so your usual enthusiast doesn't hit the back squats hard, max out and tear something, just because all the big guys are doing it.

Don't be angry with them PD, just understand they are protecting the general gym goer.

IMO--> don't do squats if they don't feel safe, or do them a way that makes you feel safe

*prepares for death by PLr*

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Andre01 Member

Andre01

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People predominantly say that squats are dangerous because of "supposed" pressure on the knees and lower back. I think people try and justify why they don't like squatting. Plus the downward pressure of the bar on your upper vertebrae. The best one I have heard yet was by one of my old training partners who said his shoulders were too big to get his hands back far enough to be able to hold the bar while squatting....

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HarryB Veteran member

HarryB

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People predominantly say that squats are dangerous because of "supposed" pressure on the knees and lower back. I think people try and justify why they don't like squatting. Plus the downward pressure of the bar on your upper vertebrae. The best one I have heard yet was by one of my old training partners who said his shoulders were too big to get his hands back far enough to be able to hold the bar while squatting....

a bit off topic, but I have problems with my lower back and Yes I have only started squatting in the last 6 weeks, I feel there has been a huge improvment already. I started with 20 on each side now its up to 40 each side. I know it may look like slow progress, but Im just starting out and I want to take it slow. I need my back for the rest of my life and I dont want to f*ck it up any more than it is. Sorry as I said off topic.

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BarBrother Senior member

BarBrother

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Being a Powerlifter and a PT people automatically assume i get all my people to squat A2G but i think forcing people to squat a2g is just as ignorant as people who tell people not to squat at all.

If you understand why the squat is such a beneficial exercise then you will understand why different people need to use different styles,stances and depths to best suit their needs.

The squat is a very effective exercise when taught and performed correctly but one of the most dangerous when done incorrectly.

Every one preferably should be doing some form of squat for many reasons as we all know but blankly stating a2g can cause more harm than good.

And on a side note if a PT ever suggested not to do squats because of flexiblity/strength/coordination issues and did not provide an avenue to correct these through his/her services they should be shot :doh:

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Rookie Senior member

Rookie

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Every one preferably should be doing some form of squat for many reasons as we all know but blankly stating a2g can cause more harm than good.

This. I got introduced to the box squat first before I did any free squatting since my technique was crap and lower back always tightened up, and about 4 weeks out from my first 3 lift was when I first started doing power squats with a straight bar to depth- box squats corrected all of my squatting flaws. Agree with what you said that people should be doing some form of squat, going straight to a2g is unrealistic!

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PeterDolan Veteran member

PeterDolan

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Chemo, you reaffirm my suspicions that it's not that people shouldn't squat but that they can't squat for what ever reason it may be. My point is that surely there is no one that is not bio mechanically suited to squat, they merely have issues that need to be worked on before they step foot in the squat rack with just the bar to properly learn the movement. Yup, not everyone will be awesome at squatting no matter how much work they put in but surely EVERYONE is able to squat, at least eventually?

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bigskinny Junior member

bigskinny

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I hear this said so much it's fucking starting to piss me off. My view is that this statement is true from the stand point that most people are too weak minded to put everything they have got in to really squatting properly and to failure.

.

Answered own question.

When something is as demanding as doing decent squats, it's very convenient to tell yourself one of the above excuses.

Shit, as silly as it may sound. I actually have anxiety before squatting/quads. 1. because I'll be very disappointed if I don't achieve whatever when doing them. And 2. They're just that hard. lol

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Chemo Senior member

Chemo

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Chemo, you reaffirm my suspicions that it's not that people shouldn't squat but that they can't squat for what ever reason it may be. My point is that surely there is no one that is not bio mechanically suited to squat, they merely have issues that need to be worked on before they step foot in the squat rack with just the bar to properly learn the movement. Yup, not everyone will be awesome at squatting no matter how much work they put in but surely EVERYONE is able to squat, at least eventually?

Definitely, if you can sit down to watch the to watch the game, and get back up again in the break to take a piss then you can squat to some degree. Everyone can do that motion, but in a gym setting and to failure is something to to watch for if your not trained or athletic.

And I totally agree if you squat enough you'll become proficient at it for sure.

even if you squat wrong you will become efficient at doing it, and strong because of it.

I'm not saying dont squat at all, but I like the blanket statement thats purpose was to protect your average gym goer. Bodyweight and or squats with a just the bar would be great but a lot of guys will just pile on some weight after doing very little squat work. Gotsta make people respect life under the bar lol :twisted: free weights is srs bsns

I'd be interested how many in the BBing community were taught how to squat right, before loading up with weight.

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Chemo Senior member

Chemo

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Self taught the basics but got alot of small tweaks on here and from a PL judge at my gym that have made a world of difference

True, did you find specifics of the squat you had to change to suit your body ? or just strength, flexibility and or technique issues that were solved with coaching? I need to get me some PL training lol

Should start a new thread "when is a squat, not a squat" lol

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maassive Senior member

maassive

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I'm with harry on this one. I also have lower back problems and squats have helped me a lot, but I have to build up slowly and do box squats to learn technique safely.

I literally have a broken spine that can only be fixed with surgery (an option I'm not taking for a few years yet) so if I can squat then I think most people should be able to. It's an excellent exercise and it has actually strengthened and helped my back greatly.

One thing I will say is that there is a lot of hardman talk about squatting a2g and doing big 1rm maxs or you're a pussy. I think that this is the problem, not squats. When it comes to squats ego+poor technique+not enough experience = serious injury. At the moment, I do not squat more than 120kg because I'm just not sure how well my back will hold out. It means my rep range is between 5-15. I'd love to do some cool hard ass max efforts at higher but simply can't.

Most people should squat. just not all the same way.

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Chemo Senior member

Chemo

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Adaption mate, you may lift more with quads or glutes, either way they will adapt and that muscle will become strong. I think of round back dead lifts, they seem bung but those guys are super strong and it works for them. :D

I am not endorsing bad technique here though lol

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