The squat is an essential exercise. For the lower body, there is probably nothing better. It hits all the important lower body muscles with a knock-out punch and can really help tone the thighs and butt. In order for the squat to be as effective as possible, it’s important to make sure that you squat low enough.
How low is this? It’s important for the tops of your thighs to be at least parallel with the floor. I’ve seen it done at the gym where the bottom of the individual’s thighs are barely parallel. This is definitely not as taxing on the leg muscles and therefore nowhere near as effective.
Most squatting racks will be setup infront of a mirror. Unfortunately it’s difficult to trust what you see in the mirror. What you may think is parallel may be a ways off. Instead of trying to guage how low you’ve gone by eye, try squatting over a box that’s about the height of where you should be squating to. You could alternatively use a medicine ball, low bench or dumbbell. Lower yourself until you touch the box and if you can’t touch the box for each rep in a set, you’re not going low enough. Try lowering the weight.
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