Yet another squat question!

[carenerac]

I've tried looking in the FAQs and other places, and I am smack dab in the middle of stage 1 and want to get this question answered before I get further and realize I have been doing it in bad form... if the answer lies somewhere, please direct me to the right place!

Squat form: NROL4W says to go to thighs parallel to floor/or when back loses natural arch, but majority of other sites show going past parallel (almost like a 30-45 degree with the butt way lower). Is either way okay?

Also, is the body form of the deadlift almost like doing a squat (almost like I'm sitting in a chair) while keeping my back straight?

I guess that was 2 questions, but hey 2 birds...

[missjane]

For squats, you want to go at least parallel.....I now go ATG on mine, which is preferable for my goals right now. Just make sure your parallel is really parallel. Most people I see squatting that think they are parallel really aren't.

And, no, the deadlift and squat are two different lifts. See the following picture:



In the second pic, they are squatting. In the third pic, they are deadlifting.

And, see this: Squat Rx video series

[LisaS]

1) the detailed definition of Parallel is that if you drew a line from the crease of your hip to the top of your kneecap it would be parallel to the ground - not really the same as "thigh" parallel to ground.
2) I think if you can go below parallel without losing form you should feel free to do so and not stop at parallel, but the purpose of writing that was to make sure you go low enough rather than stop you from going too low (if you see what I mean).
3) if you look at the cover art from the book Starting Strength, you can see that the setup position for the DL and the bottom position for a squat look different. This is why I think it is important to do DL using the bar (and not trying to do it with dumbbells).


eta: jinx missjane

[carenerac]

Okay, so what about my feet? I feel like I can do a deeper squat with my feet farther out that shoulder width apart, more like a sumo sqaut. Is that okay, or should I shoot for the standard shoulders apart thing?

[Aoife]

as long as your knees and toes are in line, squat as wide or narrow as is comfortable for you. Wider tends to be more stable feeling, plus some women find it just easier. The width isn't really going to be an issue, so whatever works for ya.